Change Nameservers for Hover Domains

Nameservers determine which provider is responsible for managing your domain's DNS settings — in other words, they control where your domain "lives" for DNS purposes. This article explains what nameservers are and walks you through updating them for one domain or several at once in your Hover account.

What nameservers do

Nameservers (also called DNS servers) point to whichever provider is managing your domain's DNS. DNS management can be handled through Hover, your web host, or a third-party DNS provider — whichever one your domain's nameservers currently point to.

If you registered your domain directly through Hover (this doesn't apply to domains acquired through an aftermarket sale), it uses Hover's default nameservers, ns1.hover.com and ns2.hover.com. Some other providers — for example, a website builder or email host — may ask you to switch to their nameservers instead so they can manage your DNS for you. If so, they'll give you the exact nameserver addresses to enter.

Before you begin

• Understand what changing nameservers affects. Every domain needs at least two nameservers, and they must all point to the same provider — a domain cannot have its nameservers split across multiple providers, as this will disrupt your services.
• Know that changes can't be reversed once saved. Once you save a nameserver change, Hover cannot stop it from taking effect.
• Expect a delay. Nameserver changes can take 24–48 hours to fully propagate across the internet.
• Check whether you use Hover's Connect or forwarding tools. These tools require your domain's nameservers to point to Hover in order to work. See Managing domain forwarding.

Step 1: Change nameservers for a single domain

1. Sign in to your Hover control panel using your chosen method of 2FA. If you only have one domain, you'll land directly on its Overview page; if you have multiple, you'll see a list first — click the domain name you want to update.
2. On the Overview page, find Nameservers on the left-hand side and select Edit.
3. Enter your updated nameserver information in the pop-up window. You can add extra nameservers here if needed.
4. Click Save nameservers to apply the change.

Note: It can take 24–48 hours for a nameserver change to fully complete.

Step 2: Change nameservers for multiple domains

1. From the navigation bar, click Nameservers. This menu appears only if your account has multiple domains.
2. Select the domains you want to update by toggling the checkbox next to each one.
3. Click the Bulk edit: select drop-down menu, then choose Edit nameservers.
4. Enter the new nameserver information in the pop-up window and save your changes.

Alternatively, you can select Edit beside an individual domain in this list, which gives you two options: Edit nameservers to make changes, or Reset nameservers to restore Hover's default nameservers.

Note: As with single-domain changes, a bulk nameserver update can take up to 24–48 hours to propagate.

Next steps

• Set up DNS records once your nameservers point to Hover. See Managing DNS records.
• Set up domain forwarding. See Managing domain forwarding.
• Use your own domain as a nameserver. See Connecting your domain using private nameservers (Glue records).

Questions? Contact Hover Support.