Configuring Your cPanel Server to Use a Third Party Mail Service

WHM / cPanel allows you to have your mail hosted elsewhere while your site is hosted on the server. This article will show you how to disable the local mail exchanger on your server allowing for mail to be handled by a third party services, such as G Suite or MS 365. The local mail exchanger must be disabled for mail to route through a third party service. Mail be set to use a remote mail exchanger (disabled) per domain inside of either WHM or cPanel.

Note: These instructions explain how to perform these actions inside of WHM, but they can also be done within the cPanel account assigned to your domain. The steps for cPanel are similar to those below, but if you need further assistance, please feel free to ask us at any time.

Editing a DNS record to use a remote mail service through WHM:

1. Log into WHM.
2. From the home screen search for “DNS Functions” in the search menu in the upper left hand corner and select “Edit DNS Zones” from the list of returned matches.
   
   
   
3. Inside of the DNS Zone Editor screen select the check box next to the domain and hit the “Edit” button at the bottom.
   
   

Updating the existing default MX record

In the Edit DNS Zone you will need to change the default MX record to a record provided by your new mail service provider.

1.  Locate the existing MX record. Default MX records will usually look like the one below, with the priority of 0 and the value matching the domain being edited:
   
   
   
2. Leaving the record type as “MX” and the priority as “0”, change the value to the MX record provided by your remote mail service provider. If more than one record is provided, enter the one with the lowest priority level (usually 0) here.
   Important Note:  It is very important that your MX record value ends with a period ( . ) or your MX record will be incorrect and mail service may be disrupted.

Adding Additional MX Records

Many service providers, such as G Suite or MS 365, supply more than one MX records as a set. If your service provider does as well, you will then also need to add the other MX records as well:

1. In the section labeled “Add New Entries Below this Line”, enter your domain name into the first box, followed by a period ( . )
   
   
   
2. Ignoring the 2nd box (unless your instructions specifically state to change this value), choose “MX” from the selection box
   
   
   
3. Two additional boxes should appear, one for the priority number of the new record, and the next MX record value provided by your remote mail service provider.
   (Don’t forget the trailing periods!)
   

Repeat these steps until all provided MX records have been entered, and then proceed to the next section below.

Update Email Routing and Save:

Lastly, in the Edit DNS Zone scroll to the bottom of the screen to the Email routing options. By default the account will be set to ”Local Mail Exchanger” indicating that the server is handling the mail functions. You will need to select the Remote Mail Exchanger and click the "Save" button.

Editing a DNS record to use a remote mail service through cPanel:

1. Log into cPanel.
2. In the "Domains" section, click on "Zone Editor":
   
   
3. Click on the "Manage" button:
   

Updating the existing default MX record

1.  Locate the existing MX record. Default MX records will usually look like the one below, with the priority of 0 and the destination matching the domain being edited. Once located, click on the "Edit" button:
   
2. Leaving the TTL value (unless your instructions specifically state to change this value), the record type as “MX” and the priority as “0”, change the destination value to the MX record provided by your remote mail service provider. If more than one record is provided, enter the one with the lowest priority level (usually 0) here.
   Important Note:  It is very important that your MX record value ends with a period ( . ) or your MX record will be incorrect and mail service may be disrupted:
   
   
3. Click the "Save Record" button when you've made and reviewed your change.

Adding Additional MX Records

Many service providers, such as G Suite or MS 365, supply more than one MX records as a set. If your service provider does as well, you will then also need to add the other MX records as well:

1. At the top of the "Zone Editor" page, click on the arrow beside the "Add Record" button and click on the option labeled "Add MX Record":
   
   
2. A new MX record row will be added to the top of the list of records, prefilled with your domain name, followed by a period ( . ):
   
3. Ignoring the 2nd box (unless your instructions specifically state to change this value), and leaving the record type as “MX”, enter the next priority number MX record value provided by your remote mail service provider, clicking "Add Record" when you've entered your values.
   (Don’t forget the trailing periods!)
   

Repeat these steps until all provided MX records have been entered, and then proceed to the next section below.

Update Email Routing:

1. Return to the cPanel Home screen by clicking the Home icon in the upper left corner of the screen:
   
   
2. In the in the "Email" section click on "Email Routing":
   
   
3. Select your domain from the "Domains" dropdown list:
   
   
4. The "Configure Email Routing" selection will now appear below the "Domains" dropdown list.  By default the account will be set to ”Local Mail Exchanger” indicating that the server is handling the mail functions. You will need to select the Remote Mail Exchanger and click the "Change" button.
   
   

If you have any questions about this process, or about Cozaq's services in general, please reach out to us by clicking the Submit a Request here, or at the top of the page.  And don't forget that DNS changes can take several hours (up to 48 in some cases) to be updated in all DNS caches worldwide.  Your DNS records will be available immediately, but most servers cache records for domains they've already looked up recently, so be patient and reach out to us if you've got questions - we'll be happy to help!