These instructions are for users who purchased their domain on Gandi 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 to Fastmail is usually a better option.
This guide covers three steps to setting up your domain:
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 Gandi, 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.
If your domain has been purchased from Gandi, we will display this on the next screen. You can also choose Gandi 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 Gandi
Note: We recommend making these changes at a time that you do not expect much mail to be sent to your domain.
1. Log in to your account at Gandi.
2. Click on Domain in the left hand panel, then click on the domain you would like to use with Fastmail.
3. Along the top of the screen, click DNS Records:
4. You should see two MX records. Click the pencil icon to edit them:
If you don't have any MX records listed, you can add them.
5. Change your first MX record to the following:
| Name | Hostname | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| @ | in1-smtp.messagingengine.com. |
10 |
6. Click Update. Your screen should look like this:
7. Back in the DNS control panel, click the pencil icon on the second MX record, and change this to the following:
| Name | Hostname | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| @ | in2-smtp.messagingengine.com. |
20 |
8. Click Update. Your screen 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 Gandi account.
1. Scroll up to Host Records in your Gandi domain panel and click Add in the top right of the screen. Add three new records, all with the type CNAME and the following information (make sure to replace mydomain.com with your actual domain name):
| Type | Name | Hostname |
|---|---|---|
| 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. |
When you are finished, your domain control panel should look like this, with your domain name in the blank space:
2. Add another record. Click the pencil icon to edit the TXT record, and change it to:
| Type | Name | Text value |
|---|---|---|
| TXT | @ |
v=spf1 include:spf.messagingengine.com ?all |
When you are finished, it should look like this:
3. Add one more record, click the pencil icon to edit the TXT record, and change it to:
| Type | Host | Value |
| TXT | _dmarc.{mydomain.com} |
v=DMARC1; p=none; |
Once you have finished this step, your domain should be ready to use with Fastmail.
To check that all of 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.
Gandi has further instructions for using their DNS configuration panel available here.