How to Fix “ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED” in Chrome

The error message This site can’t be reached with the error code ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED is related to a DNS issue. This error message can appear on any device that is using the Google Chrome browser or even in apps from the Google Play Store.

The error message doesn’t always have to be caused by an issue on your device. Sometimes the website that you try to visit is simply unavailable at the moment. But when the problem is related to your devices, then we can most of the time solve the issue with the steps below.

In this article, I am going to give you a couple of different methods to solve the error. If a step doesn’t work for you, just continue to the next. We are going to start with Windows devices, further down the article I will show the steps for Android.

What Causes ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED?

Before we are going to take a look at how to fix the error, it’s good to understand what causes the error. When you visit a website the domain name that you have typed in is resolved to the IP Address of the server. Your computer, or mobile phone, will first look into its own cache file if it already knows the IP Address of the domain name.

If the computer doesn’t have a record for the domain name, it will request the IP address from the DNS server. There are many DNS servers on the internet that you can use. Your provider has one, which is by default configured in your modem/router, but also Google has one for example.

ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED
ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED

The error message, “ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED” can occur when there is a problem with the DNS record. The website may have moved to a different IP address and your local DNS cache still has the old IP. But it’s also possible that your provider’s DNS server still has the wrong IP address stored.

These outdated records are most of the time the reason for the error that you receive. To fix the issue we can clear your local DNS cache, or change the DNS server to one that updates its DNS records faster. It’s also possible that the website owner has misconfigured the DNS records of the domain, in that case, you can’t solve the issue.

Fix “ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED” in Windows 10 or 11

We will go through a couple of possible solutions to fix the ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED error message. We start with the most common solution that should fix the error for most. If a solution didn’t help, just continue to the next one.

Tip

Throughout the steps, we will need to open a lot of settings screens, or command-line tools. To access these your can either press Windows key + X at the same time or click with your right mouse button on the start menu. Both will do the same, use what you prefer.

1. Flush your DNS Cache

A corrupt DNS cache is most of the time responsible for errors like ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED. So we are first going to flush your local DNS cache. This way your computer will need to request all DN records again from the DNS server, making sure that you have updated records.

  1. Right-click on the start menu and choose PowerShell (Admin) or Windows Terminal (Admin)
  2. Click Yes when asked if you want to allow this app to make changes.
  3. Enter the following command below and hit enter:
ipconfig /flushdns
flush dns to resolve ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED
Flushing local DNS cache

You don’t need to reboot your computer after this, simply check if you can now visit the website.

2. Changing the DNS Server

If you are still unable to open a website, then the problem might be related to the DNS server that you are using. By default, you are using the DNS server from your provider. But that is most of the time not the best DNS server.

We are going to change the DNS server to 1.1.1.1, this is one of the fastest DNS servers and respects your privacy. You can read more about the DNS Cloudflare here.

Steps for Windows 10 (scroll down for the steps in Windows 11)

  1. Right-click on your start menu
  2. Choose Network Connections
  3. Click Change adapter options
  4. Double-click on your (wireless) network adapter
Network adapter
  1. Choose Properties
  2. Double-click on Internet Protocol version 4 (TCP/IPv4)
  3. Select Use the following DNS servers addresses
  4. Enter 1.1.1.1 for preferred and 1.0.0.1 for alternate DNS Server
set DNS server
  1. Click Ok to apply the settings and close the windows.

Steps for Windows 11

  1. Right-click the start menu
  2. Choose network connections
  3. Click on Ethernet
win 11 fix ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED
  1. Scroll a bit down and click Edit behind DNS server assignment
err_name_not_resolved chrome
  1. Change the setting to Manual
  2. Enable IPv4
  3. Enter 1.1.1.1 as preferred DNS and 1.0.0.1 as alternate DNS
dns windows 11

Try to revisit the webpage, you should now be able to visit the website. If this didn’t help, you could safely leave the DNS configured to 1.1.1.1.

3. Resetting Windows Network Configuration

If flushing the DNS cache and changing the DNS server didn’t help, then we are going to reset your network configuration. You can safely execute the commands below, they will only clear the network caches and request new Ip Addresses from the router:

  1. Right-click on the start menu and choose PowerShell (Admin) or Terminal (Admin)
  2. Enter each command below. Hit enter after each one. If a command fails, just continue with the next one:
    • ipconfig /release
    • ipconfig /renew
    • netsh winsock reset
    • netsh int ip reset
  3. Reboot your computer and check if the ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED error is solved.
err name not resolved
Fix err name not resolved

4. Clear Host Cache in Chrome

To load pages faster, Google Chrome also creates its own DNS cache. This host cache can get outdated which could result in the DNS error ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED. We can easily clear the cache using the following steps:

  1. Open Chrome
  2. Type the following address in the address bar: chrome://net-internals/#dns
  3. Click Clear host cache
clear host cache in chrome
Clear host cache in Chrome
  1. Restart Google Chrome and try to load the webpage that you want to visit.

5. Disable IPv6 to solve ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED

Another possible cause of the error ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED in Chrome is the use of IPv6. This is a new network protocol that is not configured correctly yet in every network. Your computer might be using the new and faster IPv6 protocol, but your provider or router doesn’t support a DNS server for IPv6.

This can result in the err name not resolved error message. For the next couple of years you won’t need IPv6 yet, so we can safely disable it:

Steps for Windows 10 (scroll down for the steps in Windows 11)

  1. Right-click your start menu
  2. Choose Network Connections
  3. Click Change adapter options
  4. Double-click on your (wireless) network adapter
  5. Click Properties
  6. Turn off Internet Protocol version 6 (TCP/IPv6)
turnoff ipv6 in windows 10
  1. Click Ok

Steps for Windows 11

For Windows 11 we use a slightly different approach:

  1. Open the start menu
  2. Search for Network Connections
  3. Open View network connections
network connection windows 11
  1. Double-click on your network adapter
  2. Choose Properties
  3. Turn off Internet Protocol version 6 (TCP/IPv6)
disable ipv6 windows 11
  1. Click Ok

Reboot your computer and test if the problem is solved.

6. Turn off Preloading Pages in Chrome

To load webpages faster Chrome preloads webpages that you might be going to visit. It does this based on internal links on the webpage, your browsing history, and cookies. A nice feature, but also often the cause of the DNS error ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED.

  1. In Chrome, click on the 3 dots in the top-right corner and open the settings
  2. Select Privacy and security
  3. Click on Cookies and other site data
  4. Scroll a bit down and disable Preload pages for faster browsing and searching
  5. Restart Chrome
fix ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED with preloading

6. Scan for Malware

If you are still unable to access a webpage and it’s only one device that is having this issue, then the problem might be related to malware. Malware comes in many ways, and some try to alter the DNS settings.

So it’s might be a good idea to scan your computer for potential malware with a good malware scanner like Hitman pro. It comes with a free trial to start with, so just give it a go.

7. Disable internet security software

Some internet security software, like Norton Internet Security or Kaspersky Total Security, can cause problems with your internet connection. Try to disable these applications to see if that resolves the issue. You can always enable the security software again if it didn’t help.

Solve ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED on Android

The error can also occur on Android devices when you open a webpage or even if you try to open an app.

1. Change the DNS Server

With Android most of the time the problem is related to the DNS server. Now we could set a fixed IP Address and DNS server on the Wireless network connection. But the problem is that these settings won’t work when you connect your mobile phone to a different wifi network (at your Office or School for example).

So a better option is to enable the Private DNS feature on your Android phone. You can do this manually or use the Warp app from Cloudflare for this. To manually change the DNS server:

  1. Open the Settings on your phone
  2. Search for DNS and select Private DNS ( or open Network & Internet > Advanced > Private DNS)
  3. Select Private DNS provider hostname
  4. Type one of the following DNS servers:
    • 1dot1dot1dot1dot1.cloudflare-dns.com
    • dns.google
fix ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED android chrome
Set DNS server in Android

2. Turn off Preloading in Google Chrome

The feature Preloading pages in Chrome allows Google Chrome to preload pages that you often visit. It does this based on cookies, browsing history, and internal links on the page. We can disable this feature in the browser settings:

  1. Open Chrome and click on the 3 dots in the top-right corner
  2. Click on Settings and select Privacy and Security
  3. Open Preload pages and make sure that it’s turned off
disable preloading in android chrome
Disable preloading in Chrome

3. Restore Chrome to Factory settings

If both options didn’t solve the issue on your mobile phone, then it’s a good idea to restore the Chrome app back to factory settings. When you reset Chrome to factory settings, all stored bookmarks will be lost. If you have Sync enabled in Chrome (you can check it in the Chrome Settings), then everything will be automatically restored.

  1. Open Settings and click on Apps
  2. Click on See all apps or find Chrome (or use the search option in the top-right corner)
  3. Open on Storage & Cache
  4. Click on Clear Storage and Clear Cache

Also, make sure that the Chrome app is updated to the latest version.

4. Disable or Remove Antivirus Software

Web security, anti-malware, or anti-virus apps can interfere with your internet connection. They are often a cause of internet connection issues, so when you are still experiencing issues on your phone, then it’s a good idea to temporarily remove or disable these apps.

This way you can test if the error ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED is caused by a web security app.

Wrapping Up

Keep in mind that most of the time the error ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED is related to a DNS error. If none of the steps above worked, then double-check if you can open the website on another device or from another location (create a mobile hotspot for example). This way you can rule out the cause of the issue (device or location internet connection).

You can also take a look at one of the following articles that might help you with resolving the connection issues:

1 thought on “How to Fix “ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED” in Chrome”

  1. Actually fixed my problem after a lot of weeks trying. Thank you so much for your help, If I had seen your site earlier it would have saved me a lot of time.

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