Is your current DNS slow or restrictive? You can change it pretty quickly. Here is how to change DNS in Windows 11 operating system.
DNS is one of the most critical parts of any network. If you don’t know, DNS helps translate human-understandable web addresses to machine-understandable IP addresses. For instance, when you type www.google.com in the browser’s address, it will query the DNS to get the actual IP address of google.com. Once it knows the IP address, it can fetch the web page for you. If you are wondering, yes, all this happens in a few milliseconds.
Generally, most users never need to worry about DNS. However, if the DNS is slow or unresponsive, it might degrade your internet experience. For example, if the DNS takes an unnecessary amount of time to resolve the IP address, your internet browsing will be slow. In worst-case situations, things like online gaming or streaming become untenable.
The good thing is, if your current DNS is slow, buggy, unreliable, or restrictive, you can change DNS in Windows 11 with just a few clicks. There are quite a few public DNS services like Google Public DNS, Cloudflare DNS, and more that are not only fast but reliable and secure too.
Though changing DNS is relatively easy, it can be not very clear for beginner users because of the new Settings app and the not-so-easy layout.
That is where this Windows 11 how-to guide comes into play. It will show you all the steps to properly change the DNS in Windows 11 without using any software or a third-party app.
Important note: Before proceeding with the below steps, make sure you are connected to the network.
Change DNS in Windows 11
To change DNS in Windows 11, you can use the Settings app, Control Panel, or the Command Prompt.
Since we want to make things as easy as possible, I will show the steps to modify DNS in Windows 11 via the Settings app. Let me show you how to do it in simple and easy steps.
- Use “Start + I” to launch Settings.
- Click on “Network & Internet” on the sidebar.
- Click the “Properties” option.
- Press “Edit” next to “DNS server assignment.”
- Choose “Manual” from the dropdown menu.
- Turn on “IPv4.”
- Type DNS addresses in both fields.
- (optional) Turn on “IPv6.”
- (optional) Type DNS addresses in both fields.
- Click the “Save” button.
- With that, you have changed the DNS in Windows 11.
Steps with screenshots and more detail:
Since we will use the Settings app to change DNS, we need to open it. You can use the “Windows key + I” shortcut or click the Settings icon in the Quick Actions panel.
Go to the “Network & Internet” page in the Settings app and click on the “Properties” on the top bar.
Scroll down and click the “Edit” button next to the “DNS server assignment” section on this page. This is the option that lets you modify the Windows DNS settings.
Now, choose the Manual option from the drop down menu.
After that, turn on the “IPv4” option. It will show additional fields. Type the DNS addresses of your choice in both fields.
Here are some of the popular public DNS services and their IPv4 addresses:
- Google Public DNS: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
- Cloudflare DNS: 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1
- Open DNS Home: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
- Quad9: 9.9.9.9 and 149.112.112.112
If you want IPv6 support, turn on the “IPv6” option, type the IPv6 DNS addresses, and click the “Save” button.
You have changed the DNS settings in Windows 11. The network changes will apply automatically. Sometimes, you might have to clear the DNS cache and restart the computer to apply the DNS changes.
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That is it. It is that simple to change the DNS settings in Windows 11.
I hope this simple and easy Windows 11 how-to guide helped you.
If you are stuck or need some help, comment below, and I will try to help as much as possible.
