This article provides reasons DNS may not work for a domain and provides steps to troubleshoot.
Symptoms
In web browsers such as Safari or Chrome, there are several commonly observable DNS errors:
- This site can’t be reached
- This webpage is not available
- err_name_not_resolved
- Can't find the server
- Error 1001 DNS resolution error
Common causes and resolutions
Below are the most common causes for DNS resolution errors along with suggested solutions.
Mistyped domain or subdomain
Verify that the domain or subdomain was correctly spelled in the request URL.
Missing DNS records
Ensure that you have the necessary DNS records in the DNS app of your Cloudflare dashboard. This includes having the following records:
- The root domain (e.g., example.com)
- Any existing subdomains (e.g., www.example.com, blog.example.com, etc.)
Learn more about setting up A and CNAME DNS records.
DNSSEC wasn't disabled before the domain was added to Cloudflare
DNS resolution failures occur if DNSSEC is not disabled at your domain provider before you add the domain to Cloudflare.
Nameservers no longer point to Cloudflare
If you manage DNS records via the DNS app in Cloudflare's Dashboard and your domain stops pointing to Cloudflare's nameservers, DNS resolution will break. This can occur if your domain registrar switches the nameservers for your domain to point to their default nameservers. To confirm if this is the problem, check whether your domain uses Cloudflare's nameservers.
Unresolved IP address
In rare cases, the DNS resolver in the client requesting the URL might fail to resolve a DNS record to a valid IP address. Reload the page after a short wait to see if the problem disappears. This issue is unrelated to Cloudflare, but using Cloudflare's DNS resolver may help. Contact your hosting provider for additional help with your current DNS resolver.