How to Fix DNS Server Not Responding (2026 Guide)

If you're seeing a "DNS server not responding"error, your device is unable to translate domain names into the IP addresses it needs to load websites. The DNS (Domain Name System) is often called the "phonebook of the internet" — it maps human-readable names like google.com to machine-readable IP addresses like 142.250.80.46.

When DNS fails, your internet connection may still be active — you might even be able to ping IP addresses directly — but your browser cannot resolve any domain names. This guide walks you through every fix, from the 30-second restart to advanced diagnostics with nslookup and traceroute, across every major platform: Windows, Mac, PS5, and WiFi routers.

We'll also cover the best public DNS servers you can switch to and how to prevent DNS issues entirely with continuous DNS monitoring.

Every time you type a URL into your browser, your device sends a query to a DNS server asking: "What is the IP address for this domain?" The DNS server looks up the record and replies with the IP. Your browser then connects to that IP to load the page.

"DNS server not responding" means the DNS server your device is configured to use did not reply to this query. This can happen for several reasons:

• Your ISP's DNS server is down or overloaded
• Your router is not forwarding DNS queries correctly
• A firewall or antivirus is blocking DNS traffic (port 53)
• Your device's DNS cache is corrupted
• Network adapter settings are misconfigured
• Malware has redirected your DNS settings

The error can affect a single device, every device on your network, or — if it's an ISP-level outage — an entire region. The fix depends on where the problem is, which is why we start with the simplest solutions and work up.

Before diving into platform-specific fixes, try these universal solutions. They resolve the majority of DNS issues in under five minutes.

# Windows (Command Prompt as Admin)
ipconfig /flushdns

# Mac (Terminal)
sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

# Linux (Terminal)
sudo systemd-resolve --flush-caches

Windows is the most common platform where users encounter DNS errors. The Windows DNS client service can become stuck, the Winsock catalog can get corrupted, or outdated network adapter drivers can cause intermittent failures. Here's the complete fix sequence.

Step 1: Flush DNS and reset network stack

Open Command Prompt as Administrator(right-click Start → "Terminal (Admin)" or search for "cmd" and select "Run as administrator"). Run these commands one at a time:

ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /registerdns
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset

Restart your computer after running all four commands. The Winsock reset and IP reset require a reboot to take effect.

Step 2: Change your DNS servers

If flushing didn't help, your ISP's DNS servers may be the problem. Switch to a public DNS:

1. 1.Open Settings → Network & Internet → Advanced network settings → More network adapter options
2. 2.Right-click your active adapter (WiFi or Ethernet) → Properties
3. 3.Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) → Properties
4. 4.Select "Use the following DNS server addresses"
5. 5.Enter Preferred: 8.8.8.8 — Alternate: 8.8.4.4 (Google) or 1.1.1.1 / 1.0.0.1 (Cloudflare)
6. 6.Click OK, close all dialogs, and test

Step 3: Disable IPv6 (if needed)

Some ISPs and routers have broken IPv6 DNS support. In the same adapter properties window, uncheck "Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)"and click OK. Test if DNS starts working. If it does, the issue is your router's IPv6 DNS configuration — update your router firmware or configure IPv6 DNS separately.

Step 4: Restart the DNS Client service

The Windows DNS Client service can occasionally hang. Restart it from an admin Command Prompt:

net stop dnscache
net start dnscache

If the service refuses to stop, restart your computer — Windows will restart it automatically on boot.

macOS uses the mDNSResponderdaemon for DNS resolution. When it gets stuck or the local cache is corrupted, you'll see DNS failures. Here's how to fix it.

Step 1: Flush the DNS cache

Open Terminal(Applications → Utilities → Terminal) and run:

sudo dscacheutil -flushcache
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

Enter your Mac password when prompted. The first command clears the DNS cache, and the second restarts the mDNSResponder daemon that handles DNS lookups.

Step 2: Change DNS servers

1. 1.Open System Settings → Network
2. 2.Click on your active connection (WiFi or Ethernet) → Details
3. 3.Click the DNS tab
4. 4.Click the + button and add 8.8.8.8 and 1.1.1.1
5. 5.Remove any greyed-out ISP DNS entries by selecting them and clicking −
6. 6.Click OK

Alternatively, you can set DNS servers from the command line:

# For WiFi
networksetup -setdnsservers Wi-Fi 8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4 1.1.1.1 1.0.0.1

# Verify
networksetup -getdnsservers Wi-Fi

Step 3: Renew your DHCP lease

If changing DNS servers didn't help, renew your DHCP lease to get a fresh network configuration from your router:

1. 1.Go to System Settings → Network → WiFi → Details
2. 2.Click the TCP/IP tab
3. 3.Click Renew DHCP Lease

Or from Terminal: sudo ipconfig set en0 DHCP (use en0 for Ethernet, en1for WiFi — check with ifconfig).

PlayStation consoles use your router's DNS by default, which often means your ISP's DNS. Switching to a faster public DNS not only fixes the error but can also reduce latency in online games.

PS5 instructions

1. 1.Go to Settings → Network → Settings → Set Up Internet Connection
2. 2.Select your active connection (WiFi or LAN Cable)
3. 3.Press the Options button → Advanced Settings
4. 4.Set DNS Settings to Manual
5. 5.Primary DNS: 8.8.8.8
6. 6.Secondary DNS: 8.8.4.4
7. 7.Save and select Test Internet Connection

PS4 instructions

1. 1.Go to Settings → Network → Set Up Internet Connection
2. 2.Choose WiFi or LAN Cable → Custom
3. 3.IP Address: Automatic → DHCP Host Name: Do Not Specify
4. 4.DNS Settings: Manual → Primary 8.8.8.8 → Secondary 8.8.4.4
5. 5.MTU: Automatic → Proxy: Do Not Use
6. 6.Test Internet Connection

If DNS fails on WiFi but works on Ethernet, the problem is between your device and the router — not the DNS server itself. WiFi-specific DNS issues are surprisingly common and usually trace back to one of these causes:

Switching from your ISP's default DNS to a public DNS resolver is the single most effective fix for recurring DNS problems. ISP DNS servers are often under-provisioned, slow, and poorly maintained. These public alternatives are faster, more reliable, and offer additional features like malware blocking and privacy protections.

If the standard fixes didn't resolve your DNS error, these advanced diagnostics will help you pinpoint exactly where the failure is occurring.

Use nslookup to test DNS resolution

The nslookupcommand queries a specific DNS server directly, bypassing your system's default configuration. This tells you whether the problem is your DNS server or something else:

# Test with Google DNS
nslookup google.com 8.8.8.8

# Test with Cloudflare DNS
nslookup google.com 1.1.1.1

# Test with your default DNS
nslookup google.com

If nslookup google.com 8.8.8.8 returns an IP address but nslookup google.comfails, your default DNS server is the problem — switch to 8.8.8.8. If both fail, the issue is your network connection, not DNS.

Use traceroute to find network issues

Traceroute shows the path your DNS query takes to reach the server. If it stalls at a specific hop, that's where the problem is:

# Windows
tracert 8.8.8.8

# Mac / Linux
traceroute 8.8.8.8

If the trace dies at hop 1, the issue is your router. If it dies 3-4 hops in, the issue is your ISP. If it completes successfully but DNS still fails, the issue is specifically with DNS traffic (port 53) being blocked.

Check if your ISP's DNS is down

ISP DNS outages are more common than you'd think. Check DownDetector for your ISP to see if others are reporting issues. You can also search Twitter/X for "[ISP name] DNS down" to find real-time reports. If it's an ISP outage, switching to a public DNS (8.8.8.8 or 1.1.1.1) is the immediate fix.

Check for malware or firewall blocking DNS

Some malware redirects DNS queries to malicious servers, and overzealous firewalls or antivirus software can block DNS traffic entirely. Steps to check:

• •Temporarily disable your firewall and antivirus, then test DNS. If it works, one of them is the culprit.
• •Run a full malware scan with Malwarebytes or Windows Defender.
• •Check your hosts file for suspicious entries: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts (Windows) or /etc/hosts (Mac/Linux).
• •On Windows, check if the DNS Client service is set to Automatic: services.msc → DNS Client → Properties.
• •Check for proxy settings that might be intercepting DNS: Settings → Network → Proxy → ensure "Automatically detect settings" is off if you don’t use a proxy.

Check DNS with dig (Mac/Linux)

The dig command provides more detail than nslookup and is the standard tool for DNS diagnostics:

# Query a specific DNS server
dig @8.8.8.8 google.com

# Check response time
dig @1.1.1.1 google.com +stats

# Trace the full DNS delegation chain
dig google.com +trace

Look at the Query time in the output. Anything under 50ms is good. If it exceeds 200ms or times out, that DNS server is too slow or unreachable from your location.

The fixes above solve DNS problems on your local machine. But if you run a website or online service, DNS issues on yourdomain can affect every user trying to reach you — and you won't know about it until someone complains.

DNS monitoringcontinuously checks your domain's DNS records from multiple global locations, detecting problems before your users encounter them:

• Record changes — detect when A, AAAA, MX, CNAME, or TXT records change unexpectedly
• Propagation failures — catch when DNS updates haven’t propagated to all nameservers
• Unauthorized modifications — get alerted if someone changes your DNS records without approval
• Resolution failures — know immediately when your domain stops resolving in any region
• Expiring domains — monitor domain and SSL certificate expiration dates

Instead of waiting for users to report "your site is down," continuous DNS monitoring catches the issue the moment it happens. For teams running production websites, it's the difference between a 2-minute fix and a 2-hour outage.

Frequently Asked Questions