Complete Guide to Email Routing in cPanel

Email is the lifeline of business communication. Behind the scenes, an essential system decides where emails for your domain should go — that system is Email Routing.

Whether you're hosting emails with Govaio.com, using a third-party provider like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, or setting up a custom mail server, email routing determines the final destination for incoming emails.

This article is written exclusively for Govaio.com clients and explains how to use the Email Routing interface in cPanel to configure email delivery correctly.

📥 What Is Email Routing?

Email Routing tells the cPanel server how to handle incoming email for your domain. Depending on where your email service is hosted, you must set the correct routing option. This ensures that your emails are not misrouted or bounced.

🚦 Types of Email Routing Options in cPanel

When configuring email routing in your Govaio-hosted cPanel account, you’ll have these four options:

1. Local Mail Exchanger

Use this if your email is hosted on the same server as your website (i.e., with Govaio).

The server will accept and deliver emails for the domain locally.

✅ Best for most Govaio clients using our included email hosting.

2. Remote Mail Exchanger

Use this if your email is hosted elsewhere (e.g., Google Workspace, Zoho Mail, Microsoft 365).

The cPanel server will not attempt to deliver mail locally, instead it uses DNS (MX records) to route to an external provider.

✅ Required when using third-party mail systems.

3. Backup Mail Exchanger

The server will act as a backup if the primary mail server is down.

Email is stored locally and delivered once the primary server is back online.

🔄 Used in advanced enterprise configurations.

4. Automatically Detect Configuration

cPanel will try to choose based on current MX records.

Not always accurate; best to manually set the option to avoid misrouting.

⚠️ Govaio recommends manual selection for mission-critical email.

🛠 How to Set Up Email Routing in Govaio cPanel

Step-by-Step Instructions:

Login to your Govaio cPanel
👉 Go to https://govaio.com/client-login

Navigate to "Email Routing"
In the Email section, click on "Email Routing".

Choose Your Domain
Select the domain you want to configure.

Select a Routing Option
Pick from:

  • Local Mail Exchanger
  • Remote Mail Exchanger
  • Backup Mail Exchanger
  • Automatically Detect

Click "Change" to save.

🎉 Your routing preference is now updated.

🧪 Real-World Examples for Govaio Users

ScenarioRouting Option
Hosting email and website with Govaio✅ Local Mail Exchanger
Using Google Workspace for email✅ Remote Mail Exchanger
Setting up MX Failover with Govaio as backup✅ Backup Mail Exchanger
Testing configuration temporarily⚠️ Automatically Detect (Not recommended for long-term use)

🧠 Why It’s Critical to Set This Correctly

Misconfigured email routing is one of the most common reasons for email issues on hosted domains.

Common Issues:

  • 🔁 Emails bounce back with "relay denied" or "mailbox unavailable"
  • 🕳 Emails are received by the wrong mailbox (e.g., wrong server)
  • 📪 No email delivery even when MX records are correct

Why?

Even if your MX records point to Google Workspace, if your cPanel is still set to Local Mail Exchanger, it will try to deliver locally — and fail.

🔧 How to Confirm Email Routing Is Working

Step 1: Verify MX Records

Use Govaio's DNS Zone Editor or third-party tools like:

https://mxtoolbox.com

Ensure MX points to the correct external server.

Step 2: Send Test Email

Send an email from a Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook address to the domain and verify delivery.

Step 3: Check Mail Logs (Advanced)

For Govaio's technical customers:

  • Use WHM → Mail Delivery Reports

Or request support to assist with log review.

❗️Common Mistakes and Troubleshooting Tips

❌ Mistake 1: Using "Local" Instead of "Remote"

Symptom: Email bounces or never arrives when using third-party services like Google Workspace.

Fix: Set to Remote Mail Exchanger and save changes.

❌ Mistake 2: Changing MX Records but Not Email Routing

  • Changing MX without updating routing confuses cPanel.

Fix: Always update Email Routing along with DNS records.

❌ Mistake 3: Setting “Automatically Detect” in Production

  • cPanel may incorrectly assume local delivery.

Fix: Manually choose Local or Remote.

❌ Mistake 4: Using "Backup" Without a Primary Server Configured

  • If there's no working primary MX, mail just queues and never gets delivered.

Fix: Set this only if you're certain it's part of a redundant configuration.

🧭 Best Practices for Govaio Clients

✅ Always match Email Routing with your MX setup.

✅ Use Local when using Govaio's in-house email.

✅ Use Remote when using external services (Google, Microsoft).

✅ After changing routing, wait 10–30 mins for propagation.

🔐 Email Routing and Security

Email routing also ties into email security, especially with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records.

Key Security Tips:

  • When using Remote Mail, ensure DNS records authorize the third-party sender.
  • Use SPF and DKIM to improve email deliverability.
  • Add DMARC for protection against spoofing and phishing.
  • Govaio clients can request free DNS email authentication setup via the support team.

Email Routing is a critical but often overlooked setting in your Govaio cPanel account. Configured correctly, it ensures reliable, secure email delivery — configured incorrectly, it leads to missed messages and bounced emails.

This guide was created exclusively for Govaio.com clients to make sure your email configuration is rock solid and error-free.