How to fix ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED

ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED is Chrome's code for a failed name lookup. Chromium's own definition is one line: the host name could not be resolved. Before a browser can connect to example.com it has to ask a DNS server for that name's numeric IP address. This error means no usable answer came back, so no connection was even attempted.

In Chrome on a computer it appears under This site can't be reached with the line example.com's server IP address could not be found. On Android you will also meet it inside apps, as Webpage not available followed by net::ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED.

Is the domain broken, or is it your DNS?

Type the address into our website checker. We look the name up from our own servers. If we find the site, the domain is fine and the failed lookup is happening on your device or network. If we cannot resolve it either, check the spelling. If the spelling is right, the domain has expired or its DNS records are broken, and only the owner can fix that.

One more clue: if every website gives this error, it is not about any one name. Your device cannot reach a DNS server at all. See DNS server not responding.

Fixes on a computer

1. Check the address for typos, including the ending (.com, .co.uk).
2. Clear Chrome's DNS cache. Go to chrome://net-internals/#dns and select Clear host cache.
3. Flush the system DNS cache. On Windows run ipconfig /flushdns in Command Prompt.
4. Turn off your VPN, then reload. VPN apps replace your DNS server with their own.
5. Check Chrome's secure DNS setting. In Chrome go to Settings, Privacy and security, Security, and find Use secure DNS. If a custom provider is selected there, switch to your current service provider, or turn the setting off to test.
6. Restart your router, then try a public DNS server such as 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8. The menu paths are in our DNS server guide.

Fixes on an Android phone

1. Switch networks. Turn Wi-Fi off and use mobile data, or the other way round. If the page loads, the first network's DNS is at fault.
2. Turn aeroplane mode on for ten seconds, then off. This makes the phone reconnect and fetch fresh DNS settings.
3. Check Private DNS. Open Settings, Network & internet, Private DNS. On Samsung phones it is under Settings, Connections, More connection settings. If a provider hostname is typed in there, choose Automatic and try again. A mistyped or discontinued hostname breaks every lookup on the phone.
4. Clear Chrome's host cache. The same chrome://net-internals/#dns page works in Chrome on Android.
5. Forget the Wi-Fi network and rejoin it, then restart the router if other devices on it are failing too.

When an app shows it

Many Android apps display their content in a built-in browser component called WebView. When its lookup fails you get a plain page headed Webpage not available, saying the page could not be loaded because of net::ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED. Nothing is wrong with the app's files, so clearing its data rarely helps.

• If other apps and websites work, check Private DNS first. Ad-blocking and family-filter DNS services answer "no such name" for addresses they block, and an app that depends on a blocked address shows exactly this error.
• Update the app. Old versions can point at server names the company has since retired.
• Check whether the service is down. Search for its status page on this site.

ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED and DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN are not quite the same

Both start from the same event: a DNS lookup that failed. ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED is the raw result, and it does not say why the lookup failed. Chrome on a computer often goes a step further. It runs a quick test of your DNS servers, called a DNS probe, and replaces the code with what it found:

• DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN: your DNS servers are working, so the domain must not exist. Chromium's source code describes it in almost those words.
• DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG: your DNS configuration is wrong, or the servers are down or broken.
• DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NO_INTERNET: there is no internet connection.

If Chrome does not run the probe, or the probe is inconclusive, you are left with ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED. Apps that use WebView show the raw code, which is one reason it turns up so often on phones. In practice: NXDOMAIN points more strongly at the address itself (a typo or a dead domain), while ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED leaves both possibilities open. Our NXDOMAIN guide covers the first case in more depth.

Where the lookup can fail

A name passes through several caches before it reaches a real DNS server: the browser's own cache, the operating system's, often the router's, and then your provider's resolver. A wrong or missing answer stored in any of them produces this error until it expires or you clear it. That is why the fixes above work from the browser outwards. If a site changed its hosting in the last day or two and only some people can reach it, a stale cache along that chain is the usual reason.

If it is your own domain

Check that the domain has not expired, that the nameservers set at your registrar match the DNS host you actually use, and that a record exists for the exact name people type, with and without www. A missing www record is a classic cause of this error for some visitors and not others.

Related fix guides

• How to fix DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN
• DNS server not responding: how to fix it
• "This site can't be reached": what it means and how to fix it