Applies to: All plans.
Your email needs four kinds of DNS record to deliver reliably: MX routes incoming mail, and SPF, DKIM and DMARC prove your mail is genuine so it does not land in spam. At Maxinodes, email is resold Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, so the records point at your mail provider — not at our hosting server. You add all of them in your client area DNS manager.
Maxinodes does not host mailboxes on the hosting server, and there is no cPanel webmail. Your mail lives in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and these records connect your domain to it.
What each record does
| Record | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| MX | MX | Tells the internet which server receives mail for your domain. Without a correct MX record, incoming email goes nowhere. |
| SPF | TXT | Lists which servers are allowed to send mail for your domain. Helps receiving servers reject forgeries. |
| DKIM | CNAME or TXT | Adds a cryptographic signature to your outgoing mail so receivers can confirm it was not tampered with. |
| DMARC | TXT | Tells receivers what to do with mail that fails SPF or DKIM, and where to send reports. Optional but strongly recommended. |
Microsoft 365 — standard records
These are the standard templates. The exact values for your tenant come from the Microsoft 365 admin centre (in the area for setting up or verifying your domain) — always copy them from there.
| Purpose | Type | Host / Name | Value | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mail routing | MX | @ | <yourtenant>.mail.protection.outlook.com |
0 |
| SPF | TXT | @ | v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com -all |
— |
| Autodiscover | CNAME | autodiscover | autodiscover.outlook.com |
— |
| DKIM (1) | CNAME | selector1._domainkey | (value shown in the M365 admin centre) | — |
| DKIM (2) | CNAME | selector2._domainkey | (value shown in the M365 admin centre) | — |
| DMARC (optional) | TXT | _dmarc | your DMARC policy, e.g. v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:...
|
— |
Your <yourtenant> value and both DKIM CNAME targets are unique to your account — read them from the option in the admin centre that lists your DNS records.
Google Workspace — standard records
These are the standard templates. The exact values for your tenant come from the Google Workspace setup wizard / admin console — always copy them from there.
| Purpose | Type | Host / Name | Value | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mail routing | MX | @ | smtp.google.com |
1 |
| SPF | TXT | @ | v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all |
— |
| DKIM | TXT | google._domainkey | (value generated in the Workspace admin console) | — |
| DMARC (optional) | TXT | _dmarc | your DMARC policy, e.g. v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:...
|
— |
The single smtp.google.com MX record applies to modern tenants. Older tenants use five separate ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM MX records instead — follow whatever the setup wizard shows for your domain. Your DKIM TXT value is generated inside the admin console, so copy it from there.
Where to add the records
Add all of these in your client area DNS manager at my.maxinodes.com — not in the cPanel zone editor. A DNS zone is created automatically for each hosting service when you order. For step-by-step instructions, see How to manage DNS records in your client area.
For your domain to use our DNS in the first place, it must point at the Maxinodes nameservers at your registrar:
ns1.maxinodes.comns2.maxinodes.com
Good to know
- DNS changes are not instant. Allow time for records to propagate before testing — usually minutes, occasionally up to a few hours.
-
One SPF record only. A domain must have a single SPF TXT record. If you send from more than one service, combine the
include:parts into one record rather than adding a second SPF line. - On Managed plans we set this up for you. Managed hosting includes guided email setup and free migration, and we configure SPF, DKIM and DMARC for you.
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