Can I speed up DNS propagation?

Not after the fact — caches expire on their own schedule. What you can do is lower the record's TTL before making a change, so the change that follows propagates quickly.

Why do different DNS checkers show different results?

They query different resolvers with independently expiring caches. Disagreement during a change is expected and resolves as TTLs expire.

How do I flush my own DNS cache?

On Windows: ipconfig /flushdns. On macOS: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder. Your router and ISP resolver have their own caches you can't flush — those expire on TTL.

How to check DNS propagation

After changing a DNS record, resolvers around the world update at different times. Here's how propagation works, how long it takes, and how to check it.

What propagation actually is

DNS answers are cached. When you change a record, resolvers keep serving their cached copy until its TTL (time to live) expires — there's no broadcast that pushes updates out. "Propagation" is just caches expiring at different times around the world.

That's why one person sees your new site while another still lands on the old one: their resolvers' caches expire at different moments.

How long it takes

It depends on the record's TTL at the moment you changed it. A 300-second TTL means most resolvers catch up within minutes; an 86,400-second (24-hour) TTL can take a full day. Nameserver (NS) changes are the slowest, sometimes up to 48 hours, because the TTLs sit higher up the chain.

Before a planned change, lower the TTL a day in advance — then the switch itself propagates quickly.

How to check it

Query several independent public resolvers (Google 8.8.8.8, Cloudflare 1.1.1.1, DNS.SB, AdGuard) and compare their answers. When they all return your new value, propagation is effectively complete. If one still returns the old value, its cache hasn't expired yet — that's normal, not an error.

Common questions

Can I speed up DNS propagation?: Not after the fact — caches expire on their own schedule. What you can do is lower the record's TTL before making a change, so the change that follows propagates quickly.
Why do different DNS checkers show different results?: They query different resolvers with independently expiring caches. Disagreement during a change is expected and resolves as TTLs expire.
How do I flush my own DNS cache?: On Windows: ipconfig /flushdns. On macOS: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder. Your router and ISP resolver have their own caches you can't flush — those expire on TTL.

Query multiple public resolvers and see if they agree.

Check your DNS propagation →