What is DNS and why does changing it on the router matter?

DNS (Domain Name System) translates website names like google.com into IP addresses. Changing the DNS server on the router affects all devices on your network simultaneously. Switching from your ISP's DNS to Google (8.8.8.8) or Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) typically improves website loading speed and reliability.

What are the best DNS servers to use on a router?

Google Public DNS (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) and Cloudflare DNS (1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1) are the most widely recommended free alternatives. Both are faster than most ISP DNS servers, free to use, and do not require account registration.

Will changing DNS on the router affect all my devices?

Yes. When you change DNS on the router, all devices that use the router's DHCP for network settings will automatically use the new DNS servers. Devices with manually configured DNS in their own settings will not be affected.

Do I need to flush DNS cache after changing router DNS settings?

Yes. Your devices cache DNS lookups from the previous DNS server. Flushing the cache ensures they use the new DNS server for fresh lookups immediately. On Windows, run ipconfig /flushdns in an administrator Command Prompt. On Mac, run sudo dscacheutil -flushcache in Terminal.

Can changing DNS on the router fix internet connection problems?

Yes, in some cases. If your ISP's DNS servers are slow or unreliable, websites may fail to load or respond slowly even when the internet connection is working. Switching to a faster public DNS server resolves these symptoms without changing the underlying internet connection.

How to Change Router DNS Settings

DNS (Domain Name System) servers translate website names like google.com into the IP addresses computers use to connect. Your router uses DNS servers assigned by your ISP by default — but these are often slower and less reliable than public alternatives. According to Google’s Public DNS documentation, switching to a faster DNS server reduces the time websites take to load, particularly the initial connection delay.

Router DNS settings panel: change primary DNS to 8.8.8.8 Google or 1.1.1.1 Cloudflare for faster and more private browsing

Why change your router’s DNS settings

ISP DNS limitations:

Often located far from users geographically, adding latency
Can experience outages that break internet access even when your connection is working
Some ISPs redirect failed DNS lookups to advertising pages

Benefits of Google (8.8.8.8) or Cloudflare (1.1.1.1):

Globally distributed servers — typically faster response times
Higher uptime and reliability than ISP DNS
No redirection of mistyped domains to advertising pages
Free with no registration required

Changing DNS on the router vs. individual devices: Changing DNS on the router applies to every device on your network automatically — phones, laptops, TVs, smart home devices — without configuring each one individually.

DNS server options

Provider	Primary DNS	Secondary DNS	Known for
Google Public DNS	`8.8.8.8`	`8.8.4.4`	Speed, reliability
Cloudflare	`1.1.1.1`	`1.0.0.1`	Privacy, speed
OpenDNS	`208.67.222.222`	`208.67.220.220`	Parental controls
Quad9	`9.9.9.9`	`149.112.112.112`	Security, blocks malicious domains

How to change DNS settings on your router

Step 1 — Log in to the router admin panel

Open any browser
Type 192.168.1.1 in the address bar (or 192.168.0.1 for ASUS/D-Link)
Log in with your admin credentials (on the router label)

If you cannot reach the admin panel, see How to Access Your Router Settings.

Step 2 — Find the WAN DNS settings

The DNS settings location varies by router brand:

Router Brand	DNS Setting Location
NETGEAR	Internet → Domain Name Server (DNS) Address
TP-Link	Network → WAN → DNS Server
ASUS	WAN → Internet Connection → WAN DNS Setting
Linksys	Connectivity → Internet Settings → DNS
D-Link	Setup → Internet → Manual DNS

Look for fields labelled:

Primary DNS Server (also: DNS Server 1, Preferred DNS)
Secondary DNS Server (also: DNS Server 2, Alternate DNS)

If you see Get DNS Server Automatically or Use ISP DNS, there should be a toggle to switch to manual DNS entry.

Step 3 — Enter the new DNS addresses

Clear the existing entries and type:

Google Public DNS:

Primary DNS: 8.8.8.8
Secondary DNS: 8.8.4.4

Cloudflare DNS:

Primary DNS: 1.1.1.1
Secondary DNS: 1.0.0.1

Enter these exactly — a single digit error means the DNS server cannot be reached and internet browsing will fail.

Click Save or Apply.

Step 4 — Flush DNS cache on your devices

After changing the router DNS, cached lookups on each device still point to the old DNS server temporarily. Flush the cache to apply the new settings immediately:

Windows:

Open Command Prompt (search cmd in Start)
Run: ipconfig /flushdns
You should see: “Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache”

Mac:

Open Terminal
Run: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
Enter your Mac password when prompted

Without flushing: the new DNS takes effect automatically within 1–8 hours as cached entries expire.

How to verify the DNS change

On Windows:

Open Command Prompt
Run: nslookup google.com
The output shows which DNS server was used:
```
Server:  dns.google
Address:  8.8.8.8
```
If you see 8.8.8.8 or 1.1.1.1 as the server address, the change is working.

Speed comparison:

Open Command Prompt
Run: nslookup google.com 8.8.8.8 — note the response time
Run: nslookup google.com — note the response time using your current DNS

Frequently asked questions

After changing DNS, some websites stopped working. A typo in the DNS address causes all lookups to fail. Log back into the router admin panel and verify the addresses match exactly: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. A single digit error breaks DNS resolution for all devices.

My router does not have a WAN DNS option. Some ISP-provided routers lock the WAN DNS settings. In this case, change DNS on each device individually: on Windows, go to Network adapter settings → IPv4 Properties → set DNS manually. On Android/iOS, change DNS in the WiFi network’s advanced settings.

Can I use different DNS providers for primary and secondary? Yes — for example, 8.8.8.8 (Google) as primary and 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare) as secondary. The secondary is only used if the primary is unreachable, so mixing providers is a valid redundancy strategy.

Does changing DNS affect speed? Yes, noticeably for the initial connection to websites. DNS resolution happens before every new connection — faster DNS means websites start loading sooner. The actual download speed of page content is not affected by DNS.