Domain not resolving

Your domain isn't translating to an IP address, so visitors are getting 'This site can't be reached' instead of your site. Match your error to the table below and you'll be on the right page within seconds.

Symptom

• DomainDash marks the DNS check as Failing (and the site shows Needs attention)
• Browsers show "This site can't be reached", "ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED", or "DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN"
• Running dig example.com returns NXDOMAIN (no records) or SERVFAIL (nameserver error)
• The problem affects all visitors, not just you. It's not a local caching issue

What it means

"Domain not resolving" is a symptom, not a single failure. When a visitor types your URL into a browser, the first thing that happens is a DNS lookup: the browser asks the internet "what IP address does this domain point to?" If that lookup fails, no connection is ever attempted. The browser shows a generic error page instead.

There are several distinct reasons a DNS lookup can fail, each with a different fix. The good news: DomainDash has already caught the failure, so you can stop guessing and get straight to the cause. The fastest route is to identify which specific failure you're dealing with, then follow the guide for that issue.

Possible underlying issues

Match what you see in your browser or in DomainDash to the right page:

What you're seeing	Likely issue	Page
NXDOMAIN / "This site can't be reached"	No A/AAAA records	No A or AAAA records
SERVFAIL / DNS server timeout	Nameservers unreachable	Nameservers unreachable
Worked before, broken since a recent DNS change	DNS changes not propagating	DNS changes not propagating
DNS resolves but site won't load	Uptime-side problem, not DNS	Site is down

How to identify which issue you have

1. Open DomainDash and look at the DNS check status for the affected site, then match the symptom you see (NXDOMAIN, SERVFAIL, or results that differ by location after a recent change) to the right page above.

2. Run dig from a terminal to see what's happening at the DNS level:

   dig example.com

   Replace example.com with your domain. An NXDOMAIN response means no records exist for this domain. A SERVFAIL response means the nameservers returned an error. A timeout means the nameservers aren't reachable at all.

3. Try a different resolver to check whether the issue is global or resolver-specific:

   dig example.com @8.8.8.8
   dig example.com @1.1.1.1

   If one resolver returns records and another doesn't, DNS changes may still be propagating — some resolvers have cached the old state. If all resolvers fail, the problem is with your domain's DNS configuration.

4. Check your domain registration with a WHOIS lookup:

   whois example.com

   Confirm the domain hasn't expired and that the nameservers listed match those in your DNS provider. A suspended or expired domain returns NXDOMAIN regardless of your DNS records.

How to verify

After applying the fix from the specific issue page:

1. Run dig example.com @8.8.8.8. The ANSWER section should contain an IP address.
2. Run dig example.com @1.1.1.1 to confirm across a second resolver.
3. In DomainDash, open the site's Routing page. The DNS check re-runs on its normal schedule, so once your fix is live the DNS check status returns from Failing to Healthy on its own within a check cycle. There's nothing to click.

Related

• DNS troubleshooting — the full list of DNS issues
• DNS health — how DomainDash runs DNS checks
• DNS resolution failed — the uptime-side equivalent when the HTTP check fails because of DNS
• How incidents work — how DomainDash confirms and notifies about DNS failures