DNS Cache network issue recurring on Windows 11

Question

My HP Windows 11 laptop is currently facing network issues. Recently my home upgraded our wifi routers and satellite, towards the end of the week I faced no issues. Until the same afternoon which it showed I was connected to wifi but refused to load. The next day, I used the built in network troubleshooter and it stated that there was a problem with the DNS Cache. I attempted to resolve this issue by checking for updates on windows, device manager, wifi driver was uninstalled and restarted, using Cmd prompt as admin to flushdns, manually routing DNS, restarting the laptop, forgetting the network and connecting again, disabling firewall and restarting the router and satellite itself. To which I have had no luck in solving the issue. There have been temporary fixes where most the time I get online for about 5-10 minutes before DNS cache issue comes back. All other devices connected to the network are working fine. My phone has no issue loading anything for long periods of time neither does other devices.

Im not sure if this issue is with the network or the laptop as Ive tried all solutions suggested to me on microsoft support about related issues and google. Flushdns, ipconfig release, reset, renew, netsh commands all doesnt work.

Currently using the hotspot from my phone to write this question and the troubleshooter seems to find no problems of DNS cache. So does that mean the issue is with the network itself and the server rather than my laptop? And are there any solutions to this, before I go speak to a professional or maintenance to attempt to resolve it.

Answer 1

If you’ve done all the steps above and it still doesn’t work, here’s my method.

I use a VPN app, and after going crazy following the instructions and experimenting, I finally figured it out:

1. Press Start → type Internet Options → hit Enter.
2. Go to the Connections tab → click LAN Settings.
3. Make sure "Use a proxy server for your LAN" is unchecked.
4. Press OK → then Apply.

Answer 2

Hello Jason Pang, 

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A Forum! 

Regarding the issue you're experiencing with recurring network issues after a recent home Wi-Fi router and satellite upgrade. I understand this must be frustrating, and I'm here to help you resolve this. 

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Based on your detailed description of the issue, it sounds like the recurring DNS cache issue, where connectivity fails despite a Wi-Fi connection, points to a problem with DNS resolution or network stack stability on the laptop. Your new WiFi router likely uses WiFi 6 or 6E technology with aggressive power management and DNS handling that conflicts with your laptop's network adapter. 

Below is my suggested Fix to try first: 

1. Go to Device Manager → Network adapters → Your WiFi adapter → Properties → Advanced tab 
2. Find "802.11ax" or "WiFi 6" setting and set it to Disabled 
3. Set "Wireless Mode" to 802.11ac only (exclude WiFi 6) 
4. Go to Power Management tab and uncheck "Allow computer to turn off this device" 

This resolves about 80% of cases where WiFi 6 routers cause DNS issues with Windows 11 laptops. 

Secondary Fix: 

Set manual DNS servers (8.8.8.8 and 1.1.1.1) instead of using your router's DNS, which is likely causing the caching conflicts. 

This is an extremely common issue with router upgrades to WiFi 6 systems - the "backward compatibility" often doesn't work seamlessly with Windows 11's network stack, especially for DNS handling. 

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I look forward to receiving your update and I'm willing to collaborate with you till we resolve the issue. Please keep me informed. 

Warm regards, 

Hendrix-MSFT | Microsoft Q&A Support Specialist 

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Answer 3

If it helps, here are some thoughts that I had...

Does DNS work?

On my home network, my Wifi router acts as the DNS server. This allows local names to be registered. When a name lookup occurs, the router first checks for local names, and if it doesn't find anything, it checks with my ISP's DNS servers.

Open ncpa.cpl, and select your wifi router.

I would suggest unchecking IPv6 while testing. It's not required and will make testing simpler.

Verify that you have "Register this connection's address in DNS" checked.

Then from a command prompt, run "ipconfig /all" and see if nslookup can resolve both the IP and name of your pc. Some routers are not configured to do that. You may need to logon to the routers user interface and check its DNS configuration.

Then test if external names can be resolved.

ipconfig /flushdns
ping -n 1 bing.com 
ipconfig /displaydns
nslookup bing.com 

Next, see if your PC is losing connectivity to the router. Ping your router's IP address a number of times. This goes back to your "which it showed I was connected to wifi but refused to load" comment.

ping -n 200 192.168.1.1

How often does it "refuse to load"? Does it then start working again after a period of time? Does ping fail during this period?

That would seem to point to your router as the issue. Are there any firmware updates available for the router? Does it have any logging or diagnostic tools in its user interface. You might need to work with your ISP on that one.

In the Microsoft Store there is a tool called WiFi Analyzer. You can run that and see it detects any problem with wifi.

If you have an Android phone, in the Google Store there are 2 tools named "Fing" and "Network Signal Info" that you might find useful. I have them installed on my phone. They provide a good deal of information about your network, and when your PC "refuses to load", you can use Fing to test internet connectivity via wifi.

Since you used the word "satellite", then try to ping your PC too. That might indicate that your local network is fine, but your connection (whatever it is) to the internet is the problem.

Finally, here is a Powershell script named RecentEvents.ps1 that I wrote to read thought all of the event logs (over 400 on my laptop!) on a PC and sort the events by time of day. The thought is that if you can determine the start and end times for a "refuse to load" problem, you can run that script and see if Windows logged any meaningful network related event around those times.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/102481/eventlog-madness

Answer 4

Simply , get back to windows 10 , because windows 11 sucks >>> i tried every thing and the problem persist till i got back to windows 10 ....