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How to Change Your DNS Server

Switching from your ISP's default DNS to a public DNS provider can improve lookup speed for some sites and fix certain connection issues β€” here is how to change it wherever you have control over the setting.

  1. Understand what changing DNS actually changes

    DNS translates domain names into IP addresses; changing your DNS server only changes which service does that translation β€” it does not change your ISP, your speed plan, or your device's own IP address.

  2. Choose a public DNS provider

    Several well-known public DNS options exist, each with its own privacy policy and performance characteristics β€” pick one based on your priorities like speed, privacy, or filtering, and note both a primary and secondary address.

  3. Change DNS on Windows

    Open Network & Internet settings, select the active connection's properties, find the DNS server assignment option, switch it to Manual, and enter the new IPv4 (and IPv6 if desired) addresses.

  4. Change DNS on macOS

    Open System Settings > Network, select the active connection, open its DNS settings, remove the existing entries, and add the new DNS addresses.

  5. Change DNS at the router level instead

    Setting the DNS in the router's admin page, usually under WAN or internet settings, applies the change to every device on the network at once instead of configuring each device separately.

  6. Confirm the new DNS is actually being used

    Use a command-line lookup tool or an online DNS-check page to confirm queries are resolving through the new server rather than the old one.

Why people switch away from their ISP's default DNS

The most common reasons are faster resolution times in some regions, privacy concerns about an ISP logging every domain a household visits, access to DNS-based content filtering, and more consistent uptime than some ISP resolvers offer. None of these changes affect the actual speed of your internet plan β€” they only affect how quickly domain names get translated into IP addresses before a page starts loading.

Device-level vs router-level DNS changes

Setting DNS on an individual device only affects that device, and it can be silently overridden by a VPN app that assigns its own DNS while connected. Setting DNS at the router level is more convenient since it applies to every device on the network automatically, but it will not affect a device using its own manually configured DNS, or a phone that switches to mobile data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will changing my DNS server make my internet faster?

It can reduce the time it takes to resolve a domain name before a page starts loading, but it does not change your actual bandwidth or connection speed β€” whether you notice a difference depends on how well your ISP's original DNS was performing.

Is it safe to use a third-party public DNS instead of my ISP's?

Reputable public DNS providers publish policies about what they log and for how long, so it is worth reviewing a provider's policy before switching, especially if privacy is your main reason for making the change.