No A or AAAA records

Your domain has no address records in DNS, so browsers can't find your site at all. DomainDash shows the Domain routing card as Failing, and the fix is usually a single record you can add back in a couple of minutes.

Symptom

• The site's Domain routing card shows Failing. If the site can't be reached, the site card shows Down. If it still responds, the site card shows Alert once the DNS incident opens (two failing DNS checks in a row)
• Browsers show "This site can't be reached" with "DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN" or "ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED"
• Running dig example.com A +short returns nothing (empty output)
• The full dig example.com A response shows NXDOMAIN (the hostname has no records of any type) or NOERROR with an empty ANSWER section (it has other record types but no A or AAAA)
• If the whole domain returns NXDOMAIN and your DNS provider still lists the records, the domain may have expired or been suspended (see domain registration troubleshooting)

What it means

Every domain needs at least one A record (for IPv4) or AAAA record (for IPv6) to be reachable. These records are the DNS entries that translate example.com into the IP address of your server. Without them, DNS lookups return NXDOMAIN (the hostname has no records of any type) or NOERROR with an empty answer (it has other record types but no A or AAAA), and browsers display "This site can't be reached" before attempting a connection.

The no_dns_records error means DomainDash queried your domain and got back an answer with no A or AAAA record. Unlike a nameserver problem, the nameservers are responding but have nothing to return.

DomainDash picks this up at its next DNS check.

Common causes

• Records were accidentally deleted in the DNS provider's dashboard
• A DNS provider migration was started but the records weren't recreated at the new provider
• A domain transfer wiped the zone configuration
• Hosting provider deactivated the DNS records due to a billing issue or account suspension
• A CNAME record at the apex of the domain is hiding the A record (some providers don't allow both)
• The domain was freshly registered but no DNS records have been added yet

How to fix

1. Confirm the records are missing. Run:

   dig example.com A +short
   dig example.com AAAA +short

   If both return nothing, confirm it's not a resolver cache issue by trying against a public resolver:

   dig example.com A +short @1.1.1.1

   Empty output across multiple resolvers confirms the records are missing.

2. Log in to your DNS provider. Open the DNS management dashboard for your domain (common providers: Cloudflare, AWS Route 53, Namecheap, GoDaddy). Look for any A or AAAA records at the root of your domain, typically shown as @ or a blank hostname field. Note whether any records existed and were deleted, or whether this zone is empty.

3. Add or restore the missing records. You'll need the IP address of your server, found in your hosting provider's control panel. Add an A record:

   • Type: A
   • Name: @ (or leave blank, which means the root domain)
   • Value: your server's IPv4 address (e.g. 203.0.113.42)
   • TTL: 300–3600 seconds (use a lower value during changes; 3600 is fine for stable records)

   If your server also has an IPv6 address, add an AAAA record in the same way. Having at least one A record is sufficient for most sites.

4. Check for a CNAME at the apex. If there's a CNAME record set at the root domain (@), some DNS providers won't serve an A record alongside it. The CNAME takes precedence and hides your address records. Delete the conflicting CNAME and replace it with an A record pointing directly to your server's IP. (Cloudflare handles this case with CNAME flattening, so you won't hit this problem there.)

5. Verify the record is live. Wait a minute or two, then check from external resolvers:

   dig example.com A +short @8.8.8.8
   dig example.com A +short @1.1.1.1

   Both should return your server's IP address. If one does and the other doesn't, propagation is still in progress. Wait a few minutes and try again.

6. Let DomainDash pick up the change. Once dig confirms the record is visible, open the site in DomainDash. The DNS check returns from Failing to Healthy at its next scheduled run. DomainDash asks a public DNS resolver, the way a visitor's device would, and doesn't query your authoritative nameservers directly. If the check is still Failing after that, the old (empty) response may still be in that public resolver's cache, which can last up to the record's TTL. Wait for the TTL to expire and check again. (If the site is still in setup and failed its first checks, use Retry checks to re-run them straight away.)

How to verify

After fixing:

1. dig example.com A +short @8.8.8.8 should return your server's IP address.
2. dig example.com A +short @1.1.1.1 should return the same IP.
3. Open the site in a browser. It should load (assuming the server itself is healthy).
4. In DomainDash, the site's Domain routing card shows the DNS check as Healthy.

If the records are visible in dig but the site still won't load in a browser, you've fixed the DNS and there may be a separate server or uptime issue. See site is down.

If the records are visible but propagation to all resolvers is still in progress, see DNS changes not propagating.

Related

• DNS changes not propagating — if you've added records but they're not showing up everywhere yet
• Nameservers unreachable — if the nameservers themselves aren't responding
• DNS resolution failed — the uptime-side error that appears when checks fail because of DNS
• DNS health — how DomainDash runs DNS checks