Checking Whether Your DNS Changes Have Taken Effect

Checking Whether Your DNS Changes Have Taken Effect

Learn how to check whether a DNS change has taken effect. When you change a DNS record or your nameservers, the new details do not reach every network at the same moment. Until they do, some people see the new location and others see the old one.

Steps

1. Make a note of the record you changed and the value you expect to see
2. Open https://dnschecker.org in a web browser
3. Enter your domain name, select the record type and click Search. Use A for your website, MX for email, NS for nameservers and TXT for SPF and DKIM
4. Compare the results with the value you expect. Each location that shows the new value has received the change
5. If some locations still show the old value, the change is still spreading and there is nothing more you need to do
6. If every location shows the old value, check that the record was saved with the provider that runs your DNS. This is the provider named in the NS results
7. To make your own computer fetch the new details, open Command Prompt on Windows and run ipconfig /flushdns, or open Terminal on a Mac and run sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

Important: The most common cause of a DNS change not working is editing records in the wrong place. If your domain uses Cloudflare nameservers, for example, changes made in Plesk have no effect.

Your DNS change has taken effect once the checker shows the new value in every location.