A Resolver is the smart contract that holds the records on your ENS name. Every time a wallet or app looks up yourname.eth, it asks the Resolver: what's the ETH Address? what's the avatar? what's set for Solana? The Resolver answers, and the app uses what it gets.
If the Resolver is unset, none of that works — there's nowhere for the records to live, so wallets and apps see nothing.
When you register through the ENS App, the Resolver is set automatically to the ENS Public Resolver. You don't need to do anything. Most names stay on this Resolver for life.
Good to know
The Resolver holds your records. No Resolver, no records.
The default — ENS Public Resolver — is what the ENS App writes to. Stay on it unless you have a reason.
If records stop appearing in the ENS App, the Resolver is the first thing to check.
The ENS App only handles
.ethnames and onchain subnames. For project subnames likebase.ethoruni.eth, use the project's own site.
What lives on the Resolver
Every record you'd set on the name:
ETH Address — where ETH sent to
yourname.ethlands.Other-chain addresses — Bitcoin, Solana, Polygon, and more.
Avatar and header — images shown in wallets and apps.
Social handles — for your other accounts.
Contenthash — for a decentralised website.
Custom text records — anything else you want to attach.
Wallets and dApps read these in real time. Cached sites can sometimes take a day or two to catch up.
Why the ENS Public Resolver is the default
It's the contract the ENS App is built to read and write. Editing records through the Profile tab only works on names whose Resolver is the ENS Public Resolver. Names on older or custom Resolvers might still work for reads, but you can't edit them in the ENS App until you switch.
Current contract address:
0xF29100983E058B709F3D539b0c765937B804AC15
When to update your Resolver
Two cases call for an update:
Your Resolver is unset. Some older or imported names don't have one set. The records have nowhere to live, so the name effectively does nothing.
Your Resolver isn't the ENS Public Resolver. Maybe a previous Resolver, a custom contract, or something else. You can keep using it if it's a deliberate choice, but the ENS App can't edit records on it.
In both cases, the fix is to switch to the current ENS Public Resolver. The full walkthrough is at How do I update my Resolver?. In short: open the name's More tab, click Edit under Resolver, pick Use latest resolver, and approve in your wallet. Needs ETH on Ethereum Mainnet for gas — no other cost.
Previous and legacy ENS Public Resolvers
Older versions of the ENS Public Resolver still work — names on them resolve normally, and apps can still read records. You only need to update if you want newer features like cross-chain address records.
Previous:
0x231b0Ee14048e9dCcD1d247744d114a4EB5E8E63Legacy:
0x4976fb03C32e5B8cfe2b6cCB31c09Ba78EBaBa41
What's next?