What is an AAAA record and how do you set it up?

An AAAA record is the DNS setting that links your domain or subdomain to an IPv6 address. It works just like an A record, but for the newer IPv6 protocol instead of IPv4. This page explains what an AAAA record is, what an IPv6 address looks like, how to set one up yourself, and how to check that it works.

What is an AAAA record?

An AAAA record (pronounced quad-A, as in four times the letter A) is a type of DNS record that maps a hostname to an IPv6 address. Every record type in the Domain Name System has its own job: an A record points to an IPv4 address, while an AAAA record points to an IPv6 address.

The name refers to the length of the address. An IPv4 address is 32 bits long, while an IPv6 address is 128 bits, exactly four times as long. That is where the four A's come from. The AAAA record is defined in RFC 3596 and has the official number 28 in the list of DNS record types.

Without an AAAA record, your domain is only reachable over IPv4. With an AAAA record, visitors and devices that use IPv6 can reach your server directly over IPv6.

AAAA record versus A record

The A record and the AAAA record do the same job for a different internet protocol. The table below lists the differences.

Both records can exist at the same time for the same domain. This is called a dual-stack setup: your domain then has an A record for IPv4 and an AAAA record for IPv6. Devices that support IPv6 usually use the AAAA record, while devices with IPv4 only use the A record. That keeps your site reachable for everyone.

What does an IPv6 address look like?

An IPv6 address consists of eight groups of four hexadecimal digits (0 to 9 and a to f). The groups are separated by colons. A full address looks like this, for example:

2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334

You may write such an address more briefly with two rules:

• Leading zeros in a group can be dropped. So 0db8 becomes db8 and 0000 becomes 0.
• A single run of consecutive groups that are all zero can be replaced with a double colon (::). You may do this only once per address.

With those rules, the address above becomes shorter:

2001:db8:85a3::8a2e:370:7334

Both notations point to exactly the same address. In your AAAA record you can use the short or the long form.

When do you need an AAAA record?

You need an AAAA record as soon as your server or hosting plan has an IPv6 address and you want visitors to be able to reach your domain over IPv6 as well. IPv6 has been on the rise for years. In March 2026, more than half of all traffic to Google traveled over IPv6 for the first time, and that share keeps growing.

A few common situations:

• You host a website and want IPv6 users to be able to open it quickly too.
• You are moving to a new server that has both an IPv4 and an IPv6 address.
• You manage a mail server or another system that needs to be reachable over IPv6.

If your server only has an IPv4 address, an A record is enough and you do not add an AAAA record. An AAAA record that points to an IPv6 address that does not work can actually cause delays or errors for IPv6 users. So only add an AAAA record when your server really responds on that IPv6 address.

How to set up an AAAA record

You set up an AAAA record in the DNS settings of your domain. At LJPc hosting you manage these records in the DNS management area for your domain. The steps are similar in most DNS management screens:

1. First, find the IPv6 address of your server or hosting plan. If you cannot find it in your control panel, ask your hosting provider for it.
2. Log in to the DNS management area and open the DNS zone of the domain you want to configure.
3. Create a new record and choose AAAA as the type.
4. In the name (or host) field, enter which part of the domain the record applies to. Use @ for the main domain itself, or for example www or a subdomain.
5. In the value (or content) field, enter the full IPv6 address.
6. Set a TTL, for example 3600 seconds (one hour). The TTL controls how long DNS servers remember the answer.
7. Save the record.

If you want your domain to be reachable over both IPv4 and IPv6, add an A record with the IPv4 address alongside the AAAA record. Make sure both records use the same hostname (the Name field), so they both point to the same server.

How to check an AAAA record

After saving, you can check whether your AAAA record is visible. Keep in mind that a change is not always visible everywhere right away. A new or updated record is usually active within a few minutes to a few hours, and occasionally it takes up to 48 hours.

On macOS and Linux, use the dig command:

dig AAAA example.com +short

On Windows, use nslookup:

nslookup -type=AAAA example.com

You will then see the IPv6 address the domain points to. Would rather not use the command line? Online DNS tools can show the AAAA records of a domain as well.

Common problems

With a correct AAAA record, you make your domain ready for IPv6 alongside the existing IPv4. Still stuck? Get in touch with support and we will help you further.