Speed Up Your Internet Today: How to Change DNS Servers in Windows 10

To change the DNS server in Windows 10, open Settings, Network and Internet, click Properties under your connection, then Edit under IP settings, switch to Manual and type a preferred and an alternate DNS such as 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1. Five minutes. Cloudflare and Google are the usual free picks.

• Settings, Network and Internet, then Edit under IP settings.
• Control Panel through ncpa.cpl, the classic route.
• netsh or PowerShell, handy for scripts.
• A check with nslookup, then a cache flush.

A slow DNS server on a cheap ISP router, and every new website in Windows 10 stalls before it loads. The fix can be to change the DNS server in Windows 10.

The setting sits in Settings, under Network and Internet. The change applies at once, with no restart.

The Control Panel, Command Prompt and PowerShell routes below do the same thing on any Windows 10 PC.

Be clear about what DNS does, though. It speeds up the lookup that happens before a page starts loading, not your download speed.

If pages feel slow to start but downloads are fine, we’d suspect DNS.

What a different DNS server does

It tells the PC to ask a different directory service for the IP address of every website and app you use.

By default your PC uses the DNS server your ISP hands out through the router.

When you type a web address, the system first asks a DNS server where that name lives. ISP servers are generally fine.

Some are slow or overloaded, though, or go down now and then. Another server can help in several ways.

It costs nothing, and you can always switch back to automatic DNS.

Which DNS server to use

For most people, we’d start with Cloudflare or Google Public DNS. Both are fast worldwide and free.

Pick Quad9 if you want malware blocking. OpenDNS or Cloudflare for Families suit you if you need content filtering.

The fastest one depends on your location, so test two.

We’d use two servers from the same provider as preferred and alternate. Mixing a filtering DNS with an unfiltered one makes the filter work only some of the time.

How to change the DNS server in Windows 10 Settings

The system uses the servers you enter immediately.

1. Press Win + I to open Settings.
2. Go to Network and Internet.
3. On the Status page, click Properties under your active connection.
4. Scroll to IP settings and click Edit.
5. Change the drop-down from Automatic, the DHCP option, to Manual.
6. Turn on IPv4.
7. Type the Preferred DNS, for example 1.1.1.1, and the Alternate DNS, for example 1.0.0.1.
8. Click Save.

There’s another way to the same page. Open Wi-Fi or Ethernet in the left menu and click the connected network.

Leave the IP address, subnet and gateway fields empty to keep them automatic.

In many cases the system is happy with DNS alone. Some builds insist on filling the IP address fields once you pick Manual.

If Save stays greyed out, use the Control Panel method below. It touches only DNS.

Change the DNS server in Windows 10 through Control Panel

This classic route works on every version of the system. It’s normally the quickest for one adapter.

• Press Win + R, type ncpa.cpl and press Enter. That opens Network Connections directly.
• Right-click the active connection and select Properties.
• Select Internet Protocol Version 4, shown as TCP/IPv4, and click Properties.
• Choose “Use the following DNS server addresses”.
• Enter the preferred DNS, for example 1.1.1.1, and the alternate DNS, for example 1.0.0.1.
• Click OK, then Close.

The long way round goes through Control Panel, Network and Sharing Center, Change adapter settings.

For IPv6, repeat the steps with Internet Protocol Version 6 and the IPv6 addresses from the table.

If you leave IPv6 on automatic, some lookups may still go to your ISP over IPv6.

This route also lets you set different DNS servers for each adapter. That’s handy when a laptop has both Wi-Fi and Ethernet.

Change the DNS server in Windows 10 with Command Prompt or PowerShell

Both need an administrator window. Replace “Wi-Fi” with your adapter name; for wired networks it’s usually called “Ethernet”.

First find the adapter name and the current servers:

ipconfig /all
Get-DnsClientServerAddress -AddressFamily IPv4

In Command Prompt:

netsh interface ip set dns "Wi-Fi" static 1.1.1.1
netsh interface ip add dns "Wi-Fi" 1.0.0.1 index=2
netsh interface ip set dns "Wi-Fi" dhcp

In PowerShell:

Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias "Wi-Fi" -ServerAddresses 1.1.1.1,1.0.0.1
Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias "Wi-Fi" -ResetServerAddresses

Microsoft documents every parameter of Set-DnsClientServerAddress.

Commands like these are handy in a batch file when you set up several PCs the same way.

Change the DNS server in Windows 10 to Google Public DNS

Google is the pick in plenty of guides. Four addresses, two per protocol.

Before you type anything, write down what’s there now. Google’s setup page asks for exactly that, on paper. Handy if you ever need to go back.

Prefer one line in PowerShell? This one, as administrator:

Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias "Wi-Fi" -ServerAddresses 8.8.8.8,8.8.4.4

Then the test Google suggests. Open a site by name. Close the browser, open it again, reload a few times so a cached page doesn’t fool you.

Name won’t open? Try this fixed address next, it points to test-ipv6.com:

http://216.218.228.119/

That one loads and names still don’t? Then the DNS entries are wrong, so we’d retype them or go back to automatic. Steps for routers and phones are on Google’s Public DNS setup page.

DNS changer apps for Windows 10

DNS Jumper and DNS Angel are small free tools that switch DNS with one click. DNS Jumper also tests which server answers fastest.

They touch the same adapter setting as the manual methods. They suit people who compare providers often.

For a one-time switch, Settings is enough.

If speed is your main goal, a benchmark tends to beat guessing. It measures response times from your own connection.

That matters more than any ranking from another country. We’d download such tools only from the developer’s own site.

Checking that it works

• Press Win + R, type cmd and press Enter.
• Run the first line from the table below and find DNS Servers under your adapter.
• Run the second line and check the Server line.
• Run the third line to clear old cached answers.
• Optionally, visit a DNS leak test site to see which resolvers handle your requests.
• Browse your usual sites and compare how quickly pages start loading.

If the answer still comes from your router or ISP, clear the cache and check the adapter again.

When it doesn’t work

The most common reasons are these.

• A cached old answer.
• A VPN that forces its own DNS.
• The setting was made on the wrong adapter.
• IPv6 still uses the ISP’s DNS.
• Security software overrides the setting.

A VPN typically routes DNS through its own servers on purpose. Your PC setting is ignored while it’s connected, and that’s normal.

Our list of the best free VPNs for Windows 10 and 11 notes which ones let you choose the DNS.

Some ISPs intercept plain DNS traffic. Encrypted DNS, DNS over HTTPS, gets around that.

Here you switch it on inside the browser, because Settings has no system-wide switch for it. Chrome, Edge and Firefox all have a secure DNS option.

Setting DNS on the router covers every device on your network at once, phones and TVs included. On the PC, the setting covers only that one computer.

Changing the DNS server on Windows 11

The Control Panel, Command Prompt and PowerShell methods work the same there. Windows 11 adds DNS over HTTPS directly in Settings, where you edit the DNS server assignment.

The Settings path is different, so we cover it step by step in configuring DNS servers in Windows 11. Wi-Fi drops there? See Wi-Fi problems on Windows 11.

If you’re still deciding on the upgrade, our Windows 11 vs Windows 10 comparison lays out the differences. Hardware first? Windows 11 requirements.

Either way, a good DNS server takes five minutes to set. It’s one of the few free tweaks you notice every day.

Common mistakes when you change the DNS server in Windows 10

• Expecting a higher download speed. Only lookups get faster.
• Typing one digit wrong and losing the connection.
• Setting IPv4 and leaving IPv6 on the ISP’s servers.
• Mixing a filtering server with an unfiltered one.
• Editing the Ethernet adapter while the PC is on Wi-Fi.
• Testing with the VPN still connected.
• Forgetting to flush the cache before checking.

Related guides

• Setting Up and Managing FTP Servers in Windows 11
• How to change the DNS server in Windows 11
• Activation error 0x80072EE7: the server name could not be resolved
• Activation error 0x8007232B: DNS name does not exist
• Free VPNs for Windows 10 and 11

Terms used on this page

Typical problems after you change the DNS server in Windows 10

Pages start slowly while downloads are fast

Downloads at full speed, and still every new site pauses before it appears. That pause is the lookup. We’d try a public resolver, and a benchmark from your own line shows by how much it helps.

Nothing loads after the switch

Check the digits first. One wrong number in the preferred server and every lookup fails. Back to automatic, retype, done.

nslookup shows another server while a VPN is on

A connected VPN answers lookups through its own resolvers. So nslookup shows the VPN’s server, not the one you typed. By design. Disconnect, then test again.

Phones and TVs still use the ISP’s DNS

The PC setting covers one computer. Phones, TVs and consoles keep asking the router. For family filtering on every device, we’d set the DNS on the router itself.

Windows versions this guide covers