These instructions are for users who purchased their domain on Bluehost and would like to change their mail records (MX) so they can send and receive mail with Fastmail.
Changing your MX records is the best option for users who have a website on their domain hosted with another service. For users who do not have a website hosted at their domain, switching nameservers is usually a better option.
This guide covers three steps to setting up your domain:
Advanced instructions for setting up MX records can be found here.
1. Add your domain to Fastmail
We have a setup guide to help you get your domain working as quickly and easily as possible.
After you have purchased your domain from Bluehost, log in to Fastmail and go to the Settings → Domains screen.
Add your domain(s) (e.g. mydomain.com). Using the Add Domain button brings up the new domain screen. Type your domain into the text box.
Select Other from our list of supported registrars.
Follow the wizard to add your email addresses to Fastmail. To have the wizard provide you with steps to update your MX records by default, choose Yes when you are asked if you have a website.
Please note: If you are on a legacy plan, the domain setup wizard can only set up email addresses, not users. You will need to add users manually in order to create additional user accounts at your custom domain.
2. Edit your MX records in Bluehost
Note: We recommend making these changes at a time that you do not expect much mail to be sent to your domain
-
Log in to your account at Bluehost.
-
In the Domain List on your account, find the domain you want to use with Fastmail, and click to expand the Advanced Tools section. Then click Manage next to Advanced DNS Records:
- You'll see a warning message advising you that only advanced users should make changes to their DNS records. Click Continue.
- Under Manage Advanced DNS Records, select + Add Record.
- For the record type, select MX and list the details as follows:
| Name | Value | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| @ | in1-smtp.messagingengine.com |
10 |
Then click Save.
- Click + Add Record, and add a second MX record with the following details:
| Name | Value | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| @ | in2-smtp.messagingengine.com |
20 |
When you are finished, your records should look like this:
You should now have two MX records, in1-smtp.messagingengine.com and in2-smtp.messagingengine.com.
3. Signing your domain
Your domain should now be ready to receive messages. In order to make sure your sent messages reach your recipients, there are a couple more records to add in your Bluehost account.
- Under Manage Advanced DNS Records, select + Add Record. Add three new records, all with the type
CNAME. Select Other Host from the dropdown bar under Refers to. Then enter the following information (make sure to replacemydomain.comwith your actual domain name):
| Type | Host Name | Alias to |
|---|---|---|
| CNAME | fm1._domainkey |
fm1.{mydomain.com}.dkim.fmhosted.com |
| CNAME | fm2._domainkey |
fm2.{mydomain.com}.dkim.fmhosted.com |
| CNAME | fm3._domainkey |
fm3.{mydomain.com}.dkim.fmhosted.com |
You can leave any other CNAME records you have for your domain where they are.
When you are finished, it should look like this (with your actual domain name in place of yourdomain.com)
- Add one final new record, in the same place you added your CNAME records. In the drop down for the record type, choose
TXT, then enter the following information:
| Type | Refers to | TXT Value |
|---|---|---|
| TXT | @ |
v=spf1 include:spf.messagingengine.com ?all |
When you are finished, it should look like this:
Once you have finished this step, your domain should be working with Fastmail.
To check all your settings are correct, log in to your Fastmail account and go to the Settings → Domains screen. Click Recheck DNS. Your domain should now say Active. MX records set.