What does DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN mean?

The DNS lookup completed and the authoritative answer was 'this name does not exist'. Either the record is genuinely missing, the domain lapsed, or a recent DNS change has not propagated to the resolver you are using.

Device-specific

DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN on Mac

Why it happens on Mac

macOS caches DNS in mDNSResponder, and a VPN or split-DNS profile can keep resolving the name against an internal server that has no such record.

The fix on Mac

Run `sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder`, disconnect any VPN, then retry.

Is DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN happening on your domain?

The DNS lookup queries public resolvers directly and shows the A, AAAA, CNAME and NS records that actually exist — which instantly separates 'record missing' from 'my resolver is stale'.

Free, no signup. Runs from outside your network, which is the only way to tell a server fault from a local one.

If that didn't fix it

Mac has its own failure mode, but DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN has a wider set of causes that apply everywhere. The most common one overall is: the a or cname record for the hostname does not exist.

All causes and fixes for DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN

DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN on other platforms and devices

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Last verified: 16 October 2026 by the Lemwatch research team.