So a few days ago I let my old shared hosting account expire, because I was sure I had moved everything of value to other servers. I got a major flashback-scare however when my e-mail stopped working the other day. Right, I had forgotten to move my main e-mail domain (running Google Apps/G suite) to another server.
Easy, you’d think. Just change the nameservers of the domain to the new host and set up the MX and TXT records for G suite and be done with it. Well, of course it wasn’t that easy.
Google “support”
I have to commend Google for their in-depth support pages regarding the G suite solutions. However, when you are even a little bit more technically inclined than the average person, it becomes quite annoying to sift through 5-6 support pages just to find out what the MX records are and what the DKIM/SPF records are that you have to set up. So without further annoyances, here are the links you need, just replace [yourdomainname] in the URL.
MX Records
MX Records settings and wizard page:
https://admin.google.com/[yourdomainname]/AdminHome?fral=1#SetupWizard/setuptask=SELECT_ROUTING_METHOD_SUBTASK
The records you will need to set up:
| Name/Host/Alias | Time to Live (TTL*) | Record Type | Priority | Value/Answer/Destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blank or @ | 3600 | MX | 1 | ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
| Blank or @ | 3600 | MX | 5 | ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
| Blank or @ | 3600 | MX | 5 | ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
| Blank or @ | 3600 | MX | 10 | ALT3.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
| Blank or @ | 3600 | MX | 10 | ALT4.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM |
SPF record
The SPF record for G Suite is a TXT record with a value of v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all . Enter your domain name with a dot at the end in the name field if it is required.
DKIM record
The DKIM record is specifically generated for your domain name. You can find the setup wizard here:
https://admin.google.com/[yourdomainname]/AdminHome#AppDetails:service=email&flyout=dkim
DirectAdmin settings
After a failed attempt to set up the MX records in my DirectAdmin panel (the records weren’t set up properly), I went to the internet for help. An average Google search term would look something like this: “directadmin g suite mx records”. That’s the point where you find out that you are apparently the only person on the internet where the DirectAdmin page has a mandatory “value” field right after the priority field.
What the DirectAdmin MX records page looks for everyone else on the internet. Image from Tussendoor.nl
What mine looked like.
What goes in the name field?
You enter your domain name with a dot (.) at the end in the Name field
What goes in the value field?
You enter the server address given by Google, with a dot at the end as well.
