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How To Fix The - DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN - Error

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Fix DNS Errors On Your Computer

Do you see an error that says DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN while trying to access a website? This error is actually related to your DNS settings, and you can fix it by changing a few DNS options here and there on your computer.

This error usually appears when your browser can’t resolve the DNS for a domain name. The term NXDOMAIN at the end of the error message indicates that the entered domain doesn’t exist.

Here are some of the fixes that you can apply to get rid of this error on your machine.

 

1. Flush Your DNS Cache

To resolve domain names quickly, your computer looks at the stored DNS cache. If there’s an issue with this cache, which is often the case, clearing this cache should likely fix the issue you’re experiencing in your browser.

Flush The DNS Cache On Windows:

  1. Search for Command Prompt using the Start Menu search bar and launch the utility.
  2. Type the following command into the Command Prompt window and hit Enter: ipconfig/flushdns
  3. Flush The DNS Cache On Mac:
  4. Click on Launchpad in the Dock, search for Terminal, and open it.
  5. Now, input the following commands, pressing Enter after each:dscacheutil -flushcachesudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

 

2. Renew Your IP Address

The error “This site can’t be reached” might result from an incorrectly specified IP address. You can try renewing your IP address and see if that helps fix the problem.

Renew Your IP Address On Windows:

  1. Open the Command Prompt and run the following commands in order: ipconfig/release
  2. Flush the DNS cache: ipconfig/flushdns
  3. Renew your IP address: ipconfig/renew
  4. Set new DNS servers: netsh int ip set dns
  5. Reset the Winsock settings: netsh winsock reset

Renew IP Address On Mac:

  1. Click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar and select Open Network Preferences.
  2. Choose your Wi-Fi network on the left and click Advanced on the right.
  3. Head to the TCP/IP tab.
  4. Click the Renew DHCP Lease button.

 

3. Restart The DNS Client

Windows computers use something called a DNS Client that helps your browsers resolve domain names. You can try restarting the DNS Client service and see if that helps eliminate the “this site can’t be reached” error in your browser.

Here’s how you restart the DNS Client service on Windows 10:

  1. Press Windows Key + R  to open the Run dialog, type services.msc, and hit Enter.
  2. On the resulting screen, find the service that says DNS Client,
  3. right-click on this service, and select Restart.

 

4. Change Your DNS Servers

It may be that the DNS servers you’ve configured on your computer are not working. When this happens, your sites can’t resolve domain names and as a result, you get the “DNS Probe Finished NXDOMAIN” error.

In this case, you can try changing your DNS servers and see if that fixes the issue for you. Here we show how to change your DNS to Google’s public DNS servers.

Changing DNS Servers On Windows:

  1. Open the Settings app, select Network & Internet, and click Change adapter options.
  2. Right-click on your adapter and select Properties.
  3. Select the option that says Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click Properties.
  4. Enable the box for Use the following DNS server addresses.
  5. Enter 8.8.8.8 in the Preferred DNS server box and 8.8.4.4 in the Alternate DNS server box. Then, click OK at the bottom.
  6. Relaunch your browser and try to access the sites that didn’t open before.

Changing DNS Servers On Mac:

  1. Click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar and select Open Network Preferences.
  2. Select your network from the left sidebar and click Advanced on the right pane.
  3. Go to the DNS tab.
  4. Select the existing DNS servers and click the - (minus) button at the bottom. This will remove all your servers.
  5. Click the + (plus) sign and add 8.8.8.8.
  6. Click the + (plus) sign again and enter 8.8.4.4.
  7. Finally, click OK at the bottom to save your changes.

 

5. Turn Off Your VPN App

A VPN acts as an intermediate computer, and your computer’s traffic flows through it. If there’s an issue with the VPN, it can cause your browser not to launch any sites.

Try turning off the VPN app on your computer and see if you are able to open your sites then. If you can, there’s probably an issue with your VPN app, and you need to resolve it before you use it again.

 

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