Have you ever come across that error that says “DNS lookup failed” or “DNS Server not responding” when using your smile, spectranet, ntel or Swift modem? Here is a solution that works. No we don’t do magic.
As mobile internet usage surpasses Desktop users, more and more people are coming online and there is bound to be issues. Today we would be talking on DNS which stands for Domain Name System Server, and it involves the translation of a web address into it’s original IP address.
Every website has it’s own unique IP address that the domain name translates to. There are many reasons you might want to change your DNS Server, reasons starting from better security system, speed of connection and other fantastic features a DNS Server might offer. If your ISP is having big issues with its DNS service and your connection is starting to get really annoying, it is high time you switch to a public DNS Server. Recently (Last week), i had an issue with my ISP, ntel, some of you would have seen my outcries on my twitter TL last week. They had a problem with their DNS Server and this was how i fixed it.
There are plenty of free to use DNS servers online and this is a good news.
A good example is Google Public DNS
– Google Public DNS IP addresses (IPv4) are as follows:
Primary address: 8.8.8.8
Secondary address: 8.8.4.4
– Google Public DNS IPv6 addresses are as follows:
Primary address: 2001:4860:4860::8888
Secondary address: 2001:4860:4860::8844
Another example is OpenDNS. See here.
– OpenDNS Public DNS IP addresses (IPv4) are as follows:
- Primary address: 208.67.222.222
- Secondary address: 208.67.220.220
I usually recommend Google Public DNS as it was created to provide users with a fast and secure DNS resolution. Google also promises that it wont be tampering with your data or whatsoever when using their public DNS.
How-to Change Your Router’s DNS Server.
Some routers allows you to change the default DNS Server which is provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP), thereby putting all connected device on the same Server. Settings differ based on routers, if you’re not so sure about the steps required to take based on your router, you probably want to check out your router’s manual or online documentation for reference. It is always advisable to change your DNS Server from your router itself rather than each individual devices, with that you can easily switch back to the default DNS Server provided by your ISP.
Most routers have a web interface that assist you with the management and control of the internet device, after you login you should find a DNS server option, when you change this to the DNS addresses listed above it would affect all devices connected to the router. Ensure you save the setting and restart your router.
If you can’t find a DNS setting under your router, the best solution would be to change it on each individual devices that you want to connect to the internet. Most devices like PC’s, console games e.t.c have DNS Settings in them.
How-to Change DNS Server on Your Windows Computer.
- Click on Start and select Control Panel.
- From Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center > Change adapter settings.
- After selecting “change adapter settings“, Click the network connection you want to configure.
- select “Properties”
This part has to be changed for each internet connection you have. That means if you use Wifi internet connection and Ethernet (Cable) you need to change for the both of them to work effectively.
Some Windows System might as you for permission, while some wont.
- Select “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCIP/IPv4)” and click “Properties”, in Windows 10 there won’t be properties.
- Select “Use the following DNS server addresses“, enter the IP of the DNS servers you want to use as listed above, and click “OK”.
- You can also set a custom DNS for IPV6 as well. Select “Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCIP/IPv6)” and add the DNS address.
- Click the Close button, then Close again. Finally, close the Network and Sharing Center window.
After completing the above procedure, we advise you flush your DNS cache to ensure your system is using the new settings but not the cached version of the old settings.
How-to Clear your DNS Cache.
- Open up your Command prompt as an administrator, to do that, search for command prompt on your start button search bar, right click and select “Run as Administrator”.
[mks_toggle title=”
Now input this command:
” state=”open”]ipconfig /flushdns[/mks_toggle]
It is advisable to close all running applications and open again as some browsers have a dns cache in them too.
If you have any questions feel free to drop a comment below.