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How do I create MX records for Google Domains?

I have my domain (say example.com) registered at Google Domains (GD) and I'm trying to configure my DNS records there so that the email sent to my domain goes to Fastmail. I've read Fastmail's instructions but I'm still not able to get things working.

Here's how I have my Google Domain DNS records configured:

Code:

Hostname: (blank)

Type: TXT

Data: "v=spf1 include:spf.messagingengine.com ?all"



Hostname: fm1._domainkey

Type: CNAME

Data: fm1.example.com.dkim.fmhosted.com.



Hostname: fm2._domainkey

Type: CNAME

Data: fm2.example.com.dkim.fmhosted.com.



Hostname: fm3._domainkey

Type: CNAME

Data: fm3.example.com.dkim.fmhosted.com.



Hostname: (blank)

Type: MX

Data: 10 in1-smtp.messagingengine.com



Hostname: (blank)

Type: MX

Data: 20 in2-smtp.messagingengine.com

I believe I have three interconnected problems:

What do I put in the Host name field for the TXT record?
What do I put in the Host name field for the first MX record?
What do I put in the Host name field for the second MX record?

If I leave the host name fields for the two MX records empty, GD displays a message "Host name already in use". I'm guessing it says this because I've left that field for the TXT field blank because I don't know what to set it to.

I submitted a ticket to Fastmail support but they haven't been very helpful.They didn't say anything about what the host name for the TXT record should be. They just said to put an "@" in the host name field for each MX record. But if I do that, GD displays an error for those two fields "Leave this empty if you mean example.com".

Can anyone tell me how to configure my Google Domains DNS records so that my email will get forwarded to Fastmail? Thanks very much!

I have

Code:

my_own_domain.com

in the hostname field for both the MX and TXT records.

- Bruce

Google Domains help article: https://support.google.com/domains/a...y=%2Chost-name. And this one is specific to MX records: https://support.google.com/domains/a...68#zippy=%2Cmx

Thanks. I tried that but once it's in the TXT record, GD says "Host name already in use" in the two MX records.

Quote:

Originally Posted by somdcomputerguy (Post 623435)

I have

Code:

my_own_domain.com

in the hostname field for both the MX and TXT records.

- Bruce

Ah. Well good luck my friend.

- Bruce

I don't know either, but reading the help pages that someone else gave URLs for I notice that they don't describe having two separate (sets?) of MX records, but instead one set with two lines in it. Not having seen the GD gui for this I don't know if that's different from what you've described.

I think there's also a problem in that - clearly - the actual DNS records that will be generated must have your domain's name in them, or they couldn't be found by DNS lookups. But it looks to me as if the GD gui doesn't require you to provide that value, presumably because it already knows that you're defining records for your domain. That might be why you can leave some fields blank or just put an "@" placeholder in them.

I also noted that there's a confusing description in one part of the MX records help, where it explicitly says that a trailing dot is intentional in a value, but doesn't actually show that dot in the examples on that page even though it does show it elsewhere.

Lastly, are there DNS records somewhere else for your domain at the moment? You might have to delete them (make sure you have a copy of what they were) first.

Quote:

I also noted that there's a confusing description in one part of the MX records help, where it explicitly says that a trailing dot is intentional in a value, but doesn't actually show that dot in the examples on that page even though it does show it elsewhere.

I'm pretty sure that Google Domains requires the trailing period at the end of the "Data."

Quote:

Originally Posted by TenFour (Post 623443)

I'm pretty sure that Google Domains requires the trailing period at the end of the "Data."

I've certainly seen trailing dots in use when using (eg) "dig" to look up DNS records for other domains.

Thanks to everyone who responded. The problem was that I was creating two separate MX records rather than just one. What I had to do was delete the second MX record but add the priority 20 data onto the first priority 10 MX record. I didn't understand that you could have two separate "parts" to the MX record. Google Domains enables this ability with the "+ Add more to this record" link.

Also, I had to leave the Host name field blank in both the MX and TXT records. GD then inserted my actual domain name into these fields when I saved the form.

Great that you solved it! Classic Google. Lousy instructions, and often inaccurate or incomplete. Google Domains provides good service and security once you're set up anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by robertfdev (Post 623455)

Problem solved!

I'm glad you got it working. :)

- Bruce

Quote:

Originally Posted by TenFour (Post 623456)

Great that you solved it! Classic Google. Lousy instructions, and often inaccurate or incomplete. Google Domains provides good service and security once you're set up anyway.

I do have to admit, though, that the two times I've asked for support via their Chat, they resolved my problem within minutes. I've found their chat support to be exemplary which is why I'll be moving all my domains to GD.

Quote:

Originally Posted by robertfdev (Post 623485)

I am using google domain with FM but i used FM dns and everything worked automatically. Any reason why you entered the settings manually? Is there a benifit doing that over using FM dns :confused:

Quote:

Originally Posted by trikotret (Post 623491)

I am using google domain with FM but i used FM dns and everything worked automatically. Any reason why you entered the settings manually? Is there a benifit doing that over using FM dns :confused:

You can certainly do that but I plan on using other Google tools such as their analytics, email, and documents so it makes more sense to me to have everything under one roof.