# How to Fix DNS Server Not Responding in Windows 11

URL: https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-dns-server-not-responding-windows-11/
Published: 2026-05-19 | Updated: 2026-08-10 | Author: Ankit Kumar
Tags: Windows 11, Network, Wi-Fi, Fix
Summary: Browser says DNS server isn't responding? Flush the cache, switch to public DNS, and reset Winsock when Windows 11 can't resolve website names.
Recommended app: Network Traffic Monitor & Analyzer — https://www.mytechnician.tech/apps/network-monitor/ (Microsoft Store: https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9NGCWN2BKVSC?hl=en-us&cid=mytechnician-web). Optional; every step below uses built-in Windows tools.

## The Problem
Sites fail with **DNS server isn't responding** or `DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NO_INTERNET`, while Wi-Fi shows as connected. Windows is not translating names such as `google.com` into IP addresses. The cause is normally a local DNS cache, an adapter setting, or the router—not a dead internet line.

> **Wi-Fi showing "No Internet, secured" with a yellow triangle?** Start with [fix No Internet, secured](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-no-internet-secured-wifi/). **Chrome-specific?** See [fix DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NO_INTERNET](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-dns-probe-finished-no-internet/).

## Confirm It Really Is DNS
Two commands settle it. Open **Terminal**:

```cmd
ping 1.1.1.1
```
```cmd
ping google.com
```

* **First works, second fails** → confirmed DNS problem. Everything below applies.
* **Both fail** → this is not a DNS problem; your connection is down. See [fix No Internet, secured](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-no-internet-secured-wifi/).
* **Both work but browsers still fail** → the browser or a proxy is at fault, not DNS. Test in an InPrivate window with extensions disabled.

## Symptoms
* Every browser fails while chat apps still work, because those connect to cached IP addresses.
* The problem started after installing VPN software, parental controls, or a router firmware update.
* One device fails while others on the same network are fine—which points at the PC rather than the router.

## Step 1: Quick Checks
1. Try another browser, or an InPrivate window—extensions can hijack DNS.
2. Toggle Wi-Fi off and on, or unplug Ethernet for ten seconds.
3. Test another device on the same network. **If everything fails, reboot the router** and skip to the router section at the end.

## Step 2: Flush the Resolver Cache
In **Terminal (Admin)**:

```cmd
ipconfig /flushdns
```

Then retry. If it works briefly and then breaks again, something is repopulating bad entries—continue.

## Step 3: Set a Public DNS Server
This bypasses a flaky or overloaded ISP resolver, and it is the fix in most cases.

1. `Win + R` → `ncpa.cpl` → Enter.
2. Right-click your active adapter → **Properties**.
3. Select **Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)** → **Properties**.
4. Choose **Use the following DNS server addresses**:
   * Cloudflare: `1.1.1.1` / `1.0.0.1`
   * Google: `8.8.8.8` / `8.8.4.4`
   * Quad9, which also blocks known malicious domains: `9.9.9.9` / `149.112.112.112`
5. Tick **Validate settings upon exit** → **OK**.
6. Repeat for **IPv6** if you use it: Cloudflare `2606:4700:4700::1111`, Google `2001:4860:4860::8888`.

Then:

```cmd
ipconfig /flushdns
```
```cmd
ipconfig /registerdns
```

Full walkthrough: [how to change DNS servers in Windows 11](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/how-to-change-dns-servers-windows-11/).

## Step 4: Reset Winsock and the TCP/IP Stack
A damaged stack causes DNS timeouts even with good servers configured. In **Terminal (Admin)**:

```cmd
netsh winsock reset
```
```cmd
netsh int ip reset
```
```cmd
ipconfig /release
```
```cmd
ipconfig /renew
```

**Restart the PC.** This matters—skipping the reboot leaves the reset half-applied.

## Step 5: Check the DNS Client Service
1. `Win + R` → `services.msc`.
2. Find **DNS Client** (`Dnscache`). It should be **Running** with startup type **Automatic**.
3. If it is disabled—usually by a "privacy" or "optimiser" script—re-enable it and start it.

## Step 6: Remove Stale VPN and Filtering Software
This is the most common cause when the problem appeared suddenly with no other change.

1. **Settings** → **Network & internet** → **VPN** → remove profiles you no longer use.
2. Uninstall old VPN clients properly. A partially removed client leaves a virtual adapter and routes behind that capture DNS traffic and send it nowhere.
3. Check **Device Manager** → **Network adapters** → **View** → **Show hidden devices**, and remove leftover TAP or WireGuard adapters.
4. Temporarily disable any third-party "web protection" or DNS filtering in a security suite.
5. Check the hosts file for entries malware or an ad blocker may have added:

```
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
```

## Step 7: Test IPv6
Some routers mishandle IPv6 DNS and produce intermittent failures.

1. In the adapter's **Properties**, untick **Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)**.
2. Test browsing.
3. If that fixes it, update the router firmware, then re-enable IPv6. Leaving IPv6 off permanently is a workaround, not a fix.

## Step 8: Reinstall the Network Adapter
**Device Manager** → **Network adapters** → right-click your adapter → **Uninstall device** → **Action** → **Scan for hardware changes** → restart.

If nothing has worked, do a full network reset: **Settings** → **Network & internet** → **Advanced network settings** → **Network reset**. You will need to reconnect to Wi-Fi and reinstall VPN clients afterwards.

## Verify the Fix
```cmd
nslookup google.com
```

You should see an address under **Non-authoritative answer**, and the **Server:** line tells you which resolver actually answered—useful confirmation that your new DNS setting took effect.

To test a specific server directly:

```cmd
nslookup google.com 1.1.1.1
```

If that works but a plain `nslookup` does not, the configured DNS server is the problem and Step 3 is your fix.

## When It Is the Router
If every device fails, the router's own DNS settings are at fault:

1. Open the router's admin page (usually `192.168.1.1` or `192.168.0.1`).
2. Find the WAN or Internet DNS settings.
3. Set them to **Automatic from ISP**, or enter `1.1.1.1` and `8.8.8.8` directly.
4. Reboot the router.

Setting DNS at the router fixes every device at once, which is worth doing anyway: [set up DNS filtering to block malicious sites](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/set-up-dns-filtering-block-malicious-sites/).

---
Source: https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-dns-server-not-responding-windows-11/ — My Technician, free Windows 10/11 troubleshooting guides.
Related tool: Network Traffic Monitor & Analyzer (Network Traffic Monitor & Analyzer shows real-time bandwidth usage, active connections, and per-app network traffic on Windows 10 and 11.) — https://www.mytechnician.tech/apps/network-monitor/
More guides: https://www.mytechnician.tech/llms.txt