Short answer: Usually no more than a few minutes. The old rule of 24 to 48 hours is out of date. If the domain is registered through us, changes are effectively immediate once the account is set up, because our registrar runs real-time DNS. If a change looks like it has not happened, close every browser window and reopen after a few minutes — local caching is almost always the cause.
Applies to: Any DNS change on Infosaic hosting · name server, A record and MX record changes
Propagation is the delay between changing a DNS record and the rest of the internet noticing. For years the standard answer was one to two days, and that answer is still repeated everywhere — which is why people sit and wait for a change that already happened.
In practice it now takes minutes. The infrastructure caches for far shorter periods than it used to, and registrars with real-time DNS push changes out immediately.
What has not changed is that your own computer caches too, and that is where nearly all the remaining delay comes from.
What to expect now
It used to take 24 to 48 hours. It should now typically take no more than a few minutes.
If the domain is registered through us, it is quicker still: after your account has been set up, the change takes only a few minutes. Our registrar has real-time DNS, which makes the update almost immediate rather than waiting on a scheduled refresh.
A domain registered elsewhere and merely pointed at us depends on that registrar’s own timing, which is usually just as fast but occasionally slower.
If it looks like nothing has changed
The overwhelming likelihood is that the change is live and your computer is still showing you the old answer from its cache.
- Wait a few minutes.
- Close every browser window — all of them, not just the tab.
- Reopen the browser and try again.
- If it still looks wrong, try the site on a phone using mobile data rather than wi-fi. That bypasses your local network entirely.
If the phone shows the new site and the computer does not, nothing is wrong with the DNS. It is your machine or your router holding a cached lookup, and it will clear on its own shortly.
The mobile data test is the quickest diagnostic there is. A phone off wi-fi uses a completely different resolver, so if it shows the change, the change has propagated and everything else is local caching.
Things that genuinely delay a change
- The record was saved incorrectly — a trailing space, or a name server entered in only one of the two fields.
- Only one name server was changed. Some registrars keep the old second entry, which then answers with old information part of the time.
- The change was made at the wrong place. If the domain is registered elsewhere, editing DNS here has no effect until the name servers point at us.
- The domain has expired. Nothing resolves, no matter what the records say.
- A long TTL on the old record. Rare now, but a record previously set to cache for hours will honour that.
Intermittent behaviour — the new site sometimes, the old site other times — is the signature of mismatched name servers, not of slow propagation.
Questions and answers
How long does DNS propagation take?
Usually no more than a few minutes. The old 24 to 48 hour figure no longer reflects how it works.
Why do people still say 24 to 48 hours?
It was accurate years ago and the advice was never updated. Caching periods across the internet are now much shorter.
Are changes faster if my domain is registered with Infosaic?
Yes. Our registrar has real-time DNS, so once the account is set up the update is almost immediate.
My site still shows the old version. What do I do?
Close every browser window, wait a few minutes and reopen. Local caching is the usual cause.
How can I tell whether the change is really live?
Check the site on a phone using mobile data rather than wi-fi. That uses a different resolver and bypasses your local cache.
Why do I sometimes see the old site and sometimes the new one?
That usually means only one of the two name servers was updated, so one of them is still answering with old information.
Does propagation affect email as well as the website?
Yes. MX record changes behave the same way, and mail sent during the change may be delivered to the old server.
Related articles
- How do I manage or point my domain name to Infosaic?
- What are Infosaic’s name servers?
- How do I modify my domain MX records?
- How do I point my domain name to Infosaic?
- How do I transfer my domain to Infosaic?
- How do I contact tech support?
Still stuck?
Open a support ticket from your hosting control panel at controlpanel.infosaic.com — that is the fastest route, because it reaches the team who can already see your account. You can also email [email protected].