DNS isn’t working on my PC

Hi magicwillyC,

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

I'm Hahn and I'm here to help you with your concern.

If both Windows machines are experiencing DNS issues while the MacBook is not, there might be a few things you can check to troubleshoot the problem.

1. Check Network Settings: Ensure your network settings are configured correctly. Go to Network and Sharing Center > Change adapter settings > Right-click on your network adapter > Properties > Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4). Ensure that "Obtain an IP address automatically" and "Obtain DNS server address automatically" are selected.
2. Flush DNS: Open Command Prompt as an administrator and type: ipconfig /flushdns. This will clear the DNS resolver cache, which might resolve the issue.
3. Reset Winsock: In the same Command Prompt, type: netsh winsock reset. Restart your computer after this command executes.
4. DNS Server: Manually set your DNS server addresses to Google's DNS (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) or Cloudflare's DNS (1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1) to see if that resolves the issue. You can do this in the network adapter settings.
5. Firewall and Antivirus: Sometimes, security software can block DNS queries. Check if your firewall or antivirus settings are causing the issue.

Disclaimer: Temporarily turn off antivirus protection. However, keep in mind that if you do so, your device may be vulnerable to threats. So please turn it on immediately once issue fixed.

6. Router Reset: Restart your router or modem. Sometimes, the issue might be with the DNS settings in the router.
7. Check for Updates/Roll Back Updates: If you suspect a bad update, check for any recent updates that might have caused the issue. You can roll back Windows updates by going to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > View update history > Uninstall updates.

If these steps don't resolve the problem, it might be worthwhile to contact your internet service provider (ISP) to check if there are any known outages or issues in your area that could be affecting the DNS service.

I hope this helps.  If there is anything not clear, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Your Sincerely

Hahn - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

I am experiencing the same problem.

The problem has nothing to do with firewalls or anything inbetween. I am running Linux in the same PC and I don't have this problem while I am on Linux. So, it is down to a Windows update. By using wireshark, I have found that there is not traffic queries from my PC when ruinning Windows to the DNS server, when I restart the PC and I have connection again, you can see that the PC is querying the DNS server.

I tried:

manually set DNS address

flushing DNS

uninstalling/reinstalling Network Interface Card

reinstalling drivers

restarting DHCP client service

restarting DNS client service

The only way to have the connection back to DNS server is by restarting my computer nothing else has worked so far.

How to reset DNS in windows 10

If DNS isn't working, how are you able to post here?

I am using RFC1149