When you change a DNS record or nameservers, our side updates straight away. Other networks can still use a cached answer for a while. That wait is DNS propagation. It is expected, not a sign that the save failed.
We host DNS on AtlasDNS. For a domain registered with us, records live in the portal: Domains → the domain → DNS. AtlasDNS is the default. Do not send the name to a third-party DNS host.
Unsure what you are seeing? Open a support ticket and we will check with you.
What actually updates
There are two different changes, and they do not take the same time.
A record, MX, TXT, CNAME, or similar on AtlasDNS. The authoritative servers (ns1.atlasdns.net.au, ns2.atlasdns.net.au, ns3.atlasdns.net.au) serve the new value immediately. Other resolvers keep the old value until that record's TTL expires.
Nameservers at the registrar. The registry starts advertising AtlasDNS. Resolvers that still have the old nameservers cached keep asking the previous DNS host. They will not see our zone until that nameserver cache expires. This is usually slower than a record edit.
If the name is already on AtlasDNS, you only change records. You do not change nameservers again. See Point your domain at your hosting.
How a lookup works
Someone types yourdomain.com. Their computer does not ask you. It asks a resolver (their ISP, phone network, workplace, or a public resolver such as 8.8.8.8).
- The resolver checks its cache. If it still has an answer that has not expired, it returns that answer.
- If the cache is empty or expired, it asks the authoritative servers. For a domain on AtlasDNS, that is us.
- It caches the answer for the record's TTL, then hands the result back.
Millions of resolvers can each hold a different copy. Updating AtlasDNS does not wipe those copies.
TTL (Time To Live)
TTL is a number on each record, in seconds. It tells resolvers how long they may reuse the answer before asking again.
A common TTL on our zones is 3600 (1 hour). Before a planned move we often use 300 (5 minutes).
What that means in practice:
- You save a new A record on Domains → the domain → DNS.
- AtlasDNS answers with the new IP immediately.
- A resolver that cached the old IP 10 minutes ago, with TTL 3600, can keep handing out the old IP for about 50 more minutes.
- Another network whose cache already expired will see the new IP now.
Some resolvers clamp a very short TTL and keep the old answer longer than you asked. That is why a change that is instant on AtlasDNS can still take hours, and sometimes up to 48 hours, to show everywhere.
How long it usually takes
- Best case: a few minutes, when the previous TTL was short and most caches have already expired.
- Common case: a few hours, often within 4-24 hours.
- Slow case: up to 48 hours, especially after a nameserver change.
Record edits on AtlasDNS are often quick. Nameserver changes at the registrar take longer.
What you will see while it spreads
This is normal:
- Some visitors reach the new address. Their resolver already refreshed.
- Other visitors still reach the old address. Their resolver has not refreshed yet.
- The same person can see different results on home Wi-Fi and on mobile data. Those are different resolvers.
Do not keep saving a different IP every time someone reports the old site. Each extra change restarts the wait for anyone who just cached the value you just replaced.
Confirm the change is on the live zone first
Propagation only helps if the live nameservers already have the new value.
- Sign in at /portal.
- Open Domains, then the domain, then DNS.
- Confirm the mode:
- AtlasDNS (the usual case): the record must be on this page.
- cPanel Hosting: the portal says records are managed from the hosting control panel. Open the hosting service, click Log in to cPanel, and use the Zone Editor. Edits on the wrong side are not public.
- If the domain should be on AtlasDNS, the nameservers at the registrar should be:
ns1.atlasdns.net.au
ns2.atlasdns.net.au
ns3.atlasdns.net.auUse all three. If you edited AtlasDNS but the registrar still lists someone else's nameservers, the public internet is not asking us yet.
Unsure which mode you are on, or you cannot find the nameserver form at another registrar? Open a support ticket.
How to watch progress
Worldwide checkers
Use WhatsMyDNS or DNSChecker:
- Enter the name (
yourdomain.comorwww.yourdomain.com). - Choose the record type you changed (A, AAAA, MX, TXT, NS).
- Run the check. Locations update at different times. Mixed old and new values during the window is expected.
Authoritative versus a public resolver
On Mac or Linux, in Terminal:
dig yourdomain.com A @ns1.atlasdns.net.au
dig yourdomain.com A @8.8.8.8The first command is what AtlasDNS is serving now. The second is what a public resolver still has cached. If the first is already correct and the second is old, wait. Do not change the record again.
On Windows (PowerShell):
nslookup yourdomain.com ns1.atlasdns.net.au
nslookup yourdomain.com 8.8.8.8If the domain is in cPanel Hosting DNS mode, the live answers come from that hosting zone, not from a leftover edit on the AtlasDNS page. Check the Zone Editor, then look the name up the same way.
Your own computer
Your PC and browser also cache. After you confirm AtlasDNS is right:
Windows
ipconfig /flushdnsMac
sudo dscacheutil -flushcache
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponderThen open a private window, or try another network. A phone on mobile data is a useful second check.
Record types (A, MX, TXT, and the rest) are covered in DNS record types explained.
What to do while you wait
- Confirm the save on the live zone (AtlasDNS or the Zone Editor in cPanel Hosting mode).
- Leave the records alone for at least 24 hours unless we have asked you to fix a wrong value.
- Keep the old copy online if you just moved a site. Some visitors will still hit the previous IP until their cache expires.
- Check a private window or another network before you assume the change failed.
If most worldwide checkers show the new value, treat the change as done. Stragglers can take the rest of the 48 hours.
Shorten the wait on a planned change
Do this before you switch IPs or nameservers.
- A day or more ahead, set TTL to
300on the records you will change (Domains → the domain → DNS, or the Zone Editor in cPanel Hosting mode). - Wait at least as long as the old TTL so resolvers pick up the short timer. If the old TTL was 86400 seconds, wait a day after you save
300. - Make the real change (new A record, or nameservers to AtlasDNS).
- Wait for the cutover. Keep the old hosting account up.
- After a full day of clean checks, set TTL back to
3600(or similar) so resolvers are not querying us every few minutes forever.
You can still switch without lowering TTL first. The cutover just takes longer. If you cannot find TTL, open a support ticket.
Keep the old site up during a move
If you are migrating onto our shared hosting, VPS, or dedicated service:
- Copy and test the site here first. Do not switch public DNS until that copy works.
- Leave the previous hosting account running.
- Point the name at this account on AtlasDNS (A records if we already host the zone, or nameservers if the name is still elsewhere).
- Leave the old account online for at least 24 hours after the switch, longer if mail is moving too.
Full order: Migrate your website to us with minimal downtime.
FAQ
Can I force every network to refresh now?
No. We cannot flush other people's resolvers. Lower TTL before a planned change. After the change, wait and check AtlasDNS with dig as above.
Why does the site work for me but not for someone else?
Your resolver already has the new answer. Theirs does not. Try a private window or mobile data. Wait. This is the usual mid-propagation picture.
I changed the record in the portal and nothing public moved.
You may be on cPanel Hosting mode and need the Zone Editor, or the registrar may still list other nameservers. Confirm the live mode and the three AtlasDNS hosts. See Point your domain at your hosting.
It has been 48 hours and checkers still show the old value.
That is no longer a normal cache wait. Confirm the record exists on the live zone, the IP or MX is the one you meant, and the nameservers are ours. If that all looks right, open a support ticket and tell us the domain, the record you changed, and what the checkers still show.
The browser says the site cannot be reached.
That can be DNS, or the account, or the site itself. Use This site can't be reached and My website is down.