DNS Server Not Responding Error Update [15 TESTED FIXES]

Whenever you see an error message “DNS Server is not responding” message when you try to browse a webpage, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are no specific solutions to DNS Server not responding, but if you try to do a bit of initial troubleshooting to understand if it’s device-specific or the network itself, fixing this issue gets a lot easier.

This article explains all of the reasons and possible solutions for DNS server not responding to issues in detail.

dns-server-not-responding

Before getting into the article, let’s talk and understand DNS in brief detail.

DNS is a tool or service that actually maps or connects your computer to your desired domain name that you want to access. Computers access websites based on the IP address and not just the domain name, but for a person, it is practically impossible to remember all the web addresses IP address. So, when you type a domain name on the browser, the DNS tool connects to the DNS server and looks for the IP address stored on the Domain Name Server (DNS)’s servers, and directs your computer to the desired webpage.

READ: Troubleshooting IP Configuration Issues On Your Wifi

But sometimes because of lots of reasons, you might not be able to communicate with the DNS server and this results in the browser failing to open the webpage for you and give you an error,  DNS Server Is Not Responding or DNS Server Failed.

All the users might be facing this error because of different reasons in each case, but let’s see some of the most common reasons besides this problem.

  • First is your windows or your system itself.
  • Your router might have some faults connecting to the server.
  • Firewall settings
  • Internet Service Provider

DNS Server Is Not Responding: Troubleshooting

Now that we’ve listed some of the most minor reasons besides your DNS server failing to respond, let’s see some of the most basic attempts at fixing this issue without any professional assistance.

1. Initial Troubleshooting

1.1 Check Other Devices & Websites

The first thing you do if you get this error message is to check if other websites are loading fine. If other websites are working fine but not just a particular website, either there are some issues with the website or your PC.

If none of the websites are loading and just giving you DNS server is not responding error message, get on another device that is on the same network and see if the internet connection is facing any issues on that device. This will help you decide if the issue is with the internet connection or your computer.

Last, use your mobile phone’s internet and check if that website is loading fine. If it’s loading fine on your mobile’s internet, your internet is to blame. Always do a system shutdown and restart as that fixed 8/10 problems on a computer. Please don’t ask why and how :D.

The main goal of doing this is to find out whats the root cause of this error. As you don’t want to waste your time troubleshooting and fixing things that are not broken, right?

1.2 Drain The Power Cycle On Your PC & Router/Modem

Do a complete power drain of your computer and the modem/router you use to connect to the internet. To do so, shut down your computer and power off your router. Then disconnect both of your devices from the wall socket. Leave it for 5-10 minutes and power it back on. It helps to drain any power that is left in the circuits or chips and gives them a fresh start.

READ: Detailed Guide To Fix Connection Issues On A Google Home

1.3 Hard Reset The Router

This is one of the easiest things you can do when there are any kinds of issues regarding your internet connection. It takes a couple of minutes and this does not harm your router, neither your system. And trust me in some cases this fixes the issue. If you do not know how to restart the router, look for a button on the back or on the router that says “Reset” or the “Power” button. If your router is somewhere you cannot access it physically, you can reboot the router from your computer itself.

To restart the router from the compute you need to know the default IP address of the router in the first place. You can always, try following IP addresses
-192.168.1.1
-192.168.0.1

Or, You can always visit your router’s official page and find it or simply google your router and name and chances are you will get all the information you need to reset or restart your router.

READ: Why Updating Your BIOS Is Not Always Necessary

Open up a browser and type the IP address on the URL bar and hit enter.
You will be prompted for the router’s login credentials, by default the login credentials are “admin” and “admin”. If the router’s password was changed by any other user, you will have to either ask the person or hard reset the router, for which you will need to access the router physically.

1.4 Restart Your Network Adapter

Check your network adapters and see if everything is working fine. Go to the control panel, and under “Network and Sharing Centre”, find the adapter that you use to connect to the internet and restart it. Right-click on it and click “Disable” and “Enable” it again.

1.5 Is The Website Down

Always do not forget to check if you are being locked out of a specific website or is it the whole internet that you are getting blocked from. Sometimes, some websites might have DNS issues and this might result in having DNS server connection issues. Try loading the website from your phone’s data connection or any other type of internet connection, if the problem still persists then chances are, it might be the fault on the website’s server.

DNS Server Not Responding : Solutions

Another recommendation to find out if everything is fine on the website’s end, you can use any services like “isitdownrightnow.com” and check yourself if a particular website is really down or not responsive or is it just you who is facing this issue.

So, these are two things that you should try before getting into other ways to solve the DNS server not responding issues.

DNS Flush

This flushes your IP address/DNS and gets you a fresh IP/DNS address

  • Open up run or hit the “Windows” + R key.
  • Type in CMD
  • Now inside CMD type, netsh int ip reset . This resets your computer’s IP address.
  • Again type, netsh winsock reset.
  • Finally type, ipconfig /flushdns.
  • That will flush or refresh your DNS.

After that, I will suggest you to restart you internet connection or the computer and check if the problem is resolved.

DNS Client Restart

If flushing the DNS did not solve your problem, try restarting the DNS client itself. To do so:

  • Open up run, or hit “windows + R” on your keyboard.
  • Type “Services.msc” and hit the enter key.
  • A window with lots of services should come up as the screenshot below.
  • Carefully scroll down until you find “DNS Client”.
  • Right click on the DNS client and click “Restart”.
  • Wait for couple of minutes and the DNS Client shall now be restarted.
services.msc-dns-lookup-failed

Try loading the website now, but before doing that I would recommend you to restart your internet connection as well.

Using Alternate DNS Server Address

Since DNS is the main issue here, one of the most advised and recommended fixes is using a new DNS address on your system. By default, your internet connection assigns and connects to a DNS server by itself, but you can alter that and force your computer to use another DNS address.

For Windows Users

dns-lookup-failed
  • Open Network and Sharing Center via control panel or typing cpl on run.
  • After you get to the sharing center, you should see an option “Change adapter settings” on the left column. Open that and you should see all the different kinds of adapter that you are using to connect to the internet.
  • If you are using a LAN connection or a cable to connect to the internet, select Local Area Network Connection and if you use wireless connection/ WiFi to connect to internet, select Wireless Network Connection.
  • Right click on the connection and open up properties.
  • Find Internet Protocol 4 (TCP/IPv4), select that and click on properties.
  • On the new windows that pops up, you should see an option that reads “Use the following DNS Address”. Enter the following DNS address.
8.8.8.8 

8.8.4.4

Check out Downforeveryoneorjustne.com. (Regularly Updated List)

For Mac OS Users

Step 1: From the desktop, go to system preferences from the Apple menu and then select “Network”.

Step 2: Check to see if the lock in the lower left-hand corner is locked or unlocked. If it is unlocked, you will not require to make any changes, but if it is locked, double click on that and you should be prompted to authenticate the action by entering your password.

Step 3: Depending on the type of connection you use to connect to the internet, select the type of connection.

For e.g.: For Ethernet Connection, select Built-in Ethernet and click on Advanced

For a wireless connection, select Airport and click on Advanced.

Step 4: Select The DNS Tab.

Step 5: Click the + sign to replace the current address or add a new address.

Under IPV4: Enter 8.8.8.8   AND  8.8.4.4

Click Apply and OK.

Step 6: Restart your connection, and check to see if it works.

Try Different Browser

OK, this might not seem promising but sometimes browsers are also the reason besides bunch of issues connecting to the internet. So, if you are experiencing any issues such as the DNS server not responding issues, it’s good to clear all your browser’s cache and give it a fresh start.

To clear the cache:

On Google Chrome

  • Click the button on top right side that will bring up a menu.
  • Click on Settings and you shall now be on the settings page of google chrome.
  • Find “Show advanced setting”. Click on that.
  • Click on “Clear browsing data” and select “Cookies and other sites and plugins data” and “Cached images and files” others are optional.
  • Select “the beginning of time” if you do not have anything really important on your cache and history.
  • Hit “clear browsing data” button and give it a few seconds to clear everything.

Once done, restart your browser and your connection and give it another go.

Always remember to try different browsers as different browsers are built differently and sometimes it might be the fault on the browser’s side for not being able to reach the DNS server.

Firewalls And Security Settings

If you are not familiar with firewalls, they basically are a part or and software in your operating system which defines and controls the way the applications and services on your computer, connect and communicate through the internet.

In some cases, you might have security software installed such as an antivirus, internet security and there might be an integrated firewall within the application. Make sure everything is in right place. Some internet security applications such as Vipre, have sophisticated firewall rules and might be blocking websites on your device.

  • Go to control panel and look for security settings.
  • Open up firewall settings and make sure either it is turned off or it does not have any rules for the browser that you are trying to access the website from.
  • Look for the antivirus software or the application that might be working as a firewall for your PC, for e.g. Bitdefender, Kaspersky and bunch of other security applications that provide internet security and firewall services.
  • Just make sure that they are properly configured.

Regular Windows Updates

Windows updates play a crucial role in making sure that all the devices and applications on your Windows system work at their best capacity. Microsoft is well known for releasing timely updates and patches for its core OS and devices that might be connected to the system.

If it has been a long time since you ran the windows update tool, the windows updater tool might fail and not work properly. There are ways you can fix a Windows update error easily so make sure you do that.

You can check for updates by going to start or just search for “updates” on the bottom left search bar and running “Check for updates”.

This will also make sure that all the network adapters such as the WiFi card or the Ethernet card are running all the latest stable drivers.

Bonus( If Nothing Works)

OK, so now depending upon whether or not you figured out if there are some issues with your system or on the website’s server or your internet service provider and nothing seems to work, let’s see some of the things you can do after you’ve tried all the above-mentioned solutions and solve DNS server not responding issue.

Your PC Being The Issue

If you’ve figured it out that there are some issues with your computer for the DNS server not responding and you’ve tried all of the above-mentioned solutions and still nothing seems to work, you can always try doing the following things.

  • Try system restore and try restoring your computer to an earlier stage when the website was working fine. Read the article about restoring your computer here.
  • If you are using windows 8 or higher, you have an option to refresh your PC without losing all your apps and files. Basically, refreshing your PC means installing new or fresh windows files without losing all the installed applications and stored files and folders.
  • Try reinstalling the browser and try a new browser. Which I guess by this point, you must have done multiple times.
  • Try reinstalling or upgrading your device drivers, format your PC and install a fresh copy of windows.

Since there is some problem with your connection, there is nothing you can do but wait for the DNS server not responding issue to be fixed or you can also call your ISP’s technical assistance team and ask for help.

Hope this article will help you fix your DNS Server Not Responding Issues. If you need any help, make sure to drop down a comment or contact me via our contact page and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

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Prajwal is a senior editor @Windowslovers. A Tech enthusiast who loves to read and write articles that aid users in getting the most out of their gadgets and tech it easy.

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