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Troubleshoot Domain Resolution Issues

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To use DNSimple DNS hosting, the domain must be delegated to DNSimple’s name servers, and its zone must be active in your account.

To see where a domain is delegated:

  • If the domain is registered with DNSimple, open the domain page and check the card on the tab.
  • If the domain is registered elsewhere, use dig or a WHOIS lookup (see below). If the domain is not delegated to DNSimple, the record editor also shows a Domain Resolution Check with the name servers the domain currently uses.

The following is a list of common issues to check if a domain is not resolving correctly.

Check that the zone is active

An inactive zone does not answer queries, even when the domain is delegated to DNSimple. On the domain’s tab, look for the card. If it says , activate the zone.

Check the domain with +trace

The +trace option from dig shows exactly how the name is delegated.

Instead of asking a resolver, dig queries each name server in the chain itself, starting from the root name servers. It is useful for debugging delegation issues, because it shows what the registry publishes rather than what a resolver has cached. See How to Use dig for a walkthrough of the output.

$ dig NS example.com +trace

The delegated name servers should match DNSimple name servers.

If they do not, update the name servers to point to DNSimple.

If you recently switched, the update may be in progress. See Check name server list in the WHOIS response and Check name server propagation delay.

Check that the domain is using all DNSimple name servers

DNSimple provides four name servers. All four should be listed to ensure redundancy and availability, so DNS will continue to resolve if one server is temporarily unavailable due to maintenance or an incident.

DNSimple name servers are:

ns1.dnsimple-edge.com
ns2.dnsimple-edge.net
ns3.dnsimple-edge.io
ns4.dnsimple-edge.org

For a compact verification reference including dig commands, see the Name Server Delegation Checklist.

Check that the domain is using only DNSimple name servers

In some cases, a misconfiguration may result in DNSimple name servers listed along with third party name servers.

Problematic configuration example:

$ dig NS example.com +short
ns1.dnsimple-edge.com.
ns2.dnsimple-edge.net.
ns3.dnsimple-edge.io.
ns4.dnsimple-edge.org.
ns1.thirdparty.com.
ns2.thirdparty.com.

This configuration may lead to random DNS resolution issues, especially if you are using DNSimple DNS custom features like ALIAS or URL records, and/or the two DNS services are not in sync.

Note

When you have Secondary DNS enabled, your domain should not point only to DNSimple name servers; both DNSimple name servers and your Secondary DNS provider’s name servers should be listed.

Check name server list in the WHOIS response

Use a WHOIS service to run a WHOIS query for the domain. The majority of domain registries include the name server list in the WHOIS response.

$ whois dnsimple.com

Domain Name: DNSIMPLE.COM
Registrar: 1API GmbH
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.1api.net
Registrar URL: http://www.1api.net
Name Server: NS1.DNSIMPLE-EDGE.COM
Name Server: NS2.DNSIMPLE-EDGE.NET
Name Server: NS3.DNSIMPLE-EDGE.IO
Name Server: NS4.DNSIMPLE-EDGE.ORG
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited
Updated Date: 2026-06-17T16:14:01Z
Creation Date: 2010-04-07T17:32:16Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2029-04-07T17:32:16Z

The name server should match DNSimple name servers and the response returned from dig. If it does not, make sure to point the domain to DNSimple.

If you recently updated the domain, see Check name server propagation delay.

DNSSEC considerations

If you switched DNS providers recently, read Manage DS Records When Changing DNS to understand how DNSSEC can affect your domain’s resolution.

If you transferred your domain from another registrar, check our suggestions at the Preparing DNS Before Transferring a Domain Into DNSimple > DNSSEC considerations article to pinpoint potential issues.

Note

If your domain is properly delegated to DNSimple but specific records are not resolving, see Troubleshoot Record Resolution Issues for information about:

  • Querying DNSimple name servers directly to bypass caching
  • DNS propagation delays and TTL values
  • Verifying records exist in our system
  • Troubleshooting specific record types
  • Checking for missing A or AAAA records at the apex domain

DNS server not responding

If you see a “DNS server not responding” error, it means your device cannot reach a DNS server to resolve domain names. Common causes:

  • Local network issue: Your internet connection may be down or unstable. Try restarting your router or switching to a different network (e.g., mobile data).
  • DNS resolver issue: The DNS resolver your device is configured to use may be unreachable. Try switching to a public resolver like Google DNS (8.8.8.8) or Cloudflare DNS (1.1.1.1) temporarily.
  • Stale local DNS cache: Your device may have cached a bad response. Flush your DNS cache to force a fresh lookup.
  • Name server delegation problem: If the error only affects your specific domain, the domain may not be properly delegated. Check delegation using dig NS yourdomain.com +trace and verify the name servers match DNSimple name servers.
  • Firewall or VPN interference: A firewall or VPN may be blocking DNS traffic on port 53. Try disabling them temporarily to isolate the issue.

If the problem persists only for your domain (and other domains resolve fine), the issue is likely with name server delegation rather than your local DNS setup.

Common error messages and what they mean

When troubleshooting domain resolution, you may encounter specific error messages. Here is what they typically indicate:

“No address associated with hostname” or “Name or service not known”

  • Usually means there is no A or AAAA record for the queried hostname
  • Check if the record exists in your DNSimple account
  • Verify you are querying the correct hostname (e.g., www.example.com vs example.com)

“NXDOMAIN” or “Non-existent domain”

  • The domain or hostname does not exist in DNS
  • Verify the domain is properly delegated to DNSimple
  • Check that you are using the correct domain name (typos are common)

“SERVFAIL” or “Server failure”

  • Often indicates a DNSSEC validation failure
  • Check if DNSSEC is enabled and properly configured
  • Verify DS records are correct if using DNSSEC
  • See Troubleshoot DNSSEC for more details

“REFUSED”

  • The DNS server refused to answer the query
  • If a DNSimple name server (for example, dig @ns1.dnsimple-edge.com example.com) answers REFUSED, it is not serving the zone. Check that the zone is in your DNSimple account and is active
  • Verify the domain is properly delegated

“Timeout”

  • The DNS query did not receive a response in time
  • May indicate network issues or name server problems
  • Try querying a different DNSimple name server
  • Check the DNSimple Status Page for known issues. You can subscribe to notifications to receive alerts during incidents.

Have more questions?

If you have additional questions or need any assistance with your domain resolution, just contact support, and we will be happy to help.