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How long does DNS propagation take?

Maxim Tsitsejev
Updated

Applies to: All plans.

A DNS or nameserver change usually takes effect within minutes to a few hours, and up to 24-48 hours in the worst case. There is no button that makes it instant — the wait is caused by other servers and your own devices caching the old answer until it expires. This article explains why, how the TTL controls it, and how to check progress.

Symptoms

  • You changed an A record, MX record or other DNS record in your client area, but the old value is still showing.
  • You pointed your domain's nameservers to Maxinodes (ns1.maxinodes.com and ns2.maxinodes.com) and the site still loads the old host.
  • The change works on one device or network but not another.

Common causes (most likely first)

  1. Caching (TTL has not expired yet). Resolvers around the world keep a copy of your old record for a set time. This is normal and expected.
  2. A nameserver change is involved. Moving nameservers takes longer to settle than editing a single record, because registries and resolvers re-fetch your whole zone.
  3. Your own device or router cached the old answer. Your computer, phone or home router often holds DNS results separately from the public internet.
  4. You edited the wrong place. Live DNS for Maxinodes is managed in the client area (Maxinodes-managed, on our own nameservers) — not the cPanel zone editor, which does not control your live DNS here.

How TTL controls the wait

TTL (Time To Live) is a number of seconds attached to each DNS record. It tells other servers how long they may cache the answer before checking again.

  • A record with a TTL of 3600 can be cached for up to one hour, so a change can take up to an hour to be seen everywhere.
  • A lower TTL (for example 300 = 5 minutes) means changes propagate faster, but resolvers ask more often.

Tip: if you know a change is coming (such as a planned cutover), lower the record's TTL a day or two before the change, then make the change, then raise it again once everything looks right. Records you create or edit in the client area DNS manager already use a sensible default TTL.

Result: Once every cached copy of the old record expires, every visitor worldwide sees the new value. Nothing else is required from you.

How to check propagation

  1. Use a public "DNS checker" website that queries many locations at once. Enter your domain and the record type (for example A or MX) and look for the new value appearing across regions.
  2. Remember that you may still see the old value locally because of your own device. To rule that out, try a different network (for example mobile data instead of Wi-Fi).
  3. For a site that should point at our server, confirm the A record resolves to 185.185.49.198 (node11). Customer sites are served over both IPv4 and IPv6 (dual-stack): when your domain uses our nameservers the AAAA record is created for you as well, so also check it resolves to 2a00:7c80:0:286:c::10. If you keep DNS elsewhere, add an A record to 185.185.49.198, and an AAAA record to 2a00:7c80:0:286:c::10 yourself.
  4. For nameserver changes, check that your domain reports ns1.maxinodes.com and ns2.maxinodes.com.

If that did not work

  • Still old after a few hours? Wait until you are past the record's TTL (up to 24-48 hours after a nameserver change). Most changes are far quicker.
  • Edited DNS but nothing changed at all? Make sure you edited records in the client area DNS manager, not the cPanel zone editor, and that your domain's nameservers point to Maxinodes.
  • Flush your local cache. Restart your browser, your device, or your router to clear locally cached DNS.
  • Email not flowing after an MX change? Email DNS values must match exactly what your provider supplied — see the related email DNS guide.

If it is well past 48 hours and the new value still has not appeared anywhere, contact support with your domain, the record you changed and when you changed it.

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