Look up any IP address, check DNS records, and diagnose domain issues with free browser-based tools. Learn what A, MX, CNAME, and TXT records really do.
An IP address lookup reveals the geographic location, ISP, and network details behind an IP address, while a DNS lookup shows the records that control where a domain points which server hosts the website, which service handles its email, and which domains it delegates to. Together, they answer most "why isn't this working?" questions about a website or domain. Here's what each record type does, and how to check them yourself. IP Address Lookup: What You Can and Can't Learn Try the free IP Address Lookup → An IP lookup returns: Country, region, and city - approximate location of the network, not the person ISP and organization - who provides the connection Timezone and coordinates - derived from the network registration ASN - the autonomous system number identifying the network operator What it doesn't return: a street address, a name, or any identity. IP geolocation resolves to the ISP's registered location for that address block, which can be a different city entirely and for mobile connections, often a regional hub hundreds of kilometres from the actual user. VPNs and proxies replace the result altogether. Legitimate uses: checking whether a server is where you expect, diagnosing region-based access issues, verifying that a VPN is actually routing traffic elsewhere, investigating the source of suspicious traffic in server logs, and setting up geographic content delivery. DNS Records Explained Try the free DNS Lookup → DNS is the system that translates human-readable domain names into the addresses machines use. A domain's DNS records are its instruction set and misconfigured records are behind a large share of "the site is down" and "our email stopped arriving" incidents. Record What it does When you check it A Points a domain to an IPv4 address Site not loading, or loading the wrong server AAAA Points a domain to an IPv6 address IPv6 connectivity issues CNAME Aliases one domain to another domain Subdomain setup, CDN and SaaS integrations MX Specifies which mail servers receive email Email not arriving TXT Holds arbitrary text — used for SPF, DKIM, and domain verification Email landing in spam, verifying domain ownership NS Names the authoritative nameservers for the domain After a registrar or host migration SOA Administrative info about the DNS zone Zone transfer and propagation checks A vs. CNAME — the distinction that trips people up: an A record points to a numeric IP address. A CNAME points to another domain name , which then resolves to an IP. Use a CNAME when the destination's IP might change and you want to inherit that change automatically — typical for CDNs and hosted services. One rule that catches people out: you generally can't put a CNAME on a root domain ( example.com ), only on subdomains ( www.example.com ). TXT records do more than you'd guess. They hold SPF records (which mail servers may send on your behalf), DKIM keys (which cryptographically sign your outgoing mail), DMARC policies (what receivers should do with mail that fails those checks), and verification strings for services like Google Search Console. If your legitimate email is landing in spam folders, the TXT records are where to look first. Common Problems and Which Lookup Solves Them "My site shows the old version / the wrong page." Check the A record it may still point to the previous host. After a change, DNS propagation typically takes anywhere from minutes to 48 hours depending on the record's TTL. "Email to our domain isn't arriving." Check MX records. Missing, misordered, or misspelled MX entries silently break inbound mail. "Our emails go to spam." Check TXT records for a valid SPF entry, a DKIM key, and a DMARC policy. Mail providers increasingly reject or spam-folder messages from domains without them. "I changed the nameservers and nothing happened." Check the NS records to confirm the change registered, then wait for propagation. "Is this service reachable at all?" A Port Checker tests whether a specific TCP port is open on a host the fastest way to distinguish "the service is down" from "a firewall is blocking it." Related Network Tools Subnet Calculator - work out subnet mask, network address, broadcast address, and usable host range from CIDR notation Port Checker - test whether SSH, HTTP, HTTPS, database, or custom ports are open User Agent Parser - decode a user agent string into browser, OS, and device Frequently Asked Questions Can an IP address lookup find someone's exact address? No. IP geolocation identifies the network's registered location typically the ISP's regional facility not a physical street address or an individual. Accuracy at city level varies considerably, and mobile and VPN connections can be off by hundreds of kilometres. How do I check DNS records for a domain? Enter the domain into a free DNS lookup tool and it returns the A, AAAA, MX, TXT, CNAME, NS, and SOA records instantly, with no account needed. What's the difference between an A record and a CNAME record? An A record maps a doma