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How to Fix DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN Error

Windows is full of common errors and issues that you, as a consumer, have to deal with on a day to day basis. The DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error is no exception to this, causing problems for hundreds of users every other day.

What is “DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN” Error?

The DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error is commonly an issue with your DNS or otherwise known as the Domain Name System. In most cases, the error typically occurs down to a misconfiguration or problem with your DNS. DNS is a system that helps navigate traffic to the internet by connecting domain names (such as google.com) to web-hosting servers.

DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN Error

The error is caused when this DNS system fails, and the standard error for this is the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN.

How to Fix DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN?

There are a couple of ways of fixing the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error. We will start with the easiest first, and work our way down.




1. Release / Renew IP Address / Flush DNS.

Simply put, your IP address and DNS link together hand in hand to allow you to visit websites and browse the internet. In some cases, the IP Address can cause issues, which can be fixed from a simple restart, but in some cases – you may need to reset this yourself. Resetting this yourself does include some commands, but will not harm your PC. If you don’t feel confident using the command prompt, you can always consult an IT professional.

Step 1 – Press “Windows Key + R” simultaneously.

Step 2 – When the “Run” box is present, type in “CMD.”

Step 3 – Type out (or copy, right-click) “ipconfig /release“. This will unassign your IP Address.

Step 4 – Type out (or copy, right-click) “ipconfig /flushdns” This will flush the DNS system.
ipconfig flushdns command

Step 5 – Type out (or copy, right-click) “ipconfig /renew“. This will re-assign an IP address.

After completing the above steps, you can try once again to connect to the website that you’re having issues with. If that fails, try the second method.

2. Restart DNS Client Service

Since we’ve updated the DNS cache by flushing – we can now look at restarting the DNS client service. Please note that you will need administrative rights to your PC, but if you own your PC, there is a good chance you will already have this.

Step 1 – Press “Windows Key + R” Simultaneously.

Step 2 – When the “Run” box is present, type in “services.msc.” and press enter.

Step 3 – Scroll down (or highlight any service, and press “D”) till you find DNS Client.

Step 4 – On DNS Client, right-click, and select “Restart.” (You can also “Stop” and then “Start” if the restart causes issues.
Restart DNS client

At this point, you can close “Services” and try to reaccess the websites.

3. Change your DNS Servers

If all else fails, you can change your DNS servers from default, which will commonly be your internet service provider. Doing this does require a small bit of IT know-how, but we can help you with this.

Step 1 – Go to your “Control Panel.” This can be done by searching for it or pressing “Windows Key + ‘R’ and typing “Control Panel” into the Run dialog.

Step 2 – Once into Control Panel, click on the sub-section called “Network and Internet.”

Step 3 – Once into “Network and Internet,” click on the sub-section called “Network and Sharing Centre.”

Step 4 – Once into the “Network and Sharing Centre,” you should see on the left a purple link called “Change Adapter Settings.” Click into this.

Step 5 – If you are on WiFi or Ethernet, right-click on the one that you are using and press “Properties.”

Step 6 – Scroll down to “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)” and highlight. Once highlighted, click “Properties.”

Step 7 – On the bottom section, change the selection to “Use the following DNS Server Addresses.”

Step 8 – Change your preferred DNS server to 8.8.8.8 for Google (primary) and 8.8.4.4 for Google (secondary).
Set Manual DNS

Step 9 – Tick the box “Validate Settings Upon Exit” and press “OK.”

Once completed, you can try to revisit your website and hopefully this will fix your issue.

Hopefully, one of these methods has helped you fix the issue; however, in some cases, a simple restart can also resolve the issue.

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