“DNS server isn’t responding.” It’s one of the more misleading errors Windows throws, because it shows up when your connection looks perfectly fine — Wi-Fi connected, signal strong — yet no website loads. The network is there; what’s broken is the step that turns a name like example.com into an IP address your PC can actually reach.
DNS sits between your machine and almost everything you do online, so a lot of unrelated-looking problems funnel into this one message. This guide moves from the quick, safe fixes (flush the cache, restart the right things) to the more decisive ones (change DNS servers, reset the stack), and shows you how to figure out whether the fault is your PC, your router, or the DNS server itself.
First, figure out where the problem is
Before changing anything, work out the scope. It saves you from resetting your PC when the router is the culprit.
- Does another device on the same network work? If your phone loads pages fine over the same Wi-Fi, the problem is local to the PC. If nothing works anywhere, suspect the router or the upstream DNS server.
- Can you reach an IP directly? This is the classic DNS test. If a site won’t load by name but the network is otherwise up, name resolution is the failing piece.
Run a quick lookup from Command Prompt to confirm:
nslookup microsoft.comIf nslookup times out or reports the server can’t be reached, DNS resolution is genuinely failing. If it returns addresses but your browser still won’t load pages, the problem is elsewhere (browser, proxy, or a different connectivity issue).
Run the built-in troubleshooter
On Windows 11, start with the automated Network and Internet troubleshooter in the Get Help app — it runs diagnostics and fixes many common issues on its own. Open Settings → System → Troubleshoot → Other troubleshooters and run the network-related troubleshooter, or search Get Help for network troubleshooting.
On Windows 10, the network troubleshooter lives under Settings → Update & Security → Troubleshoot → Additional troubleshooters. Let it finish, apply what it suggests, then test again. It often resets the adapter and clears minor faults without you touching the command line.
Flush DNS and refresh the connection
If the troubleshooter didn’t do it, clear the DNS cache. Stale or poisoned cache entries point your PC at the wrong (or a dead) address, and flushing forces fresh lookups.
Open Command Prompt as administrator and run these in order:
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /registerdns
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renewflushdnsclears the resolver cache.registerdnsrefreshes the registration.releaseandrenewdrop and re-request the IP lease from the router, which also re-fetches DNS server assignments via DHCP.
Test a site afterward. This pairing — flush plus lease renewal — resolves a large share of “DNS not responding” cases, especially right after a network change or a router reboot.
DNS / connection commands
| ipconfig /flushdns | Clear the local DNS resolver cache |
|---|---|
| ipconfig /registerdns | Re-register the client in DNS |
| ipconfig /release | Release the current IP lease |
| ipconfig /renew | Request a fresh IP lease and DNS info |
| nslookup <name> | Test whether name resolution works |
Change to a different DNS server
If your ISP’s DNS server is overloaded or down, no amount of flushing helps — the server you’re asking simply isn’t answering. Pointing Windows at a reliable public resolver usually gets you working again immediately.
To set DNS per adapter: open Settings → Network & Internet, select your connection, and edit the DNS server assignment. Or use the classic route: Control Panel → Network and Sharing Center → Change adapter settings, right-click your adapter → Properties → Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) → Properties, choose Use the following DNS server addresses, and enter:
Preferred DNS: 8.8.8.8
Alternate DNS: 8.8.4.4Those are Google’s resolvers. Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 / 1.0.0.1 work the same way. Microsoft’s guide to changing TCP/IP settings covers the Settings-app path and IPv6 entries in full — we have a dedicated walkthrough on changing DNS to Google or Cloudflare if you want the complete steps and the addresses for both.
After changing it, run ipconfig /flushdns once more so the old entries don’t linger, then test.
Check the network driver and security software
Two less obvious causes are worth ruling out before you reach for the heavy reset.
The network adapter driver. A buggy or update-swapped driver can cause intermittent DNS failures. Open Device Manager → Network adapters, right-click your adapter, and Update driver. If the trouble started right after a Windows update, use Properties → Driver tab → Roll Back Driver to return to the version that worked.
VPNs and security suites. Some VPN clients and antivirus products filter or redirect DNS traffic, and a misbehaving one can block lookups outright. Temporarily disconnect the VPN or pause the security tool’s web/DNS protection and test. If lookups come back, the fix is in that tool’s settings — don’t just leave protection off.
Reset the network stack
When flushing, changing DNS, and checking drivers all fail, corrupted network configuration is the likely cause. Resetting Winsock and the TCP/IP stack rebuilds it from scratch.
From an elevated Command Prompt:
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset
ipconfig /flushdnsThen reboot — the reset doesn’t fully take effect until you restart. This clears damaged network settings that block DNS, but it also resets some network configuration to defaults, so re-enter any custom settings afterward (including the DNS servers, if you set them manually).
DNS troubleshooting checklist
- Confirmed scope: this PC only, or every device
- nslookup used to verify resolution is failing
- Network troubleshooter run
- DNS cache flushed and IP lease renewed
- Switched to a public DNS server (8.8.8.8 or 1.1.1.1) and re-flushed
- Network driver updated or rolled back
- VPN / security DNS filtering ruled out
- Winsock and TCP/IP stack reset, then rebooted
If it’s the router or the ISP
If no device on the network can resolve names, stop working on the PC. Restart the router (power off 30 seconds, back on), and check whether the router’s own DNS settings point at a working server. Some routers let you set the DNS servers for the whole network — putting 8.8.8.8 or 1.1.1.1 there fixes every device at once. If the router is fine and the outage is upstream, it’s your ISP’s DNS, and switching the PC (or router) to a public resolver is the practical workaround until they recover.
Wrapping up
“DNS server not responding” is a name-resolution failure, not necessarily a connection failure — which is why the network can look healthy while nothing loads. Start by scoping the problem with another device and nslookup, then work the cheap fixes: troubleshooter, flush the cache, renew the lease. If your provider’s DNS is the weak link, switching to Google or Cloudflare is the most reliable single change.
Save the network-stack reset for last, since it clears custom settings and needs a reboot. And remember the scope check at the top — if every device fails, the answer is at the router or the ISP, not on your PC.
