Miss Group EU

Changing a domain’s A record allows you to point your domain to a new server by specifying a new IPv4 address. This is a common step when moving to a new hosting provider or setting up a website on a new server.

An A record (Address Record) is a type of DNS (Domain Name System) record that maps a domain name to an IPv4 address. For example:

When users type your domain into a browser, the A record tells the internet which server to connect to.

To successfully change the A record, you must meet these requirements:

Your domain must be registered and active. If the domain is expired or unregistered, DNS settings cannot be modified.

Your domain must have valid NS (Name Server) records. The A record can only be changed where the domain’s NS (Name Server) records are pointing. This is typically your domain registrar (like GoDaddy or Namecheap) or a DNS hosting service (like Cloudflare or AWS Route 53).

1. Your domain must be registered and active. If the domain is expired or unregistered, DNS settings cannot be modified.
2. Your domain must have valid NS (Name Server) records. The A record can only be changed where the domain’s NS (Name Server) records are pointing. This is typically your domain registrar (like GoDaddy or Namecheap) or a DNS hosting service (like Cloudflare or AWS Route 53).

📝 Step-by-Step: Changing the A Record

Step 1: Identify Where Your Domain’s DNS is Hosted

Check the Name Server (NS) records for your domain. This tells you where your DNS settings (including A records) are managed.

Online tools like <a href="https://www.iv.lt/en/whois-domain-check/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.iv.lt/en/whois-domain-check/</a>

- Online tools like <a href="https://www.iv.lt/en/whois-domain-check/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.iv.lt/en/whois-domain-check/</a>
- Terminal command:

<code>nslookup -type=ns yourdomain.com</code>

Step 2: Log in to Your DNS Hosting Account

Once you’ve identified where the domain’s NS records point:

Log in to the DNS management console of that provider.

Navigate to the DNS Management or DNS Zone Editor section.

- Log in to the DNS management console of that provider.
- Navigate to the DNS Management or DNS Zone Editor section.

Find the existing A record for your domain (typically for <code>@</code> or <code>www</code>):

<code>@</code> refers to the root domain (e.g., <code>example.com</code>)

<code>www</code> refers to <code>www.example.com</code>

- <code>@</code> refers to the root domain (e.g., <code>example.com</code>)
- <code>www</code> refers to <code>www.example.com</code>

Edit the existing A record if one already exists.

Or add a new A record if none is present.

1. Edit the existing A record if one already exists.
2. Or add a new A record if none is present.

Name/Host: <code>@</code> (for root) or <code>www</code> (for subdomain)

Value: The new IPv4 address (e.g., <code>203.0.113.42</code>)

TTL (Time to Live): You can usually leave this as default (e.g., 3600 seconds)

- Name/Host: <code>@</code> (for root) or <code>www</code> (for subdomain)
- Type: A
- Value: The new IPv4 address (e.g., <code>203.0.113.42</code>)
- TTL (Time to Live): You can usually leave this as default (e.g., 3600 seconds)

Click Save or Apply to commit the change.

Changes to A records may take a few minutes to 48 hours to propagate worldwide, depending on TTL and caching.

To check if the update has propagated, use tools like:

<a href="https://dnschecker.org" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://dnschecker.org</a>

<code>nslookup yourdomain.com</code> in a terminal

- <a href="https://dnschecker.org" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://dnschecker.org</a>
- <code>nslookup yourdomain.com</code> in a terminal

Changing A records at the wrong provider: If your NS records point to Cloudflare, changing A records at your domain registrar won’t work.

Using an incorrect IP address: Double-check the destination server’s IP address.

Not allowing time for DNS propagation: Be patient and give time for DNS changes to take effect.

- Changing A records at the wrong provider: If your NS records point to Cloudflare, changing A records at your domain registrar won’t work.
- Using an incorrect IP address: Double-check the destination server’s IP address.
- Not allowing time for DNS propagation: Be patient and give time for DNS changes to take effect.