Domain setup and verification

Setting up your domain correctly is crucial for receiving emails through EmailConnect. This guide covers everything you need to know.

Prerequisites

  • Access to your domain's DNS settings
  • Administrative rights to modify DNS records
  • Your domain should be active and resolving

Step-by-step setup

1. Add your domain

  1. Navigate to Domains in your dashboard
  2. Click Add domain
  3. Enter your domain name without any subdomain (e.g., example.com, not www.example.com)
  4. Click Add domain

2. Configure MX records

MX (Mail Exchange) records tell email servers where to deliver emails for your domain.

Required MX record:

Type: MX
Name: @ (or leave blank)
Value: mx1.emailconnect.eu
Priority: 10
TTL: 3600 (or your provider's default)

Important notes:

  • Remove any existing MX records that point to other email services
  • If you need to keep existing email service, contact support for advanced configuration
  • Changes may take up to 24 hours to propagate globally

3. Add TXT verification record

A TXT record is used to verify domain ownership. Each domain you add gets its own verification value: verify-ec= followed by a random code that belongs to that domain in your account. The dashboard shows the exact value when you add the domain. Copy it from there; it cannot be worked out from the domain name.

Required TXT record:

Type: TXT
Name: @ (or leave blank)
Value: verify-ec=3f9c1e7a5b2d4c8e9a0b6d1f2e3c4a5b
TTL: 3600

The value above is an example. Use the one shown for your domain.

If you add domains through the API, the value is returned as instructions.txt_record.value when you create the domain and as expectedTxtRecord whenever you read it. Publish that value as it is rather than building the record yourself.

Keep the record in place after verification. Verified domains are re-checked regularly, and a domain whose record has disappeared loses its verified status.

Verified your domain before October 2026? Nothing changes for you. Domains verified before per-domain codes were introduced keep the record they were verified with, verify-ec=yourdomain.com. Leave it as it is. If a domain is not verified yet, use the value the dashboard shows for it now.

An unverified domain is removed after 3 days. If verification has not succeeded by then, the domain is removed from your account. You can add it again, but it then gets a new verification value, so update the TXT record to the new one.

4. Verification process

After adding the DNS records:

  1. Wait 5-10 minutes for initial DNS propagation
  2. Click Verify domain in your dashboard
  3. The system will check your DNS configuration
  4. Verification typically completes within 1-2 minutes

Verification status:

  • Pending: DNS records not yet detected
  • Verified: the TXT record proves the domain is yours
  • Failed: DNS configuration issues detected

The MX record is checked as well. Verification only needs the TXT record, so a domain can be verified while its mail still goes elsewhere. Each check also looks up the MX record, and the dashboard shows a warning next to the status when it does not point at mx1.emailconnect.eu:

  • MX elsewhere: the MX record names another mail server, or ours is only a backup with a higher priority number than another server. Senders deliver to the lowest number first, so mx1.emailconnect.eu must have the lowest one.
  • No MX record: the domain has no MX record yet.
  • MX: could not check: the lookup failed this time, for example a DNS timeout. This is not a warning; it is checked again with the next verification.

The warning does not change the verified status. Fix the MX record, then click the warning or Verify domain to check again.

Troubleshooting

Common issues

"MX elsewhere" or "No MX record"

  • Double-check the MX record value: mx1.emailconnect.eu. Hover over the warning to see what the MX record names now
  • Ensure our record has the lowest priority number, and remove MX records for other mail services
  • Wait longer for DNS propagation (up to 24 hours), then verify again

"TXT verification record missing"

  • Verify the TXT record value exactly matches the one shown for this domain in the dashboard (verify-ec= followed by a code)
  • If you removed the domain and added it again, it has a new value: the record from the first time no longer verifies it
  • Check that the record is added to the domain level of your choice (@ vs e.g. in.)

"Verification taking too long"

  • DNS changes can take up to 24 hours to propagate globally
  • Use online DNS checker tools to verify your records
  • Contact support if issues persist after 24 hours

DNS checker tools

Use these tools to verify your DNS configuration:

Advanced configuration

Subdomain setup

You can also configure subdomains for email processing:

  1. Add the subdomain as a separate domain (e.g., mail.example.com)
  2. Configure MX and TXT records for the subdomain
  3. Follow the same verification process

Multiple email services

If you need to use EmailConnect alongside another email service:

  1. Contact our support team for custom MX record configuration
  2. We can help set up priority-based routing
  3. Additional configuration may be required

Next steps

Once your domain is verified:

Need help?

Domain setup issues? Our support team is here to help:

  • Check our help center
  • Contact support with your domain name and DNS provider
  • We can help verify your configuration remotely