You’d sometimes feel the internet connectivity crawling on your phone or computer. You still need help after restarting your router/modem and your device. One of the solutions is to use a new DNS server instead of relying on the one from your ISP. But first, you’ll need to find out which DNS it uses. You can use the command line interface (on computers) or any third-party app (on computers and mobiles) to check which DNS a device uses.
Understand the Usage Priority of DNS Servers
By default, your internet connection uses the DNS servers your ISP (Internet Service Provider) provides. But you can always make your computer or mobile use a different DNS server. What happens when you set different DNS servers on computers and mobiles?
Setting DNS Servers on the Router
When you change the DNS server on your router to use Google’s public DNS servers, all devices that connect to the network through that router will use Google’s DNS servers. That will mostly apply if you haven’t configured the internet options on the computers and mobiles specifically.
Setting DNS Servers on the Devices
The router level settings for DNS servers don’t work when you’ve configured a different DNS server on the computers or mobiles. For instance, you have set your computer to use Cloudflare DNS servers, then thsse settings will override your router’s DNS settings. Meanwhile, rest devices will continue using Google DNS servers as per your router’s DNS settings.
Exception: Changing the DNS server address on computer or a smartphone may not work if the network administrator has hard-coded firewall rules to use only specified DNS servers.
Here’s how the priority settings of DNS servers works:
- The custom DNS server addresses you enter on your computer or smartphone will work.
- By default, all devices use the DNS servers available through the router.
- Your router uses the ISP-provided DNS servers, unless you configure another third-party public or private DNS servers.
Check out this video on how to set up a DNS server.
1. Which DNS Servers Does the Computer Use (Windows 11, Mac, Linux)
If you have updated your DNS settings and the changes aren’t reflecting, try clearing your DNS cache or flush your DNS.
Whether you’re using a Windows 11 PC, a Mac or a Linux computer, there’s a very simple way to check the DNS servers each computer uses. Open a Command Prompt (or Terminal) on WIndows 11, Terminal on Mac, and Terminal in Linux. The command to check the DNS server remains the same on all three platforms:
nslookup <ip address or website>
2. Which DNS Server Does the Android Phone Use
There are a handful of Wi-Fi and Network scanner apps can let you the DNS servers your Android phone users. I recommend using Ubiquiti’s official WiFiMan app on your Android phone. After you install it, let it perform an initial scan. Then, tap on your phone’s image next to the router’s image. And you can find the DNS address of your phone at the bottom.
Download: WiFiMan
3. Which DNS Servers Does the iPhone or iPad Use
On your iPhone or iPad, you can download Network Analyzer app to view the details of the DNS addresses used. The Network Analyzer app is fast at procuring your iPhone or iPad’s details and will show them on the Information tab in the bottom-left corner.
Download: Network Analyzer
4. What DNS Server Does the Router Use
By default, your router uses the DNS Server that your ISP provides. However, if you feel that your internet connectivity is slow even after restarting your router, modem and devices, you can investigate the DNS servers your router uses.
Open a web browser on your computer, and type in router’s IP address (usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1) to open the router’s web interface. Here’s a quick guide to check your router’s IP address. Next, log in with the router’s admin username and password. If you don’t know that, those details are usually written at the back of the router or on the support page of the router’s model.
In your router’s web interface, head to WAN Settings, and you’ll find a section for WAN DNS settings. That’ll show the DNS servers set for router. If your router is using ISP’s DNS addresses, there won’t be any values appearing there. If you’re using public DNS addresses or a private one, the address will appear there.
Choose DNS Servers Wisely
Depending on the computer or mobile, you can easily figure out the DNS addresses it users. Typically, we recommend using public DNS solutions from Google, OpenDNS, Cloudflare, Quad9, and others for better browsing experience. In fact, some DNS service providers like OpenDNS, Cloudflare, and NextDNS let you block adult sites, gambling sites, and several other unwanted services for a safer browsing experience. Refer our guide to block adult sites on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
