DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN on Your Own Website
Chrome says "This site can't be reached" with the code DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN when you try to open your own business website. It means the browser could not find any address for your domain name at all.
Common signs of this issue
- Chrome shows "This site can't be reached" and "[your domain]'s server IP address could not be found," with DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN underneath.
- Other browsers show their own version: Firefox says "Hmm. We're having trouble finding that site," and Safari says it "can't find the server."
- Other websites load fine on the same device and connection.
- It may affect only the www version of your address, or only the version without www.
- It started after changing nameservers, moving hosts, editing DNS records, or around your domain's renewal date.
- Your email on the same domain may have stopped working at the same time.
Safe checks you can do yourself
None of these require sharing passwords with anyone.
- Rule out your own device first. Open the site on your phone using mobile data, not your Wi-Fi. If it loads there, the problem is local to your computer or network, not your domain.
- Check the exact spelling of the address you typed. NXDOMAIN literally means "no such domain," and a single wrong letter produces it.
- Try both
yourbusiness.comandwww.yourbusiness.com. If only one fails, a single DNS record is missing — usually thewwwrecord — rather than the whole domain being broken. - Look up your domain at lookup.icann.org. Check the expiration date, the nameservers, and the status. A status of
clientHoldorserverHoldmeans the registrar or registry has switched the domain off, which looks exactly like this error. - Search your inbox for messages from your registrar about renewal, failed payment, or verifying your contact information. Registrars are required to suspend domains whose owner email is not verified, and that email is easy to miss.
- Use a public DNS checker such as dnschecker.org to look up your domain's A record from many locations. If every location shows nothing, the problem is in your DNS settings. If some show an address and others do not, a recent change is still spreading.
- If only your computer is affected, restart your router and computer, and in Chrome visit
chrome://net-internals/#dnsand click Clear host cache. If you use a VPN or a security app that filters web traffic, pause it briefly and try again. - If you recently changed nameservers, confirm that the new DNS provider actually has records for your domain. Switching nameservers to a provider with an empty zone is one of the most common causes of this error.
What this usually means
Before a browser can load your site, it asks the domain name system for your domain's address. NXDOMAIN is the answer that comes back when the system says the name does not exist, or exists but has no address to give. The browser has nothing to connect to, so it stops before ever reaching your web server. That is why this error is about your domain and DNS, never about the website itself.
For a business owner seeing it on their own site, there are three usual causes. The domain expired or was put on hold by the registrar. The nameservers point somewhere that has no records for the domain, often after a move or a half-finished change. Or a specific record — the main A record or the www record — was deleted or never created. A typo in a nameserver name during a change does the same thing.
If the site works on your phone's data but not your office computer, none of that applies. The cause is a stale DNS cache, a router, a VPN, or a filtering tool on that one network, and it is not affecting your customers.
What not to do
- Don't let an expired or held domain sit. After the grace period ends, the domain can become much more expensive to recover or be lost entirely.
- Don't change nameservers again to try to fix it until you know what records the current ones hold. Each change adds hours of delay and can wipe out email settings too.
- Don't delete DNS records you don't recognise while troubleshooting. Some control email, verification, or services you rely on.
- Don't pay a domain renewal notice that arrives by post or from an unfamiliar company. Renew only through the registrar shown in the ICANN lookup.
- Don't assume customers see the same thing you do. Check from another network before you panic.
- Don't change settings on the web hosting server. This error happens before any request reaches it.
When to get help
If the lookup shows the domain is active and the nameservers look right but the error persists, the fix is in DNS records, and getting them wrong can also take your email down — that is a reasonable point to get someone who works with DNS regularly. It is also worth getting help quickly if the domain shows a hold status or recent expiry and you cannot log into the registrar account, because recovering ownership has deadlines that do not wait.
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Frequently asked questions
What does DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN mean?
It means the browser asked the domain name system for your domain's address and was told the domain does not exist or has no address. The browser never reached your website at all.
Is my website down if I see NXDOMAIN?
Not necessarily. The site may be running fine, but nobody can find it because of a domain or DNS problem. Check on mobile data first to see whether it is only your device.
Can an expired domain cause DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN?
Yes. When a domain expires or is put on hold, it stops resolving and visitors get this error. Renewing through the correct registrar usually restores it, though it can take a few hours to come back.
How long does NXDOMAIN last after changing nameservers?
Often a few hours, sometimes up to a day or two while the change spreads. If it lasts longer, check that the new DNS provider has records for your domain.
Why does my site work with www but not without it?
Each version needs its own DNS record. If one is missing, that version returns NXDOMAIN while the other works. Adding the missing record, and a redirect between the two, fixes it.
Will flushing DNS on my computer fix it?
Only if the problem is on your computer. If the error appears on every device and network, the problem is in the domain's settings, and flushing your cache will not change anything.