How to Change Your DNS Server Settings in Windows 10 / 11? The domain name server (DNS) acts as a phone book, making it easier for you and your web browser to find websites. However, if you’re a Microsoft Windows 10 or Windows 11 user, you don’t need to use your Internet Service Provider’s default DNS. You can change the domain to make your web browser(s) more responsive or to solve network connectivity issues. The following guide will show you how to change your Domain Name Server settings on your Microsoft Windows 10/11 operating system.
Let’s start with How to Change Your DNS Server Settings in Windows 10 / 11?
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Reasons to Change Your Settings
Your default DNS may be slower, less private and in some cases, less reliable. As such, moving from a private DNS over to a public one can potentially increase your internet stability and speed. Additionally, it can improve your overall privacy and security. However, this is not the only way to secure your DNS.
Understanding DNS Server
This guide will not provide you with an in depth explanation of what a DNS is. Instead, we’ll just revise the basics. It’s best to think of the DNS as a translation service. Every website has a unique IP address. Memorizing or even bookmarking the IP address for each website you want to go to would be tedious.
The DNS allows you to type in a user friendly domain that gets translated into the actual IP address in the background.
How to Change DNS Setting on Windows 10
There are three ways to change your DNS settings on Windows 10. You can either use the standard Windows Settings application, Windows Command Prompt/PowerShell or classic Control Panel. This section will explore all three.
using Settings on Windows 10
As with most applications in Microsoft Windows 10, there are several ways to open the Settings application. The easiest would be:
- Right click on the Windows Start menu icon to open the Windows Power User Menu (or press the Winkey ⊞+ X).
- Select the Settings option from the Windows Power User Menu.
- Click on the Network & Internet option.
Select your connection type from the left panel. If you’re connected to the internet via Wi-Fi, select the Wi-Fi option. Similarly, if you’re connected to the internet through an ethernet cable, select the Ethernet option.
- Select the network that’s connected to the internet. This will open the Settings screen for that particular network.
- Next, scroll down to the IP Settings section and click on the Edit button. Windows will display the Edit IP Address dialog.
- Click on the drop-down box and select the option labeled Manual. The Edit IP settings dialog should now display two new toggles.
- Switch the IPv4 toggle to the on position. Once again, this will expand the Edit IP settings screen with more options.
- Leave the IP Address, Subnet prefix mask, and Gateway fields blank. Insert your primary and secondary DNS into the Preferred DNS and Alternate DNS fields (respectively).
- Next, double check your DNS addresses and then click on the Save button.
Once you’ve completed the above steps, you’ll need to restart your computer for the settings to take effect.
Change DNS Settings using Control Panel
Again, there are a few ways to open the Control Panel on Windows 10. The following tutorial will use the Windows Run dialog because all versions of Windows have it.
- Open the Windows Run dialog (Winkey ⊞+ R).
- Next, type Control Panel into the Open text field and hit the Enter key. This action will launch the Windows Control Panel.
Click on the View By drop down menu in the right hand corner of your screen and select Large Icons. This will provide a detailed view of all the Control Panel items. The items are arranged in alphabetical order by default.
- Next, click on the Network and Sharing Centre option. This action will open the Network and Sharing Center. It allows you to view the status of your network and configure it.
- Select Change adapter settings from the left panel. Windows will launch a new screen displaying all your network connections.
- Next, right click on the connection that’s connected to the internet. You should be met with a pop up context menu.
- Select Properties from the context menu. This action will display the properties of that particular network adaptor.
- Make sure that the Properties dialog has the Networking tab selected. Scroll through the items list until you find the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Make sure it’s checked and then select it (using a single click).
- Next, click on the Properties button. This action will launch the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties dialog.
- Make sure that the General tab is selected. Click on the radio dial labeled Use the following DNS server addresses.
- Next, insert your preferred and alternate DNS server into the respective fields.
- Finally, click on the OK button.
Once again, it’s a good idea to restart your computer to ensure that the DNS settings take effect successfully.
Change DNS Settings using Command Prompt
Follow this article about How to Change Your DNS Server Settings in Windows 10 / 11? The best way to do this across all versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system is by using Command Prompt. The following steps can be adjusted slightly to work with Windows PowerShell. Once again, we’ll use the Run dialog to open Command Prompt with elevated permissions.
- Open the Windows Run dialog (Winkey ⊞ + R).
- Next, type CMD into the open field.
- Press Ctrl+Shift+Enter on your keyboard. This action will run Command Prompt with administrator privileges.
- Type netsh and hit the Enter This will launch the Network Shell (netsh>).
- Next, enter interface IP show config and press Enter once again. This will display a list of all connections.
- Scan through the list until you find the connection that you want to configure the DNS settings for. For this tutorial, we’ll use the Wi-Fi connection as an example.
- Next, you must run the following command: interface set dns “[Connection]” static [DNS Address] and hit enter. For instance, if you’re using the Wi-Fi connection along with Google’s DNS, your command should look like this: interface IP set dns “Wi-Fi” static 8.8.8.8. Hit the enter key once you’ve entered the command. If the command fails, check that you’ve entered it correctly or your firewall isn’t blocking it. If the command executes successfully, it will return you to the netsh> prompt.
- You must use the following command to add a secondary/alternate DNS address: netsh interface IP add dns name=”[Connection]” [DNS Address] index=2. Again, the connection or adaptor goes in place of [Connection] and your DNS server’s address goes in place of [DNS Address]. If you’re using Wi-Fi to connect to the internet and Google as your DNS server, your command should look like this: netsh interface IP add DNS name=”Wi-Fi” [8.8.4.4] index=2.
Change DNS Settings on Windows 11
Microsoft hasn’t changed much between Windows 10 and 11. Thus, you can use Control Panel or Command Prompt/ Windows PowerShell to change the DNS server settings in the same way you used them on Windows 10. However, if you prefer to use Windows 11 Settings to change the DNS settings, you’ll have to follow different steps.
using Settings on Windows 11
The easiest way to run the Settings application is by using the Windows 11 search function.
- Click on the Search icon on your taskbar
- Next, search for Settings
- Select the Settings app option. Again, you can use the Windows 11 Power User Menu to run the Settings app too.
- Next, click on Network & Internet from the left panel.
- Scroll through the main panel until you reach Advanced Network Settings. Click on it.
- Select your internet connection from the next screen. In this case, it’s Ethernet0.
- Next, click on View additional properties. The next screen will reveal various properties related to your connection.
- Click on the Edit button located next to the DNS settings. This action will reveal the Edit DNS settings screen.
- Add your preferred and Alternate DNS server addresses.
- Click on the Save button.
Finally, you can restart your computer to ensure that all the changes take full effect.
How to Change Your DNS Server Settings in Windows 10 / 11? Conclusion
How to Change Your DNS Server Settings in Windows 10 / 11? If you reached this point in the guide, then you have an answer to this question. You don’t have to limit yourself to a single option when you’re using a public DNS server. You can try as many different options as possible and gauge the performance of your network to figure out which one was is best for you. Nevertheless, while Microsoft restructured how the Settings app works for Windows 11, Control Panel and Command Prompt remain the same.
Thus, you can use the Command Prompt and Control Panel tutorial to change the DNS server settings for any Windows version newer than Windows 98. With all that being said, which way do you prefer to edit your DNS settings? Tell us in the comment section below.
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