As an administrator, when you’re setting up your new Google Workspace account, you need to change your MX records so that email is directed to your new accounts in Gmail. It can take up to 72 hours for the new records to update through the system. During this time, mail sent to your domain might bounce. While there's no way to avoid email bouncing entirely, there are steps you can take to avoid it.
Avoid email bounces
Before you change your MX records, you should create all user accounts in the Google Admin console. For details, see Add users individually. If you have a lot of accounts, you can add several users at once.
If you have any mailing lists or nicknames at your domain, you can add them in the Admin console as well.
For more information, see:
You can set up a catch-all address to handle messages sent to addresses that haven't been created at your domain. For details, see Email routing and delivery.
Schedule the change to your MX records when your email volume is low, such as in the evening or on the weekend.
If your domain host is changing your records for you, contact them early and schedule a time when your organization doesn’t receive a lot of email.
You can avoid confusion over any bounced messages by letting your key contacts know about the upcoming change to your email system.
Be sure to communicate:
- The date and time of the planned change
- Instructions to resend any bounced messages
- Alternative ways to communicate time-sensitive issues
Tip: You can emphasize that any downtime should be brief. Assure contacts that no messages will be lost, but some might need to be resent.
