DNS stands for Dynamic Host Configuration. In case you wonder and want to protect your online activity, then you should switch your ISP DNS to third-party DNS to focus on privacy. There are many third-party DNS providers apart from your ISP (Internet Service Provider).
Talking about DNS helps you get helpful search results and also helps you speed up your internet speed. Not only this, it also helps protect your online activity (online security and privacy). There are numerous things you can do to change DNS. In this article, we will be sharing how you can change DNS on your Windows, Mac, and other devices, so let’s check out this guide and learn more. Without further ado, let’s dive into this.
Pre-Requirements
There are some precautions that you have to take before proceeding with changing DNS on your own. For this, we have mentioned some cautions to keep in mind.
Keep a note of your current ISP’s DNS. It is important because, in case of a malfunction, you can revert back to your server address.
- Third-party DNS
- Google IPv4: 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4
- Google IPv6; 2001:4860:4860:8888
How to Change DNS in Windows
It is quite straightforward to change; for this, you need to change the TCP/IP in Windows Settings for your network. For this example, we use Windows 11.
- Open Windows Control Panel or Windows Settings.
- Head over to the Network and Sharing Centre.
- After that, open Change Adapter Settings.
- From there, click on the network you want to configure.
- After selecting, click on the properties. From properties, click on “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPV4) Properties.” Insert an image…
- Click on “Use the following IPv6 address.” Enter your preferred DNS, which you want to use.
- Otherwise, you can click on Internet Protector Version 6 (TCP/IPV6) Properties, but there you have to use the address instead of DNS.
- Next, click on OK to save changes, and then test your new internet settings.
- That’s it. Enjoy.
Now you can continue surfing the internet, and your internet activity will be protected as it should be.
How to Change DNS Settings on Mac
Just like Windows, it is also quite similar to how it performs on Apple’s Mac operating system.
- Start by opening the Apple menu, and head over to System Preferences.
- Click on Network, and if the lock icon appears in the lower-left corner, click on that icon to continue. Enter your password to confirm you want to make changes.
- After that, choose the network you want to make changes to, and then enter the DNS you want to use on your system.
- There are two different ways to perform WiFi and Ethernet. Follow the following instructions.
- Wi-Fi: Click on Wi-Fi and then select Advance.
- Ethernet: Click on Build-in Ethernet and then select Advance.
- Next, click OK, and then select Apply.
- That’s it; now you can continue working.
How to Change DNS on Linux
The latest Linux comes with a lot of functionality, including configuring DNS settings from the network manager.
- First things first, click on the system and then head over to preferences.
- Next, click on Network Connection, and then choose the network connection you want to configure.
- To choose Ethernet, choose the Wired tab, and then the network will be listed as ETH0. On the other hand, on the Wireless tab, it mentions the network name with which you connected.
- After that, click on Edit, and then choose the DNS you want to configure (IPv4 or IPv6).
- Now, choose Automatic (DHCP), and then from the drop-down menu, choose Automatic (DHCP) addresses only.
- Next, enter the DNS you want to use.
- Click on Apply to save changes, and then enter the password for authentication.
- That’s it!
How to change DNS on Android?
All Android versions allow us to change the DNS servers, but not in a wide range. Every Wi-Fi has its own connection settings individually.
To use this DNS server setting all around, we have to change all settings in every Wi-Fi network that we can connect to. Now, steps for changing the DNS server on Android.
- Firstly, go to settings and select Wi-Fi.
- After this, connect the network to which you want to connect and press for some time, then tap on Modify Network.
- Now, to change the DNS network setting, click on the IP setting option to change it from static to the default DHCP option.
- According to your device, you should check the advanced box option to identify this network setting.
How to Change DNS on a Router
Likewise, other settings changed on the router are similar. For this, it usually depends on the manufacturer. So just find the settings and then look for what’s best.
- Open the router admin console, and then enter the password to confirm.
- After that, simply click on Edit Network Settings and then look for the DNS box.
- Enter the DNS you want to use. Fill in the Primary and Secondary DNS Server boxes.
- Click on Save, and then Exit.
- Restart your browser, and that’s it. You have successfully configured the changed DNS settings.
How to change DNS on a Chromebook?
For changing the DNS server on a Chromebook, ChromeOS gives us an inbuilt option for changing it. Despite that, as we change this setting on Android, iPhones, and iPads, we also have to change this setting in ChromeOS, and we also have to change the WI-FI setting all around where we want to use it.
- Now, the steps for changing the DNS server in Chromebook.
- Firstly, go to settings on your device.
- After this, tap on Wi-Fi and select the Wi-Fi name of the network to which you are connecting.
- Now tap on the network header to extend and locate the name server as well.
- Tap on the Automatic Name Server option and set it to Google Name Servers. This is when you want to use Google’s public DNS server.
- You can also select custom name servers, and this is for when you want to use a custom DNS network.
- So, in custom name servers, enter the DNS network that you want to use in the given box. And if you want to use it everywhere, then you have to do all of these steps again for every Wi-Fi setting.
How to change DNS on an iPhone or iPad?
As for Android, Apple is also allowing us to change our DNS servers or network even though we cannot set the DNS server that we prefer to use all around. In iOS, we can only change DNS for Wi-Fi individually in the custom name server setting.
- Steps for changing the DNS server on an iPhone or iPad.
- As always, first, go to settings and select Wi-Fi.
- Click on the I button, which is present on the right side of your Wi-Fi network, where you want to configure it.
- Scroll down and select the configure DNS option in the settings.
- Now click on manual and pull out that DNS network address by tapping over on the red minus button that you do not want to use from the list.
- To add the DNS address that you want to use, tap the green plus button. We can also put both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.
- Now click on the Save button.
We can also restore our default DNS server settings by tapping Automatic.
Hopefully, this article remains helpful for you and you are successfully able to change the DNS on your device. If there is any query, share it with us in the comment section below. Stay tuned for more updates in the future on the same.