Is Cloudflare DNS down in South Africa today?

Site won't load after DNS change

After updating DNS records, browsers often keep serving cached data for hours. This isn''t a server outage — it''s TTL doing its job. Run `ipconfig /flushdns` on Windows or `sudo dscacheutil -flushcache` on macOS, then clear browser cache. If the site still doesn''t resolve, check that the A or CNAME record points to the correct IP and that the orange cloud (proxy) is enabled only where you actually need it.

DNS propagation takes too long

Changes to DNS records don''t apply instantly across the internet. Propagation can take up to 48 hours, but with Cloudflare the typical window is 5–30 minutes for records you control directly. If nothing changes after an hour, verify the record was actually saved — the dashboard doesn''t always show save errors explicitly. Use `dig yourdomain.com @1.1.1.1` to check what the resolver sees right now.

1020 Access Denied on your own site

This error means a Firewall Rule or WAF managed rule is blocking the request. Go to Security → Events in the dashboard and look for the blocked request. You''ll see which rule triggered it. Either adjust the rule, add your IP to the allowlist, or disable the specific managed rule causing false positives.

SSL handshake errors in browser

- Check that SSL/TLS mode in the dashboard is set to Full (strict), not Flexible — Flexible causes redirect loops with servers that already have a certificate

- Make sure the origin certificate hasn''t expired

- If you''re using a self-signed cert on the origin, switch to a Cloudflare Origin CA certificate instead

- Disable Universal SSL temporarily to isolate whether the issue is on the proxy or the origin

High latency to origin server

If response times spiked after enabling the proxy, the traffic is now routed through Cloudflare''s edge. Check which data center is being used with `curl -I yourdomain.com` and look at the `CF-RAY` header. A far-away edge node can add latency. Argo Smart Routing helps here, or you can temporarily disable the proxy (grey cloud) to rule out edge routing as the cause.

Email stops working after DNS setup

Adding MX records through the proxy (orange cloud) breaks email — MX must always be DNS-only (grey cloud). Also verify that SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are present and correctly formatted. A common mistake is duplicating the TXT record for SPF instead of updating the existing one, which causes authentication failures.