DNS Check
Confirm that a domain resolves to a live server and see where it points — with failures like NXDOMAIN explained in plain English.
PingStuff resolves your domain as part of the check and shows whether it points to a working address, so a DNS problem is separated clearly from a server that is simply down.
DNS is the internet's address book: it turns your domain name into the numeric IP address where your site actually lives. Enter your domain above and PingStuff looks it up, confirms it resolves to a reachable address, and continues the check from there — so you can tell a naming problem apart from a server problem.
When DNS fails, the most common result is NXDOMAIN, which simply means "this name doesn't exist" as far as the internet can see — usually because the domain expired, was mistyped, or its records were removed. Other failures include a domain that resolves but points to the wrong or an unreachable address.
What to do next
- If PingStuff reports NXDOMAIN, check that your domain is still registered and has not expired, then confirm the DNS records exist at your registrar or DNS provider.
- If the domain resolves but the site is unreachable, DNS is doing its job — the problem is the server or hosting, not the name.
- If you just changed DNS records, give them time. Changes can take minutes to a day or more to spread, depending on the record's TTL, and old answers may linger in caches.
Want the deeper story? Our guide what DNS failure means walks through NXDOMAIN, TTLs and propagation in plain English. To be alerted the moment your domain stops resolving, set up monitoring.
Frequently asked questions
What does NXDOMAIN mean?
It's the DNS reply for 'no such domain.' The name you looked up has no record the internet can find — often because the domain expired, was typed wrong, or its DNS records were deleted.
Why do DNS changes take so long to take effect?
Each record has a TTL — a time-to-live that tells resolvers how long to cache the answer. Until that cache expires, some people still get the old address, which is why changes can take from minutes to a day to fully spread.
What is the difference between a DNS problem and my server being down?
DNS is the lookup that finds your server’s address; the server is what answers once it is found. If the name resolves but nothing responds, DNS is fine and the server or host is the issue.
The domain resolves for PingStuff but not on my computer. Why?
Your device or router is likely holding a cached answer, or your ISP’s resolver is behind. Flushing your DNS cache or switching networks usually clears it.
Which DNS records does this check?
The check resolves the domain to the address a visitor's browser would use and confirms it is reachable. For a full record-by-record audit — MX, TXT, CNAME and more — pair this with a dedicated DNS record lookup.