When you purchase a domain from a marketplace or migrate your domain to a new host, you are required to update nameservers to point to the new host’s DNS. Usually, these DNS changes take effect within a few minutes, but sometimes you might notice that your website continues to redirect to the old host’s DNS.
This is a problem that I encountered when I purchased a domain on Dynadot Marketplace and it was redirecting to Sedo using their domain parking Nameservers. 48 hours after updating nameservers, the website was still redirecting to Sedo until I used the temporary solution provided below. Now, everything is working well.
Why Website is Redirecting to Old Host
The main cause of this issue is your ISP’s DNS cache. When you visit a website, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) saves the DNS information for that site to speed up future access. However, this cached information can cause problems when you’ve recently updated your DNS settings. Your ISP might still be holding onto the old DNS records, causing your website to load using the previous host’s DNS.
In most cases, this DNS cache refresh should happen within 24 hours, but some network providers may take up to three days to update. Contacting your network provider’s support team might not always help, as they often lack the technical knowledge to address DNS caching issues.
Confirm if it is your network problem
To determine if the issue lies with your network, try accessing your website using a VPN or a different network. If your site loads correctly without redirecting to the old host, then the problem is likely with your ISP’s DNS cache.
You can also use Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool to analyze your website’s page speed. Although this tool is primarily used for checking page load speed, it can help you know if Google can access the new version of your website. If Google can reach your site without issues, then it’s safe to assume that most users around the world are can access your website using the new DNS.
Solution: Change Your Computer DNS Settings
While waiting for your ISP to refresh its DNS cache, you can temporarily change your computer DNS settings to use a public DNS server like Google DNS or Cloudflare DNS. This will bypass your ISP’s cached DNS records and fetch fresh ones directly from the DNS provider.
How to Change DNS Settings on Windows Device
- Right-click the network icon and select “Open Network & Internet settings.”
- Click on “Change adapter options.”
- Right-click your active network connection (e.g., Ethernet or Wi-Fi) and choose “Properties.”
- Scroll down and double-click on “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4).”
- Select “Use the following DNS server addresses” and enter the following DNS server addresses: Google DNS: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 or Cloudflare DNS: 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1
- Click “OK” to save the changes.
- Restart Your Connection:
How to Change DNS Settings on macOS
- Click the Apple logo in the top left corner of your screen and select “System Preferences.”
- Choose “Network.”
- Click your active network connection (e.g., Wi-Fi or Ethernet)
- Click “Advanced” at the bottom right.
- Go to the “DNS” tab.
- Click the “+” button under the “DNS Servers” box and add the following addresses: Google DNS: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 or Cloudflare DNS: 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1
- Click “OK,” then “Apply” to save the changes.
- Restart Your Connection:
For Office Networks
If you’re in an office and multiple colleagues are experiencing the same issue, you might want to change the DNS server addresses on the router itself. Update the router’s DNS settings to use Google DNS or Cloudflare DNS one provided above to ensure that everyone connected to the network can access the website using the new host’s DNS.
Leave a Comment