If you're based in the EU and seeing a 502 error when trying to access or load your Heartbeat community on a custom domain, this guide will walk you through how to fix it.

Setting up your custom subdomain for the first time? 
Follow our guide here: Setting up a Custom Sub-Domain

We’ve identified that the issue stems from the older domain routing service we were using, which has been struggling with high traffic in the EU. To fix this, we’re upgrading to a much more robust provider: Vercel — the same platform trusted by Stripe, Adobe, and Zapier.

This update only takes 5–10 minutes and will get your community back online reliably.

🛑 Important Notes (Read This First)

• Do this from your app.heartbeat.chat domain, NOT your custom domain — otherwise, you may get kicked out mid-update.
  → If you’re unsure of your link, visit: app.heartbeat.chat/login to be redirected to the right place.

• This guide is for subdomains only, like:

  • community.yoursite.com

  • academy.yoursite.com
    If you’re using a root domain (e.g. yoursite.com), we’ll share instructions for that separately.

• Plan for 5–10 minutes of downtime, though it often completes faster. Run this update during low-traffic hours in your community.

✅ How to Fix It (Switching to Vercel Hosting)

1. Log into your community at app.heartbeat.chat

2. Go to Settings → Custom Domain

3. Click "See Instructions"

4. You’ll see two updated CNAME records. These are the new records to replace your old ones:

   • One for your subdomain (e.g. community.yoursite.com)

   • One ACME challenge record (used for SSL verification)

5. In your domain registrar (e.g. GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.):

   • Delete the old Heartbeat DNS record

   • Add both new CNAME records as shown in your Heartbeat instructions

6. Save your changes, then click the "Verify" button back in Heartbeat

7. Wait 2–10 minutes while the DNS changes propagate

8. Once verified, your community should be back online on your custom domain

💡 Tips + Troubleshooting

• Verification taking longer than 10 minutes? Double-check you entered the exact CNAME values and hostnames provided in Heartbeat

• If your registrar asks whether to include the full domain or just the subdomain (e.g. community), follow their docs — or match what you entered when you originally set it up

• Still not working? Reach out to us: support@heartbeat.chat

Once complete, your custom domain will be fully routed through Vercel — providing a much more stable and reliable experience for your EU-based community.

Let us know if you hit any snags or unable to get your community loading successfully. We’ve added extra support coverage during this transition to help out quickly!