DNS Propagation and Caching

1

What Propagation Means

The DNS change may already be live at the source.

DNS information is looked up through a chain of DNS servers. Your authoritative nameservers provide the official current answer, but internet providers, public DNS resolvers, routers and devices can temporarily cache an earlier answer.

When a cached copy expires, the resolver asks the authoritative DNS service again and receives the new value.

Propagation is mostly cache expiry.

A DNS record does not normally need to be copied manually around the world. The authoritative DNS service publishes the current answer, while other DNS resolvers refresh their cached copy as its TTL expires.

2

TTL

TTL controls how long a DNS answer may be cached.

TTL means Time To Live. It is stored in seconds and tells DNS resolvers how long they may keep a record before asking for a fresh copy.

Example TTL	Approximate cache time
300	5 minutes
3600	1 hour
14400	4 hours
86400	24 hours

If a resolver cached the old record shortly before you changed it, that resolver can continue returning the old value until the previous TTL has expired.

Lowering the TTL after the change does not clear an old cache.

Resolvers that already cached the previous record can keep it for the TTL that was in effect when they received it. For a planned DNS move, lower the TTL before the change if you need a shorter transition.

3

Record Change or Nameserver Change?

Nameserver changes are a larger DNS change.

Change	What is changing	What to expect
A, CNAME, MX, TXT or other record	A record inside the existing authoritative DNS zone.	Often becomes visible quickly, but some resolvers can keep the old value until the record's previous TTL expires.
Nameservers	The domain is delegated to a different authoritative DNS service.	Usually takes longer to become consistent because delegation and resolver caches are involved. Allow up to 24–48 hours for older cached paths to disappear, although many networks update sooner.

Both DNS zones may be used during a nameserver transition.

For a period after changing nameservers, some users can reach the old DNS provider while others reach the new one. Keep the important website and email records correct at both sides during a planned transition where possible.

4

What You May See

Different networks can temporarily get different answers.

During a DNS transition it is possible for one device to show the new website while another still shows the old website. Email can show similar behaviour if MX records or nameservers have changed.

Your home Wi-Fi may still show the old website while mobile data shows the new one.
One public DNS resolver may have refreshed while another still has a cached result.
A computer or router can temporarily retain a local DNS cache.
A browser or CDN can also cache website content, which is separate from DNS caching.

Incognito mode does not guarantee a fresh DNS lookup.

Private browsing can avoid some browser content caches, but the operating system, router or DNS resolver can still have an older DNS answer cached.

5

Check the Change

Confirm the authoritative DNS is correct first.

Before assuming there is a propagation problem, confirm the change was made in the DNS service that is actually authoritative for the domain.

Check which nameservers the domain currently uses.
If the domain uses ns1.hostmate-cloud.com, ns2.hostmate-cloud.com and ns3.hostmate-cloud.com, manage its records in cPanel → Zone Editor.
If the domain uses Hostmate / Synergy DNS Hosting, manage its records through the Hostmate Client Area → DNS Management.
If it uses another provider's nameservers, make the DNS change with that provider.
Check that the required record has the correct hostname, record type and value.

Changing the wrong DNS zone will never propagate.

If a domain is using another provider's nameservers, changing a copy of the zone in cPanel has no effect on the live DNS. The authoritative nameservers determine which DNS records the internet uses.

Manage DNS Records See where to add and edit DNS records for cPanel DNS and Hostmate / Synergy DNS Hosting.

Change Nameservers Use this if you need to move the domain to a different authoritative DNS service.

6

Still Seeing the Old Result?

Check for caching before changing the DNS again.

Try the domain from another network, such as mobile data instead of Wi-Fi.
Check whether both the root domain and www use the expected records.
Check for an old AAAA record if IPv6 users appear to reach a different server.
If the website uses Cloudflare or another CDN/proxy, remember that its content cache is separate from DNS.
Check the local computer's hosts file if only one computer consistently reaches the wrong server.
Allow the previous TTL to expire before repeatedly editing a record that is already correct.

Website caching and DNS caching are different.

If DNS already points to the correct server but the page itself looks old, the cause may be LiteSpeed Cache, a CDN, a browser cache or another website cache rather than DNS propagation.

7

When to Contact Support

Do not wait on “propagation” if the authoritative DNS is wrong.

If the authoritative nameservers are returning the wrong record, the problem is not simply propagation and should be corrected at the DNS source.

If you are a Hostmate customer and are unsure, send us the domain name, the DNS record you changed, the old value, the new value and approximately when you changed it. We can check which DNS service is authoritative and whether the new record is being published correctly.

Recent record change If the authoritative value is correct, allow the previous TTL to expire on resolvers that still have the old answer.

Recent nameserver change Make sure the new DNS zone contains all required website and email records, then allow time for the delegation change and older caches to clear.

DNS propagation: why changes are not always visible immediately.