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

Setting up your custom domain for the first time? 
Follow our guide here: Setting up a Custom Root 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.

• This guide is for root domains only — like:

  • yoursite.com

  • example.org

  If you’re using a subdomain like community.yoursite.com, follow these instructions instead.

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

✅ How to Fix It (Switching to Vercel Hosting for Root Domains)

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

2. Go to Settings → Custom Domain

3. Click “See Instructions”

4. You’ll see an updated A record. This is the new value that replaces your old DNS record.

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

   • Delete the old Heartbeat A record

   • Add the new A record 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 that the A record was entered exactly as shown in Heartbeat

• Some registrars ask for different formatting of hostnames — follow their documentation, or replicate what you entered when you originally set up your domain

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

Once complete, your root domain will be fully routed through Vercel — giving you a far more stable and reliable experience for your EU-based community.

We’re here to help if you run into any issues. We've added extra support coverage during this transition to make sure your community stays online and running smoothly.