Common DNS problems & fixes
A troubleshooting guide for the most frequent DNS problems — including website not loading, email not working, and SSL errors after DNS changes.
DNS problems can make your website unreachable or your email stop working. Most issues fall into a small set of common patterns, and many can be diagnosed and fixed quickly. This guide walks through the most frequent DNS problems and what to do about each one.
Quick summary
The most common DNS problems are: incorrect record values, missing records, changes not propagating yet, duplicate conflicting records, and forgetting to set up email records after changing nameservers. Check your DNS records carefully and allow up to 48 hours for changes to propagate before concluding something is broken.
Problem 1: Website not loading after a DNS change
Symptoms: Site shows an error, is unreachable, or still shows the old site.
Likely causes and fixes:
| Cause | Fix |
|---|---|
| DNS propagation still in progress | Wait up to 48 hours; check progress at dnschecker.org |
| Incorrect IP address in A record | Double-check the IP address against what your host provided |
| A record pointing to wrong server | Verify the IP address matches your current host's server |
| www CNAME not set up | Add a CNAME for www pointing to your root domain |
| Old nameservers still in place | Verify nameserver changes at your registrar; allow time to propagate |
Try viewing your site in an incognito/private browser window. If it loads there but not normally, your browser may have cached the old DNS. See Browser cache and hard refresh.
Problem 2: Email not working after changing nameservers
Symptoms: Incoming email not arriving; outgoing email bouncing; email marked as undeliverable.
This is one of the most common problems after migrating to a new host or DNS provider. When you change nameservers, all DNS records need to be recreated at the new provider — including MX records.
Fix:
Log in to your new nameserver provider (e.g., Cloudflare, new registrar).
Check if MX records exist for your domain. If they're missing, that's the problem.
Add the correct MX records from your email provider (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, etc.). These are usually listed in your email provider's help documentation.
Allow propagation time. Email should start working within a few hours once MX records are correct.
Also check that SPF and DKIM TXT records were transferred. See Email DNS records.
Problem 3: SSL/HTTPS errors after DNS changes
Symptoms: Browser shows "Your connection is not private" or "Not secure" warning.
Likely causes:
- SSL certificate hasn't been issued yet for the new configuration
- Your hosting account needs to provision SSL for the new domain
- Mixed content — some elements loading over HTTP on an HTTPS page
Fix: Contact your host or us. SSL is usually issued automatically within minutes to a few hours of DNS pointing to the correct server. If the error persists, we'll need to check the SSL provisioning status.
Problem 4: Domain not found (NXDOMAIN)
Symptoms: "Server not found" or "DNS address could not be found" errors.
Likely causes:
- Domain has expired. See What happens when a domain expires.
- Nameservers are misconfigured or pointing to servers that no longer exist.
- A record has been deleted accidentally.
Fix: Check your domain's status and nameserver settings at your registrar. Do a WHOIS lookup to confirm the domain is active and the nameservers are correct.
Problem 5: Duplicate or conflicting records
Symptoms: Inconsistent behavior; site loads sometimes and not others; email delivers to some people but not others.
Likely cause: Multiple DNS records of the same type for the same name, with different values. For example, two A records for @ with different IP addresses, or two SPF TXT records.
Fix: Review your DNS records carefully. Remove duplicates. For SPF, consolidate into a single record. For A records, keep only the one with the correct IP address.
Problem 6: Changes not taking effect
Symptoms: You've saved a DNS change but nothing has changed.
Possible causes:
- The change didn't save correctly. Log in to your DNS panel and verify the record is actually there with the new value.
- The old record is still cached. Check the TTL on the record; you may need to wait for it to expire.
- You edited the wrong record. Make sure you edited the record for the right hostname.
Tools for diagnosing DNS problems
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| dnschecker.org | Shows how your DNS records appear from locations worldwide |
| whatsmydns.net | Global DNS propagation checker |
| mxtoolbox.com | Checks MX records, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and blacklists |
| lookup.icann.org | WHOIS lookup for registrar and nameserver info |
Common questions
Related guides
- DNS propagation: why changes take time
- DNS records explained (A, CNAME, MX, TXT)
- Email DNS records (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
- Nameservers vs DNS records
- My website is down — what do I do?
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