Email Routing in cPanel
Learn how Email Routing works in cPanel, when to use Local or Remote Mail Exchanger, and how to choose the correct setting for your domain.
Email Routing in cPanel controls where incoming email for your domain should be delivered. Choosing the correct routing option is important to make sure your messages arrive at the right server.
This setting is especially useful if your website is hosted on one server while your email is handled by another provider such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho Mail, or a separate mail server.
Important: If Email Routing is set incorrectly, your domain may stop receiving email or messages may be delivered to the wrong server.
What Is Email Routing in cPanel?
Email Routing tells cPanel how to handle mail sent to your domain, such as [email protected].
cPanel usually offers these routing options:
- Automatically Detect Configuration – cPanel tries to detect the best setting based on your domain’s DNS records.
- Local Mail Exchanger – Use this when your email is hosted on the same server as your website.
- Remote Mail Exchanger – Use this when your email is hosted on another server or external email provider.
When Should You Use Each Option?
Use Local Mail Exchanger if:
- Your email accounts are created inside cPanel.
- Your website and email are both hosted on the same server.
- You want your domain’s email to be handled by your hosting account.
Use Remote Mail Exchanger if:
- Your email is hosted with a third-party provider.
- Your MX records point to a different mail server.
- Your website is on this hosting account, but your email is not.
How to Change Email Routing in cPanel
- Log in to your Account.
- Open cPanel for the hosting service linked to your domain.
- In cPanel, go to the Email section.
- Click Email Routing.
- Select the domain you want to manage if you have more than one domain.
- Choose the correct routing option:
- Automatically Detect Configuration
- Local Mail Exchanger
- Remote Mail Exchanger
- Click Change to save your update.
Beginner Example
Here is a simple example:
- If your domain’s email accounts are created in cPanel, choose Local Mail Exchanger.
- If your domain uses Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 for email, choose Remote Mail Exchanger.
- If you are unsure, check where your MX records point before making a change.
Tip: If you recently changed your DNS or MX records, it may take some time for the new routing behavior to fully work because DNS changes do not update instantly everywhere.
Note: Automatic detection can be helpful, but if you already know your email is hosted elsewhere, manually selecting Remote Mail Exchanger is often the safer choice.
Common Email Routing Problems
- Email messages are not arriving.
- Mail is being delivered to the wrong server.
- Webmail works, but external mail service does not.
- MX records were updated, but Email Routing was left on the wrong setting.
If you are not sure which option to select, contact support and include your domain name plus the email provider you are using. This will help the issue be checked faster.
