Google Domains: 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 then Gmail 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. 

  • If you’re in the Setup Wizard, go to the Add G Suite MX records instructions. If you don’t have the wizard open, sign in to the G Suite Setup Wizard. The wizard will help you tell Google to find your new MX records and direct your mail to Gmail.

Change your MX records to start using G Suite

Step 1: Sign in to your domain host

  1. Leave the G Suite Setup Wizard open.
  2. Open the Google Domains site in a new tab.
  3. In the upper right of the Google Domains homepage, click Sign In.
  4. Enter your email address or phone number and password you created when you purchased your domain from Google Domains.

    If you don’t know your account information, click Forgot password or get Google Account help.

Step 2: Go to your DNS records

  1. On the My domains page, next to the domain you want to verify for Google services, click Manage.
  2. On the left column, click DNS.

    Under Domain overview, DNS is selected.

  3. Scroll down to the Custom resource records section.

    The Custom resource records section is shown.

Step 3: Delete existing MX records

  1. Under Custom resource records, look for MX records.
  2. Next to each MX record, click Delete.

    The Delete button is selected next to an MX record in the Custom resource records.

  3. In the confirmation message, click Delete.
  4. Repeat step 2 and 3 until all MX records are deleted.

    You’ll add new records in the next step.

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
Note: The values are the G Suite mail servers. We include 5 servers in case one fails or requires maintenance.
  1. Under Custom resource records, in the Name field, enter @.
  2. From the Type list, select MX.
  3. In the TTL field, leave the default value of 1H (1 hour).
  4. In the Data/Mail server field, enter 1 ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM. Don’t forget to include a period at the end of the record.

    Note: Google Domains does not provide a separate field for the priority number. To specify a priority number, enter the value in the data field followed by the MX server address.

    The first MX record is entered in the custom resource records fields.

  5. Click Add Add.
  6. Repeat steps 4 and 5, entering the remaining MX server address values from the table above and setting the Priority values before the record.

  7. 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. Find the unique MX verification record provided by the G Suite Setup Wizard.
    2. Copy the entire record (ends in mx-verification.google.com) and paste it in the Value/Answer/Destination/Target column.
    3. Make sure the record's priority is set to Low or to 15 or greater.

    MX records table with the verification record at the top.

  8. After you add all of the MX records, click Add.

    All 5 MX records are entered.

Step 5: Tell Google to find your new MX records

  1. In the first tab or window, return to the G Suite Setup Wizard.
  2. Click through any confirming steps in the wizard.
  3. Click Verify or I have completed these steps to tell Google to look for your new MX records.

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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