What is an MX record? Where your email is delivered
If SPF/DKIM/DMARC are about sending trust, MX is about receiving: it is the postal address for inbound email.
What CrowWake checks
We resolve MX for your domain and list priorities plus hosts. Zero MX records → fail (unless you intentionally receive no mail). Accidental empties during DNS migrations are the classic crow. The free MX checker uses the same public lookup with no login. For the repeat “watch this hourly” job, see the dedicated MX monitoring guide.
Why it matters
Without MX, people cannot email [email protected]. Agencies juggling many client zones hit this more than once—often after a “cleanup” that deleted the wrong records.
What “good enough” looks like
MX pointing at your real provider (Google, Microsoft, custom). Priorities make sense (backup exchangers higher preference numbers). No leftover MX from a retired host.
If CrowWake crows
Restore MX from your provider’s docs. If the domain is send-only marketing, decide consciously—some setups use null MX; CrowWake still flags empty MX so you notice the change.
Watch this on CrowWake
Add the domain, leave the boxes checked, and the flock will crow when this drifts.
Or try the free MX checker with no login.
Deep dive: MX monitoring — watch inbound exchangers so a silent wipe or leftover host crows early, with the same free MX checker.
Stack overview: email authentication monitoring, what is email authentication. Also: SPF monitoring, DKIM monitoring, DMARC monitoring, MTA-STS monitoring.