{"id":3515,"date":"2025-11-17T17:08:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T17:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/?p=3515"},"modified":"2026-02-02T10:28:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T10:28:08","slug":"how-to-fix-email-not-delivering-due-to-incorrect-mx-records-in-cpanel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-fix-email-not-delivering-due-to-incorrect-mx-records-in-cpanel\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Fix Email Not Delivering Due to Incorrect MX Records in cPanel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ntAX2JmeJGs?rel=0;si=vHHcMUgZTUp84HTi\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-fix-email-not-delivering-due-to-incorrect-mx-records-in-cpanel\/#What_Are_MX_Records\" >What Are MX Records?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-fix-email-not-delivering-due-to-incorrect-mx-records-in-cpanel\/#Signs_That_Your_MX_Records_Are_Incorrect\" >Signs That Your MX Records Are Incorrect<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-fix-email-not-delivering-due-to-incorrect-mx-records-in-cpanel\/#Step_1_Log_In_to_Your_cPanel\" >Step 1: Log In to Your cPanel<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-fix-email-not-delivering-due-to-incorrect-mx-records-in-cpanel\/#Step_2_Open_the_Zone_Editor\" >Step 2: Open the Zone Editor<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-fix-email-not-delivering-due-to-incorrect-mx-records-in-cpanel\/#Step_3_Check_Existing_MX_Records\" >Step 3: Check Existing MX Records<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-fix-email-not-delivering-due-to-incorrect-mx-records-in-cpanel\/#Step_4_Remove_Incorrect_MX_Records\" >Step 4: Remove Incorrect MX Records<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-fix-email-not-delivering-due-to-incorrect-mx-records-in-cpanel\/#Step_5_Add_the_Correct_MX_Records\" >Step 5: Add the Correct MX Records<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-fix-email-not-delivering-due-to-incorrect-mx-records-in-cpanel\/#Step_6_Verify_the_MX_Entry_Is_Active\" >Step 6: Verify the MX Entry Is Active<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-fix-email-not-delivering-due-to-incorrect-mx-records-in-cpanel\/#Step_7_Wait_for_DNS_Propagation\" >Step 7: Wait for DNS Propagation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-fix-email-not-delivering-due-to-incorrect-mx-records-in-cpanel\/#Step_8_Test_Your_Email\" >Step 8: Test Your Email<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-fix-email-not-delivering-due-to-incorrect-mx-records-in-cpanel\/#Bonus_Tip_Check_Your_Mail_Routing_Settings_in_cPanel\" >Bonus Tip: Check Your Mail Routing Settings in cPanel<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/how-to-fix-email-not-delivering-due-to-incorrect-mx-records-in-cpanel\/#Final_Thoughts\" >Final Thoughts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Are_MX_Records\"><\/span><strong>What Are MX Records?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>MX records<\/strong> <strong>(Mail Exchange) <\/strong>are special DNS records that tell the internet where to deliver your emails. When someone sends you an email for example, hello@yourdomain.com, your MX record tells their email provider which mail server should receive that message.<\/p>\n<p>If your MX records are set incorrectly, your domain might point to the wrong mail server (or none at all). That means emails get lost, delayed, or completely undelivered.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Signs_That_Your_MX_Records_Are_Incorrect\"><\/span><strong>Signs That Your MX Records Are Incorrect<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>If your MX records are wrong, you\u2019ll start noticing one or more of the following issues:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You\u2019re not receiving any emails.<\/li>\n<li>People get bounce-back messages when they try to email you.<\/li>\n<li>Your outgoing emails don\u2019t deliver properly.<\/li>\n<li>Emails go to spam folders frequently.<\/li>\n<li>You recently changed hosting providers or DNS settings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_1_Log_In_to_Your_cPanel\"><\/span><strong>Step 1: Log In to Your cPanel<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Log in to your telaHosting Client Area using your registered email and password.<\/li>\n<li>From the dashboard, select your hosting account and click \u201c<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/manual\/how-to-log-in-to-your-cpanel-hosting-account\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Log in to cPanel<\/a><\/strong>\u201d to access the dashboard<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_2_Open_the_Zone_Editor\"><\/span><strong>Step 2: Open the Zone Editor<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Inside cPanel, scroll down until you find the <strong>Domains<\/strong> section.<\/li>\n<li>Click on <strong style=\"color: #555555;\">\u201cZone Editor.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img data-dominant-color=\"cdcfd9\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #cdcfd9;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3460 aligncenter not-transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Locate-the-Domains-Section-1-711x400.avif\" alt=\"Find DNS Zone Editor\" width=\"711\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Locate-the-Domains-Section-1-711x400.avif 711w, https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Locate-the-Domains-Section-1-768x432.avif 768w, https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Locate-the-Domains-Section-1.avif 1366w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 711px) 100vw, 711px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This is where all your DNS records are managed, including A, CNAME, TXT, and MX records.<\/p>\n<p>If you have multiple domains hosted, you\u2019ll see a list. Locate the one where your email issue is happening and click <strong>\u201cManage.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_3_Check_Existing_MX_Records\"><\/span><strong>Step 3: Check Existing MX Records<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Once you click <strong>Manage<\/strong>, scroll through the list until you find the section labeled <strong>\u201cMX\u201d<\/strong> under the \u201cType\u201d column.<\/p>\n<p>This shows the mail exchange records currently linked to your domain.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what to look for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Make sure the <strong>Destination<\/strong> (mail server address) is correct.<\/li>\n<li>Verify that <strong>Priority<\/strong> values are set properly (lower numbers mean higher priority).<\/li>\n<li>Check for <strong>duplicate or outdated entries<\/strong> \u2014 especially if you recently changed hosts or email providers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img data-dominant-color=\"caccd5\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #caccd5;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3519 aligncenter not-transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Check-Existing-MX-Records-711x400.avif\" alt=\"Check Existing MX Records\" width=\"711\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Check-Existing-MX-Records-711x400.avif 711w, https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Check-Existing-MX-Records-768x432.avif 768w, https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Check-Existing-MX-Records.avif 1366w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 711px) 100vw, 711px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>For example, if your MX record still points to mail.oldhost.com but your email is now on telaHosting, that\u2019s a red flag.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_4_Remove_Incorrect_MX_Records\"><\/span><strong>Step 4: Remove Incorrect MX Records<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you find any outdated or incorrect MX entries, remove them immediately.<\/p>\n<p>To delete a record:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Click the <strong>\u201cDelete\u201d<\/strong> button next to the incorrect MX record.<\/li>\n<li>Confirm the deletion when prompted.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This helps avoid confusion between mail servers.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_5_Add_the_Correct_MX_Records\"><\/span><strong>Step 5: Add the Correct MX Records<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Click the <strong>\u201c+ Add Record\u201d<\/strong> button and choose <strong>MX Record<\/strong> from the dropdown menu.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how to fill in the fields:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Name:<\/strong> Enter your domain name (e.g., yourdomain.com) or leave \u201c@\u201d.<\/li>\n<li><strong>TTL (Time to Live):<\/strong> Leave as default (usually 14400).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Priority:<\/strong> Enter the priority number (e.g., 10 or 5).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Destination:<\/strong> This is the mail server your email should point to.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you\u2019re using a third-party email provider (like Google Workspace or Zoho Mail), they\u2019ll give you the exact MX details to enter.<\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve entered everything correctly, click <strong>\u201cSave Record.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_6_Verify_the_MX_Entry_Is_Active\"><\/span><strong>Step 6: Verify the MX Entry Is Active<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>After saving your changes, you\u2019ll see your new MX record appear in the list. Double-check it for typos, even a small error (like a missing dot or extra space) can cause issues.<\/p>\n<p>For example, mail.yourdomain.com and mail.yourdomain.com. (with a trailing dot) can mean different things in DNS systems.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_7_Wait_for_DNS_Propagation\"><\/span><strong>Step 7: Wait for DNS Propagation<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Whenever you make changes to DNS (like MX records), it takes some time for those updates to reach all global servers \u2014 a process called <strong>DNS propagation. <\/strong>This can take anywhere from <strong>a few minutes to 24 hours<\/strong>, depending on your ISP and DNS caching.<\/p>\n<p>You can track the propagation progress using a free online tool like <a href=\"https:\/\/dnschecker.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DNSChecker.org<\/a>. Just type your domain, select \u201cMX,\u201d and click \u201cSearch.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_8_Test_Your_Email\"><\/span><strong>Step 8: Test Your Email<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Send an email to your domain address from another provider (like Gmail).<\/li>\n<li>Check if it arrives in your inbox.<\/li>\n<li>Try replying or sending an outgoing message to confirm it sends properly.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If both sending and receiving work fine, congratulations! You\u2019ve successfully fixed your email issue.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Bonus_Tip_Check_Your_Mail_Routing_Settings_in_cPanel\"><\/span><strong>Bonus Tip: Check Your Mail Routing Settings in cPanel<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Sometimes, even with correct MX records, emails still fail because of incorrect routing settings.<\/p>\n<p>To fix this:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In cPanel, go to <strong>Email<\/strong> \u2192 <strong>Email Routing<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img data-dominant-color=\"cecfd9\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #cecfd9;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3516 aligncenter not-transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Check-Your-Mail-Routing-Settings-in-cPanel-711x400.avif\" alt=\"Check Your Mail Routing Settings in cPanel\" width=\"711\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Check-Your-Mail-Routing-Settings-in-cPanel-711x400.avif 711w, https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Check-Your-Mail-Routing-Settings-in-cPanel-768x432.avif 768w, https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Check-Your-Mail-Routing-Settings-in-cPanel.avif 1366w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 711px) 100vw, 711px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Select your domain.<\/li>\n<li>Choose <strong>\u201cLocal Mail Exchanger\u201d<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>Save Changes.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img data-dominant-color=\"c1c5d1\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #c1c5d1;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3517 aligncenter not-transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Check-Your-Mail-Routing-Settings-in-cPanel-1-711x400.avif\" alt=\"Check Your Mail Routing Settings in cPanel \" width=\"711\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Check-Your-Mail-Routing-Settings-in-cPanel-1-711x400.avif 711w, https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Check-Your-Mail-Routing-Settings-in-cPanel-1-768x432.avif 768w, https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Check-Your-Mail-Routing-Settings-in-cPanel-1.avif 1366w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 711px) 100vw, 711px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This ensures that your server knows it should handle your mail locally.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Thoughts\"><\/span><strong>Final Thoughts<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If your emails aren\u2019t delivering, don\u2019t panic \u2014 in most cases, it\u2019s simply because your <strong>MX records<\/strong> are misconfigured. By logging into cPanel, checking and correcting your MX entries, and waiting for propagation, you can fix the issue in no time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff What Are MX Records? MX records (Mail Exchange) are special DNS records that tell the internet where to deliver your emails. When someone sends you an email for example, hello@yourdomain.com, your MX record tells their email provider which mail server should receive that message. If your MX records are set incorrectly, your domain might&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":3518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,26],"tags":[40,60],"class_list":["post-3515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cpanel","category-email","tag-cpanel","tag-dns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3515"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3948,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3515\/revisions\/3948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}