The “DNS server not responding” error in Windows means your machine successfully connected to the network but can’t translate website names into IP addresses — so nothing loads even though the internet connection itself is fine. The router is reachable. The ISP connection is probably fine. The failure is specifically in the name resolution layer. This fits into the wider topic we cover in our Complete Guide to Fixing Windows, Browser, and Software Errors.
Three fixes resolve this in the vast majority of cases, and they take under five minutes total. Try them in this order:
- Flush the DNS cache:
ipconfig /flushdnsin an admin Command Prompt, then restart the browser - Restart the router (full power cycle — unplug for 60 seconds)
- Switch DNS servers to 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare) or 8.8.8.8 (Google)
If any of those three works, you’re done. If not, read on — the fixes below cover less common causes.
The Diagnostic That Saves Time
Before working through fixes, confirm that DNS is specifically the broken layer:
Open Command Prompt and run ping 8.8.8.8. If this gets replies, your internet connection is working — the problem is DNS resolution, not connectivity. Now run ping google.com. If this times out while the IP ping worked, DNS is confirmed as the issue. This 30-second test tells you exactly where to focus.
If ping 8.8.8.8 also times out, the issue is the internet connection itself, not DNS — restart the router and check with your ISP if needed.
Fix 1: Flush the DNS Cache
Windows caches DNS lookups so it doesn’t have to ask the DNS server every time you visit a site. When these cached entries become stale or corrupted, lookups fail even when the DNS server is functioning. This is the most common cause after a network change, router restart, or ISP DNS update.
Open Command Prompt as administrator and run:
ipconfig /flushdnsYou’ll see “Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.” Close and reopen the browser, then test. If it works: done. If not, the cache wasn’t the problem and something deeper needs attention.
Fix 2: Restart and Reset Network Services
The DNS Client service handles all name resolution in Windows. When it stops or gets stuck — which happens after crashes, some software installations, and occasionally after Windows updates — DNS lookups fail even if the network is otherwise healthy. Restarting the service fixes this without any system restart:
net stop dnscache
net start dnscacheIf that doesn’t help, reset the full network stack — this rebuilds the TCP/IP and Winsock configuration from scratch:
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /renewRestart the PC after running these. The network stack reset resolves a category of DNS failures caused by corrupted network configuration that persists through simple flushes and service restarts.
Fix 3: Switch DNS Servers
The DNS server your router provides is typically your ISP’s DNS server. ISP DNS servers are sometimes slow, occasionally experience outages, and may have issues resolving certain domains. Switching to a public DNS server — which is free and takes about two minutes — bypasses your ISP’s DNS entirely.
Settings → Network and internet → your active connection type (Wi-Fi or Ethernet) → click on your connection → DNS server assignment → Edit → Manual → enable IPv4 → set:
- Preferred DNS: 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare — fast and privacy-focused)
- Alternate DNS: 8.8.8.8 (Google)
Save and immediately test. If this resolves the issue, your ISP’s DNS was the problem. The change is permanent until you change it back — Cloudflare and Google’s DNS are reliable alternatives that most people leave in place permanently.
Fix 4: Update or Roll Back the Network Adapter Driver
An outdated or corrupted network adapter driver causes DNS failures that look exactly like server-side problems but don’t respond to DNS flushes or server changes. This is especially common after Windows updates that replace a working manufacturer driver with a generic Microsoft version.
Device Manager → Network Adapters → right-click your primary adapter (Wi-Fi or Ethernet depending on what you’re using) → Update driver → Search automatically. If no update is found, visit your PC or motherboard manufacturer’s website and download the driver directly — manufacturer drivers are typically more current and better tested than what Windows Update provides.
If the DNS issue started after a recent Windows update: right-click the adapter → Properties → Driver tab → Roll Back Driver. This restores the previous driver version, which often resolves the regression immediately.
Fix 5: Change the Connection’s IPv6 Settings
IPv6 conflicts cause DNS errors on some networks — Windows tries IPv6 DNS first, gets a failure or incorrect response, and the whole lookup fails rather than falling back to IPv4 gracefully. Temporarily disabling IPv6 on the adapter confirms whether this is the cause:
Settings → Network and internet → Advanced network settings → More network adapter options → right-click your active adapter → Properties → uncheck “Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)” → OK. Test DNS resolution. If it now works, IPv6 was causing the conflict. You can leave IPv6 disabled (it rarely affects everyday browsing) or investigate why IPv6 DNS is failing on your network.
Fix 6: Disable VPN and Security Software
VPN clients and security software often install their own DNS resolver or intercept DNS queries to provide filtering. When these tools are misconfigured, have their own service issue, or conflict with Windows’ DNS client, DNS lookups fail. This is a common post-installation cause — DNS worked fine yesterday, VPN was installed today, now nothing loads.
Test by disconnecting the VPN and temporarily disabling the security software’s web filtering component (not the full antivirus — just the DNS or web filtering component if available). If DNS works without them, the VPN or security software is the cause. Configure it to exclude DNS operations from interception, or check for an updated version of the software that handles DNS correctly.
Antivirus products known to cause DNS interference: Bitdefender (DNS traffic filter), Kaspersky (Safe Browsing), Cisco Umbrella in managed corporate environments. Each has a specific exclusion or disable setting for DNS interception in its network protection options.
Fix 7: Check MTU Settings
MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) mismatches cause DNS queries to fail because the packets are too large to pass through the network path intact. This usually happens after installing VPN software (which changes the MTU to accommodate its own overhead) and either failing or being uninstalled without restoring the original MTU.
Check the current MTU: netsh interface ipv4 show subinterfaces in Command Prompt. Standard Ethernet should show 1500. If your primary adapter shows anything other than 1500, reset it:
netsh interface ipv4 set subinterface "Wi-Fi" mtu=1500 store=persistentReplace “Wi-Fi” with your actual adapter name as shown in the list. Restart and test.
Corporate Networks: Don’t Change DNS Here
On domain-joined or corporate-managed machines, the DNS server is intentionally configured to point to an internal corporate DNS server. This server resolves both internal resources (file servers, SharePoint, intranet sites) and external internet domains. Changing the DNS to Cloudflare or Google on a work machine breaks access to internal resources.
Check whether a corporate DNS server is configured: reg query HKLMSOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindowsWindowsUpdate and also check network adapter DNS settings — if the DNS server IP is in a private range (10.x.x.x, 172.16.x.x, or 192.168.x.x) and it’s not your router, it’s a corporate DNS server. Report the DNS error to IT rather than attempting to change the DNS configuration.
When It’s Only Specific Sites
DNS server not responding on specific sites while others load normally is a different problem from universal DNS failure. If only certain domains fail, the cause is usually one of these:
- Those specific domains are in the Windows hosts file redirected to 0.0.0.0 or 127.0.0.1 (check
C:WindowsSystem32driversetchostsin Notepad as administrator) - A parental control or DNS filter is blocking those domains
- The domains genuinely don’t exist or have expired — run
nslookup example.com 8.8.8.8to check against Google’s DNS directly
Our guide on ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED in Chrome covers the browser-specific DNS failure that often accompanies this Windows-level error. For Chrome specifically showing DNS errors while other browsers work, our Chrome not loading pages guide covers the Chrome-side DNS configuration and cache. Microsoft’s network diagnostics documentation covers the Event Viewer DNS client log entries that capture specific failure codes for each failed lookup, useful when intermittent DNS failures are hard to reproduce.
Checking the DNS Client Service Configuration
The DNS Client service (dnscache) needs to be running with the correct startup type for DNS to work reliably. Some system optimisation tools and third-party applications occasionally disable or modify this service. If the DNS flush worked temporarily but the error returns, the service configuration may be the underlying cause:
Press Win + R → type services.msc → find “DNS Client” → check that Status is “Running” and Startup type is “Automatic (Trigger Start).” If it’s set to Disabled or Manual, right-click → Properties → change the Startup type → click Start. The service being disabled is a less common cause but produces extremely persistent DNS failures that don’t respond to any network-level fix — because the resolver itself isn’t running to handle lookups regardless of which DNS server is configured.
Router-Level DNS vs Device-Level DNS
There are two places to change the DNS server: on the individual device (as described in Fix 3) or on the router itself. Changing it on the router affects every device on the network simultaneously, which is more efficient when multiple devices are experiencing the same DNS issue.
Access your router admin panel (usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 — check the label on the router if unsure). Log in with the admin credentials (also on the label if unchanged from factory defaults). Find the DNS settings under WAN or Internet settings. Replace the ISP-provided DNS servers with 1.1.1.1 and 8.8.8.8. Save and restart the router. All devices get the new DNS servers through DHCP, without needing to configure each device individually.
The router-level approach is the better long-term solution for households where the ISP’s DNS is consistently unreliable. The device-level approach in Fix 3 is faster for immediate troubleshooting and affects only the one machine.
Using nslookup to Diagnose Specific Failures
The nslookup command is the most direct tool for diagnosing exactly what’s failing in a DNS lookup. You can query specific DNS servers directly and compare results:
nslookup google.comThis uses your configured DNS server. If it fails, try:
nslookup google.com 8.8.8.8This queries Google’s DNS directly, bypassing your configured server. If this succeeds while the previous command failed, your configured DNS server is the problem and switching servers (Fix 3) is the correct fix. If both fail, the problem is at the network level — either no connectivity at all or a firewall blocking port 53 (the standard DNS port).
Also useful: nslookup -type=SOA google.com 8.8.8.8 to check for authoritative name server information, which can reveal when a domain’s DNS configuration has been corrupted at the registrar level rather than being a local client issue.
DNS-over-HTTPS in Browsers
Modern browsers like Chrome and Firefox have their own built-in DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) feature that bypasses Windows’ DNS configuration entirely. If the browser shows DNS errors but other applications (ping, nslookup) work correctly, the browser’s DoH configuration may be the issue rather than Windows’ DNS.
In Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Security → Use secure DNS → check which provider is selected or whether the custom DoH server is correctly configured. If a custom DoH server is set and it’s having issues, switching to a standard provider (Cloudflare or Google) or disabling DoH temporarily confirms whether the browser’s independent DNS is the failure point. This is a Chrome-level fix that has nothing to do with Windows DNS settings — useful to know when the Windows-level fixes don’t resolve browser-specific DNS errors.
The key diagnostic here: does DNS work in other applications but not in the browser? If ping and nslookup work but Chrome doesn’t, the browser’s own DNS implementation is the issue. If nothing works — ping, nslookup, Chrome, all DNS lookups fail — it’s a Windows or network-level problem that the browser-side investigation won’t resolve.
One scenario worth flagging explicitly: the “DNS server not responding” error appearing on a school or library computer where parental controls or institutional filtering is active. These systems sometimes deliberately return DNS failures for blocked content categories rather than a block page, producing the same error message as a genuine DNS failure. The diagnostic is simple — if DNS works for some sites but not others with no obvious common thread, and the machine is institutionally managed, content filtering is the most likely explanation rather than a DNS configuration problem. There’s nothing to fix on the device; the filtering is working as intended from the administrator’s perspective. Our guide on How to Fix DNS Server Not Responding in Chrome covers an adjacent issue.
