How to change your MX records to use Google Apps Gmail

With levels of spam reaching new highs, and the increased demand for never-ending storage, your users may wish to take advantage of a 3rd party email service such as Google Apps’ Gmail. Using a service such as this has benefits for you, the web host as well. There is less need to monitor disk space for all those email accounts, reduced load on your servers and mail handling programs, and a transfer of responsibility with regards to email service uptime.

This how-to will show you how to make the transition to Google Apps’ Gmail service, smoothly and with minimal disruption to your clients’ email. These instructions also apply to any other 3rd party email service.

Step 1 - Sign up for Google Apps and set up email accounts

If you or your client have not already done so, sign up for Google Apps at www.google.com/a

Once you have completed the setup, click on “User Accounts” to set up the email addresses that will be used (ie. Those that are already in use on the existing server.) This will ensure that no email is lost in the process.

Step 2 - Log into WHM and go to “DNS Functions”

Depending on your web host, these kind of changes must usually be made via WHM (Web Host Manager). Log into WHM and click the “DNS Functions” icon. Then, select “Edit DNS Zone” - NOT “Edit MX Entry”. This is because the “Edit MX Entry” Function will not show the complete set of existing MX records.

Step 3 - Select your domain to edit the DNS zone

On the right, click on the domain in question, and click “Edit”. The DNS zone page will open. Scroll down and look for the MX line.

MX or Mail Exchanger records tell email servers where to send email for a particular domain. They are only concerned with incoming mail. In the example above, the default is to allow the server the domain is hosted on to handle the incoming mail - hence the domain hosthow.com is on both sides, the right hand side being the server to handle mail. Notice the extra period after the domain names - this is not a mistake! This is known as a fully qualified domain name (FQDN).

Step 4 - Carefully update the MX records to Google’s mail servers

Back in Google Apps, click “Activate Email” to view the list of mail servers as shown here.

First, edit the existing entry zero, and replace it with Google’s top entry, like this:

Then, scroll to the bottom of the page to add the remaining MX entries. Remember to select “MX” from the drop-down list, and don’t forget the “.” period at the end of each domain!

Step 5 - Save, and activate your new mail service!

Click “Save” at the bottom of the window. You’ll see a message saying “Bind reloaded …” - this means it has worked. Pop back to Google Apps, and select “I’ve Completed These Steps” - and Google will then check that you’ve set up the MX records correctly. Within a few minutes, you’ll be receiving email at your new Gmail accounts!