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How to Setup Backup MX

Last updated 3 min read Email Service Configuration

Article Summary

  • Backup MX holds inbound email for up to 7 days, or until your main mail server receives mail again.
  • No-IP does not start holding mail until MX records are set, and updates them automatically if No-IP is your Managed DNS provider.
  • To verify, go to 'My Services' > 'Managed DNS', click 'Modify' next to your domain, and check for Mail1.no-ip.com (priority 10) and Mail2.no-ip.com (15).
  • Your own mail server's MX record should be listed at priority 5.
  • If your server is up but rejects an email, it is bounced to the sender, and No-IP does not keep copies of bounced emails.

What is it?

Backup MX is a Managed Mail service that backs up inbound emails if your mail server goes offline. It holds any amount of inbound email for 7 days or until the main server receives mail again. This is crucial to ensure you never lose any mail when you have email hosted at a different POP3/IMAP provider or are hosting your own mail server. Note: We will not start holding mail until the MX records are set. If you are using No-IP as your domain’s Managed DNS provider, we will automatically update your MX records for you once Backup MX is purchased.

Setup

To confirm your domain is configured properly with No-IP, follow these steps:

  1. Login to your No-IP account

  2. Click “My Services” and then “Managed DNS” in the navigation

  3. Click “Modify” next to the domain you want to verify the MX record configuration of Backup MX on

  4. Ensure the following MX records are listed:

  5. Mail.yourdomain.com (Primary Email MX) – priority 5

  6. Mail1.no-ip.com – priority 10

  7. Mail2.no-ip.com – priority 15

  8. If your mail server becomes unavailable, our mail server will accept and hold your emails. Once your mail server becomes available again, we will deliver your emails to your mail server. Our servers will check to see if your server is up on a sliding interval starting at 5 minutes to 45 minutes, depending on how long your server is down.

  9. Please ensure that your mail server is functioning properly before you put it back online. If your server is responsive but rejects an email we try to deliver, those email will be returned as undeliverable (bounced) to the sender. No-IP does not keep copies of undeliverable/bounced emails.

  10. Emails for the domain will be held for up to 7 days. If you know that your server will be down for more than seven days please contact us. Without special arrangements, our server will automatically return emails to the sender if they are not delivered within 7 days.