Switching MX Records After Migration
After your migration reaches Sync complete, you can cut over your domain so that new mail starts arriving at PurpleToad Mail instead of your old provider.
What "cutover" means
- Existing emails are already copied into PurpleToad Mail by the migration.
- New emails sent to your domain will be delivered to PurpleToad Mail once you point your MX records at our servers.
- You can keep the source mailbox connected for a few days as a safety net, then disconnect it when you are confident.
MX records to add
Replace your domain's existing MX records with:
| Priority | Host | Points to |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | @ | mail.purpletoadmail.com |
Most DNS providers accept this as a single MX record:
10 mail.purpletoadmail.com
SPF record
Make sure your domain's SPF record authorizes PurpleToad Mail. If you do not have an SPF record yet, add this TXT record:
v=spf1 include:purpletoadmail.com a:mail.purpletoadmail.com ~all
If you already have an SPF record, add include:purpletoadmail.com and a:mail.purpletoadmail.com before the ~all or -all mechanism. A domain must have one SPF record, so update the existing value instead of adding another TXT record.
v=spf1 include:purpletoadmail.com a:mail.purpletoadmail.com include:_spf.google.com ~all
Steps in the dashboard
- Open Migration in the PurpleToad Mail dashboard.
- Wait until the migration card shows Ready for cutover.
- Update your MX records at your DNS provider.
- Wait 5–15 minutes, then click Verify DNS on your domain page in PurpleToad Mail.
- Once DNS is verified, click Disconnect source to finalize the migration and remove the source credentials from PurpleToad Mail.
How long does cutover take?
- DNS propagation usually takes a few minutes to a few hours.
- Some DNS resolvers may cache old MX records for up to 24 hours.
- You can keep checking mail delivery; once new messages appear only in PurpleToad Mail, the cutover is complete.
Rollback
If something goes wrong, change your MX records back to the old provider. The migration job has already copied your historical mail into PurpleToad Mail, so you will not lose it.
Need help?
Email hello@purpletoadmail.com if your migration is stuck or mail is not flowing after cutover.