Using MX Records to Forward Email to Another Domain

Question

I have a domain hosted at Dreamhost -- foobar.com. It has Google Apps associated with it: the 50 free email accounts which are no longer available for a new domain. I just got another domain -- foobar.edu. I want foobar.edu to become my main domain, but I still want to use the free Google Apps associated with foobar.com to handle incoming mail.

My question: Can I adjust the MX records of foobar.edu so that incoming messages to anyone@foobar.edu will be redirected to anyone@foobar.com and then be handled by my Google Apps?

I can adjust the DNS for both foobar domains, but I don't think that I can ask Google's foobar.com account to also handle foobar.edu emails directly.

Is `foobar.com` a replacement for you real domain? Then better to use example.com — Vadim Kotov, Jan 19 '18 at 07:29
Did you try to add .edu domain as the alias for your .com domain on G suite? I have this similar issue and trying this as - may be this is something you need? — almaruf, Jun 26 '19 at 09:18

score 32 · Answer 1 · edited Jul 06 '21 at 02:59

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if you need just catch email on domain and forward to you other mailbox, you can use http://improvmx.com/ just by adding MX records to your domain

edited Jul 06 '21 at 02:59

Marcello B.

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answered Dec 24 '16 at 18:31

Tomas Šivickas

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Brilliant, this is perfect for my situation – lukeuser Aug 17 '17 at 09:32
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I want to add that at the time of writing http://improvmx.com/ did not forward my mails correctly. I also did read about it not working often times so I endet up with https://www.mailgun.com/ wich is free aswell but requires a credit card! – t0b4cc0 Dec 18 '17 at 19:46
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Can anyone determine who owns/operates https://improvmx.com & what their privacy policy is?...I can't seem to find much. This seems like a dangerous solution. – Rob Truxal Apr 06 '18 at 18:09
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mailgun solution works nicely, and it is free and trustworthy. Thanks, @t0b4cc0 - I wasn't aware that mailgun could also be used to handle inbound mail. Go to "Routes". The "mailgun" answer deserves to be a new answer... – rosell.dk Nov 02 '18 at 08:27
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[ImprovMX](https://improvmx.com) recently pushed a new version of their website. You can now manage your domains, change the forwarding email address and add aliases. Moreover, they have now a Terms of service and Privacy Policy. – Cyril N. Nov 08 '18 at 16:39
i don't like this answer - 'use a website for that' – shigeta Oct 15 '20 at 20:20
Too bad mailgun's new flex (free) plan disabled the "routing" feature. It's paid now, $35/year. I had routing on, still works for free, but I can't access the settings, bummer. – Firsh - justifiedgrid.com Feb 04 '21 at 15:35
Regarding privacy: Improvmx.com says: https://improvmx.com/are-you-reading-my-emails/ This is what they "say". You may take trust or not trust depending on the sensitivity of the content you are dealing with. – Jithin Pavithran Jul 28 '21 at 06:54
vercel.com has improvmx listed among other email presets, they wouldn't do that if it was "dangerous" and if you have sensitive emails then you should consider free options in the first place – Stanislau Buzunko Jan 11 '22 at 11:56
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An alternative to [improvmx.com](https://improvmx.com/) is [forwardemail.net](https://forwardemail.net/) which works in a similar way. They also [open source](https://webmasters.stackexchange.com/a/111660) their software. – joeytwiddle Jul 07 '22 at 06:30
Cloudflare also has a similar service, https://developers.cloudflare.com/email-routing/ – Andreas Lundgren Apr 17 '23 at 09:45

score 15 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 17 '21 at 07:20

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No. You can use MX records to direct mail destined for anyone@foobar.edu to any mail server you want, but when the mail is presented to the chosen mail server, it will still be destined to anyone@foobar.edu.

In other words, email forwarding can't be controlled using MX records. It's the receiving mail server's job to re-send an email to a "forwarding" address.

edited Jun 17 '21 at 07:20

xyres

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answered Jun 30 '13 at 13:44

Celada

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I think you can put in an email forward in Google Apps to froward it to the other domain for each one of those 50 free email addresses – Henry Jul 02 '13 at 19:26

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 09 '15 at 12:13

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As Celada saw, with DNS you can't.

You can do that with Google Apps Default Routing: https://support.google.com/a/answer/2368153?hl=en

answered Mar 09 '15 at 12:13

aqquadro

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score 1 · Answer 4 · edited Jul 07 '18 at 11:46

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As suggested in this question, you'd need to point your MX records to a service that supports mail redirection

edited Jul 07 '18 at 11:46

Community

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answered Apr 29 '15 at 08:40

Dent Arthur Dent

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score -1 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 26 '16 at 19:44

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It can be only done with advanced DNS routing and it is not freely available, It would be more easier if ou have had Google Apps for business. There is only one company who can allow you to manage Email DNS routing and that is ZOHO. The implementation would be a bit complicated, but possible.

Register account for foobar.edu in Zoho, Verify domain then change MX record. Manage it's Email Routing Options and Manage redirection to different accounts.

Check some of Screenshots i have tested on and it worked. Also check zoho dns email routing guide. https://www.zoho.com/mail/help/adminconsole/email-routing.html

I hope this will help you!

answered Dec 26 '16 at 19:44

Sachin G.

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its only available in name registrars and cloud hosting. sheesh – shigeta Oct 15 '20 at 20:19
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Email forwarding has nothing to do with DNS records, or "advanced DNS routing". It's the receiving mail server's job to re-send the email to another *forwarding* address depending on how it's configured. – xyres Jun 17 '21 at 07:17

Using MX Records to Forward Email to Another Domain

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