DNS failure is an Internet failure in which the Domain Name System (DNS) cannot resolve requests to domain names. Users using a DNS resolver won’t visit websites or send and receive an email as long as DNS fails.
For instance, you’re trying to go to google.com, and instead of going there, you get a message saying, “Cannot find the page you are looking for.”
What Causes DNS Failure?
DNS failure can occur due to many reasons.
- Most of the time, it’s because your ISP or network provider doesn’t have DNS appropriately configured.
- However, DNS configuration issues may be caused by your router not having the correct information in its configuration fill or improper browser settings that might redirect you to public DNS servers when there aren’t any available (and therefore break Internet access).
Impact of DNS Failure
DNS failure can be a minor inconvenience or a significant problem depending on your situation.
If you’re not hosting any websites and don’t use email, then DNS failure may be something that you can easily ignore. However, suppose your computer is running Windows XP Home without the ability to download updates automatically. In that case, you might want to think about configuring your router’s DNS settings if you notice the problem happening frequently.
An outage due to DNS failure could be disastrous for companies that rely heavily on email and website access. Small businesses or individuals looking to host websites should also consider using static IP addresses for added reliability if their ISP’s DNS fails when they need it most.
How To Resolve DNS Failure On Windows And macOS:
Method 1: Flush & Reset Your Local DNS Cache On Windows 10/8/7/Vista
1. Open Command Prompt as administrator.
2. To do this, type “command prompt” in the search box and then right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator from the context menu; or simply press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to open command prompt running with administrative privileges.
3. In the Command Prompt, all you have to do is type ipconfig /flushdns and hit Enter. That’s it! This should force your system to re-verify DNS settings after flushing its cache.
Method 2: Restart Networking Services On Windows 10/8/7/Vista
1. Search for services in Cortana and click on it once it shows up in results:
2. Scroll down below and look for entries named ” DNS Client, “DHCP Client, “and ” Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface. “
3. Select all these entries one by one, right-click on them > select Properties from the context menu.
4. Once you open properties for these services, look for “Startup type” (it should be somewhere around the middle of properties windows). By default, it’s set to Automatic. Change it to Manual or Disabled to turn off these services temporarily; I would suggest setting it to Manual so that Windows can start up these services when required.
5. Click Apply followed by OK, and you’re done! Restart your computer or device for changes to take effect.
Method 3: Disable IPv6 Network Protocol On Windows 10/8.1/7
In some cases, even though your DNS seems to be working fine, having IPv6 enabled on your machine may cause certain apps or programs to break, preventing you from accessing the Internet. In such a case, disabling the IPv6 protocol should fix any issues you might face that you might be facing due to broken IPv6 connectivity.
1. Type ” View Network Connections ” in Cortana and click on it when it shows up in results:
2. Right-click on your active network connection and select Properties from the context menu:
3. Now go to “This connection uses the following items’ ‘ > scroll down below and look for an entry named “Internet Protocol Version 6 TCP/IPv6”.
4. Select it and click on Properties. Ensure that both options under the General tab are set to “Disabled.” You can also disable IPv6 for all available network connections, but I feel that disabling IPv6 only on your active link is enough.
5. Click Apply followed by OK, and you’re done! Restart your computer or device for changes to take effect.
Method 4: Flush DNS Cache On macOS 10.12/10.11/10/9/8/7 And Older You can use the Terminal app to reset DNS cache on macOS machines:
1. Launch Terminal from /Application/Utility folder or use Spotlight search ( Command + Spacebar) to find it quickly.
2. After Terminal opens, simply type sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder and hit Enter to reset the DNS cache on macOS. To clear the DNS cache on macOS with GUI, follow these steps: 1. Go to Applications > Utilities > Terminal .
2. Type dscacheutil -flushcache and hit enter. That’s it! This should force your system to re-verify DNS settings after flushing its cache.
Conclusion
People use DNS services for added reliability if their ISP’s DNS fails when they need it most. This is done by adding another layer of servers, such as Open or Google Public DNS, to resolve hostnames not found on the local network.
It can also be done by manually setting up your computer or device to reach out to a custom public and private DNS server and modifying settings so that your device does not fall back onto ISP’s default DNS servers if no internet connection is reachable using the other servers you specified.
These alternative DNS service providers will usually offer a more secure browsing experience and an improved filtering system as parental control software. This article discussed different ways to fix issues with your DNS Failure.
