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Diagnose & Fix the Most Common DNS Issues on Windows 10
Encompassing solutions to tackle most DNS issues
8 min. read
Updated onJune 18, 2024
updated onJune 18, 2024
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To access the internet, your DNS has to work without any problems. Unfortunately, users reported various DNS issues on Windows 10 that prevent them from accessing the internet.
There’s a spread of DNS issues, especially theDNS server not responding errorwhich plagues Windows 10 users as well.
In this guide, we’ll help you tweak some DNS settings in Windows 10 and hopefully resolve the issue on your Windows 10 PC or laptop.
Why is my computer having DNS issues?
A problem from your end usually causes DNS issues on your computer. This can be in the form of wrong configuration, network issues, and other problems.
Below are some of the well-known causes:
❔Can a router cause DNS issues?
Being an integral part of your connection, a router can cause DNS issues. When your router is wrongly configured, it might lead to the DNS not working on Windows 10.
Also, if the router is faulty, it can cause DNS errors on your PC.
How do I fix DNS server on Windows 10?
1. Use Command Prompt
After you close the Command Prompt, check if the issue is resolved. According to users, you can fix DNS issues, like the error you experience after Windows 10 update, by flushing the DNS and resetting some settings.
2. Turn off the peer-to-peer download for Windows updates
Sometimes Windows updates can cause issues with DNS. One potential solution that users found is to disable peer-to-peer download for Windows updates.
3. Reinstall your network adapter drivers
Some users claim you can fix this issue by removing and reinstalling yournetwork adapterdriver.
Updating your drivers using the Device Manager is not the best way to find the latest network drivers. Therefore, we strongly suggest installing a third-party driver installer.
You won’t need to search for drivers manually anymore. Dedicateddriver updater softwaresuch asOutbyte Driver Updaterwill help you do it automatically by performing periodic scans and making sure everything is up-to-date.
Outbyte Driver Updater is meant to be as lightweight as possible, and the only components you actually download and install on your PC are the driver scanner and downloader.
Outbyte Driver Updater
4. Change Power Options settings
You can fix this problem by changing the power settings of your wireless network adapter.
5. Make sure that Microsoft LLDP Protocol Driver is enabled
If the DNS server is not responding with ethernet or WiFion Windows 10, we suggest you check if the Microsoft LLDP Protocol Driver is enabled for your connection.
6. Perform Clean boot to fix DNS issues on Windows 10
Now you can repeat the same steps and enable services one by one until you find the problematic one.
According to them, some third-party service was interfering with DNS, and the issue was resolved after finding and disabling the problematic service.
7. Change the configuration of the wireless router
Users reported that Windows 10 has some issues with certain wireless frequencies and standards.
To fix this issue, you need to change your wireless router settings.
It seems that Windows 10 has problems with 2.4GHz networks. Therefore if your wireless adapter supports 5GHz frequency, make sure you use it.
If your adapter doesn’t work with a 5GHz frequency, use the 2.4GHz Legacy option instead. For more details on how to change these settings, be sure to check your wireless router manual.
8. Use Google’s public DNS server
Your ISP’s DNS server might have some issues, so you might want to use Google’s public DNS instead. To do that, follow these steps.
Alternatively, some users suggest using208.67.222.222as the Preferred DNS server and208.67.222.220as the Alternate DNS server.
9. Change the MAC address of your network adapter
Restart your PC after applying this fix and check if the DNS issue is resolved.
10. Remove Winsock keys from the registry
If your DNS is not responding, you can try removing the Winsock keys from the registry.
Is it OK to clear the DNS cache?
It is a good practice to clear your DNS cache often. This is important for privacy and security purposes.
The DNS cache works like a virtual address book that contains information about your websites. Clearing the info often is a good way to keep it away from hackers and bad actors online.
DNS issues on Windows 10/11 can be frustrating, as they can stop you from accessing the internet. But with the right information we provided in this guide, you should be able to get past it easily.
If you need a guide to fix a specific issue likeDNS server unavailable on Windows 11, check our detailed guide.
DNS issues can often causeCan’t reach this pageerror, so it’s crucial to fix them as soon as possible.
Feel free to let us know the fix that helped you solve the problem in the comments below.
More about the topics:DNS,internet connection errors
Milan Stanojevic
Windows Toubleshooting Expert
Milan has been enthusiastic about technology ever since his childhood days, and this led him to take interest in all PC-related technologies. He’s a PC enthusiast and he spends most of his time learning about computers and technology.
Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Now, he’s one of the Troubleshooting experts in our worldwide team, specializing in Windows errors & software issues.
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Milan Stanojevic
Windows Toubleshooting Expert
Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Now, he’s specialized in Windows errors & software issues.
