iwantmyname: Set up G Suite MX records

Important: If you purchased your domain from Google when you signed up for G Suite, you don’t need to set up Gmail. You can start using it now. If you’re signed in to your G Suite account, in the top right, click the App Launcher Appsand thenGmail Gmail.

You’re now ready to set up Gmail as your business email for your domain (and, if you haven’t already, verify your domain).

To do this, you need to sign in to your domain host and direct the email for your domain to the G Suite servers. It’s like registering your new address with the post office when you move so that your mail gets delivered to the right place. We’ll walk you through the steps.

Before you begin

  • Verify that you own your domain.

    Or, you can verify now with an MX record. We’ll show you how while you're setting up the MX records.

  • Create user accounts in G Suite for your team.

    If your team members already use email with your domain (their email address ends with your domain), you have to create their user accounts in G Suite before you change any MX record settings. Otherwise, they won't be able to send or receive messages with their business address in Gmail.

Change your MX records to start using G Suite

Step 1: Sign in to your domain host

  1. Leave the Google Admin console setup instructions open.
  2. Open a new tab or browser window and go to the iwantmyname® site.
  3. Enter the email address and password you used when you purchased your domain from iwantmyname.
  4. Click Continue.

    If you don’t know your account information, you can reset your password or contact iwantmyname support.

Step 2: Go to your DNS records

  1. From the Overview page, click Manage DNS records.

    Manage DNS records link is selected

  2. Click Edit DNS records.

    Under "I want to..." the Edit DNS records link is selected.

Sep 3: Delete existing MX records

  1. Scroll down the list of DNS records.
  2. Click delete next to each one.

    You’ll add new MX records in the next step.

The delete option is selected next to an MX record

If you don’t have any MX records, skip to step 4.

Step 4: Add the G Suite MX records

To direct your email to your G Suite account, you have to add new MX records to your domain. These are the records that you need to add:
MX server address Priority
ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM 1
ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM 5
ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM 5
ALT3.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM 10
ALT4.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM 10
Important: Some registrars require you to add a period after the .COM in the MX server address.
  1. In the Hostname field, enter @.
  2. From the Type list, select MX.
  3. In the Priority field field, enter 1.
  4. In the Value field, enter aspmx.l.google.com. Don’t add a period at the end of the record.

    All fields of the MX article are completed.

  5. In the TTL field, leave the default value.
  6. Click add.
  7. Repeat steps 1–6, entering the remaining MX server address values from the table above and setting the Priority values.

  8. Skip this step if you already verified your domain by another method (such as TXT record, HTML file, or meta tag).

    If you need to verify your domain:

    1. In the Admin console, scroll to the Get your verification code section and click the Copy button.

      The MX records table is shown and a red circle highlights the Copy button next to the MX verification record.
    2. Paste the value in the Value/Answer/Destination/Target column.
    3. Make sure the record's priority is set to Low or to 15 or greater.
    Note: If your registrar rejects the verification code, try deleting the period at the end of .com.
  9. At the bottom of the DNS records table, click Save DNS Settings.

Step 5: Tell Google to find your new MX records

  1. Open the Admin console. If necessary, click the link at the top of the page to continue setting up the Admin console.

    A red circle highlights the "Set up Admin Console. Click here to get started." option at the top of the Admin console.

  2. Navigate to the Activate Gmail page. 

  3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Activate Gmail.

    A red circle highlights the Activate Gmail button on the bottom right of the MX records table.

Congratulations! Your business email for your domain is now directed to the G Suite mail servers.

Note:

  • The records can take several hours to update, so you might not immediately get new email messages in Gmail. Until then, you'll continue to receive messages at your old email provider.
  • If you see the MX records setup validation in progress message in the Admin console for more than a few hours, make sure you entered the MX address records and priorities correctly in the DNS records stored with your host.
  • If you still need help changing your MX records, contact G Suite support.
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