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DNS & Setup3 min readUpdated

OVHcloud DNS for Business Email: MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC

Add the four email DNS records in the OVHcloud panel: the DNS Zone tab, the pre-set OVH mail records to remove, the existing SPF to edit, and how to verify.

An OVHcloud domain arrives with a DNS zone already prepared for OVH's own mail: MX records pointing at mail.ovh.net and an SPF record that lists mx.ovh.com. Using a mailbox on your own domain elsewhere means replacing those, not adding alongside them, which is where most setups go wrong. This guide walks the DNS Zone tab, the records to delete, the four to add, and the check at the end.

Quick answer

OVHcloud control panel, Web Cloud, Domain names, your domain, DNS Zone tab. Delete the MX entries that point at mail.ovh.net and edit the existing SPF TXT to v=spf1 mx a:mail.oqumail.com ~all. Add an MX with sub-domain blank, priority 10, target mail.oqumail.com. Add TXT entries at the DKIM selector and at _dmarc. Then click Verify in OquMail.

The four records

  • MX: host blank or @, value mail.oqumail.com, priority 10
  • SPF: TXT at the root, value v=spf1 MX (Mail Exchanger — where incoming email is delivered) a:mail.oqumail.com ~all
  • DKIM: TXT at the selector name shown in your OquMail dashboard, ending in ._domainkey, with the key value from the dashboard
  • DMARC: TXT at _dmarc, value v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com (use your own address)

Step by step

  1. Log in to the OVHcloud control panel, open Web Cloud, then Domain names, and click the domain.
  2. Open the DNS Zone tab. Check the Servers DNS tab too: if the domain uses external nameservers, these records must be added at that provider instead.
  3. Find the existing MX entries (targets ending in mail.ovh.net) and delete each one with the three-dot menu, Delete the entry. Confirm each.
  4. Find the existing TXT entry starting with v=spf1 and choose Modify the entry. Replace the value with v=spf1 MX (Mail Exchanger — where incoming email is delivered) a:mail.oqumail.com ~all. Do not add a second SPF record.
  5. Click Add an entry, choose MX. Leave Sub-domain empty, set Priority 10, Target mail.oqumail.com. OVH adds the trailing dot itself. Confirm.
  6. Add an entry, TXT, Sub-domain the DKIM selector exactly as the OquMail dashboard shows it (ending in ._domainkey), Value the key from the dashboard. Confirm.
  7. Add an entry, TXT, Sub-domain _dmarc, Value v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com, using an address you read. Confirm.
  8. Back in the OquMail dashboard, click Verify. The live check names any record still missing.

Free business email on your own domain

OquMail gives you up to 15 mailboxes on your domain — free — with guided SPF/DKIM/DMARC, webmail, IMAP/SMTP for any mail app, and a send API. Setup is a few DNS records; changes usually take effect within minutes, occasionally up to 48 hours. Start at oqumail.com.

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OVHcloud quirks

  • The pre-set mail records exist whether or not you bought an email plan. If you have an active MX Plan or Exchange product on the domain, cancel it or accept that its mailboxes stop receiving once the MX changes.
  • Targets end with a dot in the zone (mail.oqumail.com.). That is normal; type the name without the dot and OVH adds it.
  • OVH shows a notice that zone changes can take up to 24 hours. In practice they are visible within minutes; the notice covers worst cases.
  • Long DKIM values are accepted. If the panel rejects the value, remove any line breaks pasted from the dashboard.
  • Modify in text mode lets you paste all four records at once if you are comfortable with zone-file syntax.

Confirm it works

Run the domain through the free MX lookup to confirm only mail.oqumail.com remains, then the SPF checker and DMARC checker. Send a message from webmail to a Gmail address and check Show original for spf=pass and DKIM (a digital signature that proves your email was not tampered with)=pass. If the old OVH MX still shows in the lookup, a resolver is caching it; wait for the TTL to expire.

Common questions

Will deleting the OVH MX records break my website?

No. The website uses A and CNAME records; MX only decides where email goes.

Can I keep OVH email for some addresses and OquMail for others?

Not on the same domain. MX records send all mail for the domain to one provider. Move every address, or use a subdomain for the second provider.

My domain is at OVH but DNS is on Cloudflare. Where do the records go?

On Cloudflare. The DNS Zone tab at OVH is only authoritative when the domain uses OVH nameservers; our Cloudflare guide covers that panel.

Want to see how your own domain is set up? Use the free SPF checker, DMARC checker and MX lookup: they run in your browser and store nothing.

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