What are the 123 Reg Nameservers and how do I point to or reset them?
Nameservers connect your website’s name (like www.example.com) to the actual address where it’s stored on the internet. When someone goes to your web address, the nameserver recalls where the website files are hosted and directs you to them to display the website in the browser.
If you have registered a domain with 123 Reg, by default, they will use 123 Reg Nameservers. This is because it is likely you will also have your hosting with 123 Reg. However, you can update the nameservers associated with a domain to anything you choose. For example, you might have your domain registered with 123 Reg, but your hosting is provided by another third-party.
Previously, this is what 123 Reg nameservers looked like:
- 123-reg.co.uk
- 123-reg.co.uk
Now they look much different and look like this:
- nsXX.domaincontrol.com
- nsXX.domaincontrol.com
(XX is a randomly generated number assigned based on the capacity of the server)
In some instances, after you have changed your nameservers, you may wish to change them back to 123 Reg. The reason for this is because you will be unable to manage your domain’s nameserver records from your Control Panel if it isn’t pointed to ours.
If you wish to re-point your domain to the 123 Reg nameservers, simply follow the guide below. However, please be aware that it can take 48 hours for nameservers to be updated across the internet and your website might be unavailable during this time.
Please note: before proceeding, you’ll need to make sure that your domain isn’t locked. In addition to this, if you have an older version of our Domain Ownership Protection service (purchased before August 2023) in place on your domain, you may need to disable this service. For details on how to do this, please read the following articles:
- How do I turn off Domain Ownership Protection (‘DOP’) for my domains?
- How do I lock/unlock my domain name?
If, however, you have our current Domain Ownership Protection service (purchased after August 2023) assigned to your domain, please continue reading.
You can point your nameservers to their 123 Reg defaults by following the instructions below:
Start by logging in to your 123 Reg Control Panel.
From your ‘My Products’ page, scroll down to the Domains section. Find the domain you wish to change and click the three vertical dots that appear above its name. Then, select Manage from the list of options.
If you can’t find your domain, you may be able to find it on the ‘Manage active products’ page within our legacy Control Panel. Click the link within the ‘We are in the process of migrating our system…’ bar above.
From the legacy Control Panel, select Domain Names within the ‘Manage active products’ section. Choose your domain name from the list and select Manage.
From the ‘Domain Portfolio’ page, select DNS and then select Nameservers. Click the green Change Nameservers button.
If you’re using our legacy Control Panel, you’ll see the ‘Manage domain’ page. Scroll down to the ‘Advanced Domain Settings’ section and select Manage DNS.
A pop-up window will appear. Select 123 Reg Nameservers. If you are sure you wish to set your nameservers back to the 123 Reg default settings, click Save.
If you’re using our legacy Control Panel, you will see the ‘Manage your DNS’ screen. Select Use 123 Reg default nameservers to return them to the 123 Reg defaults.
A confirmation window will appear. If you are sure you wish to reset your nameservers to the 123 Reg default settings, click Confirm.
