DNS server not responding: how to fix it

When websites stop loading and you run the Windows network troubleshooter, it often reports The DNS server isn't responding, or the longer version: Your computer appears to be correctly configured, but the device or resource (DNS server) is not responding.

It means your computer is connected to your network, but the server it relies on to turn names such as example.com into numeric addresses is not answering. Without those answers, browsers cannot find any website, even though the connection itself may be fine. The DNS server in question is normally your router, which passes requests on to your internet provider.

Work out where the fault is

• Every device in the house is affected. The router or your provider's DNS service is the problem. Restart the router, then check your provider on our internet provider status pages using mobile data.
• Only one computer is affected. The fault is on that computer: a DNS setting left over from another network, a VPN, security software, or a network adapter that needs resetting.
• Only one website fails. This is not a DNS server fault. Test the address in our website checker and see our NXDOMAIN guide.

Fixes, in order

1. Restart the modem and router. Microsoft's instructions: unplug both, wait at least 30 seconds, plug the modem in first, then the router, and wait a few minutes for them to start fully.
2. Restart the computer and turn off any VPN.
3. Reset the network stack and flush DNS. Search for Command Prompt, choose Run as administrator, and run these in order, pressing Enter after each: netsh winsock reset, netsh int ip reset, ipconfig /release, ipconfig /renew, ipconfig /flushdns. Restart afterwards.
4. Switch to a public DNS server (steps below). If websites load straight away, your provider's or router's DNS was the problem.
5. Or switch back to automatic. If someone set a DNS address by hand in the past and that server has gone, choose Automatic (DHCP) in the same place.
6. Use Network reset as a last resort. In Windows 11 go to Settings, Network & internet, Advanced network settings, Network reset, and select Reset now. You will have to rejoin Wi-Fi networks and set up any VPN again.

How to change DNS on Windows 11

1. Open Settings and select Network & internet.
2. Select Wi-Fi and then your network's properties, or select Ethernet if you use a cable.
3. Next to DNS server assignment, select Edit.
4. Change Automatic (DHCP) to Manual and turn on IPv4.
5. In Preferred DNS enter 1.1.1.1 and in Alternate DNS enter 1.0.0.1 for Cloudflare. For Google use 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.
6. Select Save, then reload a website.

On a Mac

macOS has no message with this wording. The sign of the same fault is that browsers cannot find any site while Wi-Fi shows as connected. To change DNS, open the Apple menu, choose System Settings, click Network, click your connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet), then Details, then DNS. Under DNS Servers, click the Add button and type 1.1.1.1, then add 1.0.0.1. Click OK.

To clear the Mac's DNS cache, open Terminal and run sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder.

A one-line test that tells you who is at fault

Open Command Prompt on Windows, or Terminal on a Mac, and run nslookup example.com. This asks the DNS server your device is set to use. Then run nslookup example.com 1.1.1.1, which asks Cloudflare directly.

• First fails, second works. Your internet connection is fine and your current DNS server is broken. Changing DNS will fix it.
• Both fail. It is not really a DNS problem. Your connection is down, or something is blocking all DNS traffic. Go to Wi-Fi connected but no internet.
• Both work. DNS is fine now. The fault was temporary, or it is limited to your browser. Clear Chrome's host cache at chrome://net-internals/#dns.

Fixing it for the whole house

Changing DNS on one computer only helps that computer. If every device is affected and your provider's DNS is the cause, the tidier fix is to set the DNS servers in the router's own settings page, so every phone, TV and console picks them up. The option is usually under the internet or WAN settings. Some routers supplied by broadband providers do not allow it. In that case set DNS on each device, or wait for the provider to fix its service.

Things that quietly take over DNS

If the error is on one device only, check for software that redirects DNS: VPN apps, antivirus "web protection", parental-control tools and ad-blocking DNS apps. When one of these crashes or its subscription lapses, lookups go nowhere and Windows reports that the DNS server is not responding. Turn the tool off, test, and reinstall or remove it if that was the cause. On Android phones the equivalent setting is Private DNS, covered in our ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED guide.

Where the Windows message comes from now

The wording above comes from Windows Network Diagnostics, which also opens when you choose Running Windows Network Diagnostics on a Chrome error page. For Windows 11, Microsoft now directs people to the Network and Internet troubleshooter in the Get Help app, so the wording you see there may differ. The fault and the fixes are the same.

Related fix guides

• How to fix DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN
• How to fix ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED
• Wi-Fi connected but no internet: how to fix it
• How to fix ERR_INTERNET_DISCONNECTED