How To Change DNS Server (Windows or Router)

DNS stands for Domain Name Servers (or System) and it contains the information of domain names as one would write down the phone numbers in a phone book. Here, the information refers to the IP addresses associated with a domain name. If you are keen to know more about the DNS servers, you should check out Wikipedia’s resource page about the Name Server. Using a good DNS server can improve your Internet experience.

Now, why do we want to change DNS server settings? Most importantly, how to change DNS server settings? In this article, you will get to know how to change DNS server settings and why we might need to.

Do You Really Need To Change DNS Server settings?

It depends. Of course, your Internet Service Provider manages a DNS server for you. So, you do not really “need” to change it unless you want to avail the benefits that you achieve by modifying it.

Let us take a look at the benefits of changing the DNS server settings:

Now that you know the benefits of changing a DNS server setting. Let us jump in to see how to change DNS server settings.

How To Change DNS Server Settings?

– Change DNS Server On Computer (Wired / Wireless Internet Connection)

If you have Windows 10 or 8 installed, you can follow the same set of steps as mentioned below. However, if you have Windows 7 or lower, you will find different wordings for options. Overall, it is all the same.

Steps To Change DNS Server On Windows Computer

  1. Head into the settings.
    how to change DNS server
  2. Click on the “Network & Internet” option. Now, find the option “Network & Sharing Centre” and click on it. Alternatively, you can also press Windows key + R button to launch the RUN dialogue box and then type in – “control.exe /name Microsoft.NetworkandSharingCenter” to directly launch the Network & Sharing Centre.
  3. Now, look for “Change Adapter Settings” option. It should be on the left sidebar of the window. Click on it.
  4. You will now observe a couple of network connections listed. If you are on a wired connection, you would want to select the network labeled as Ethernet 1. If you are using a WiFi network, look for the WiFi label.
  5. According to what you are connected to, right-click on your preferred network connection and then click on “Properties“.
  6. You will observe a list of items that are checked (with a tick mark). Simply, double-click on the list which mentions –  “Internet Protocol Version 4“.
  7. And then click on “Use the following DNS server addresses” on the lower section and type in the desired DNS address and click OK to save. Again, click on OK to confirm the change.

If you have typed in a valid DNS address, then you might observe some improvements depending on what 3rd Party Name server you are using. We will recommend using Google’s DNS servers (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) or OpenDNS. It all comes down to your personal preference.

– Change DNS Server On A Router

For a router, you need to first know the way to access admin options. The admin URL/IP address differs. For instance, if you have a TP-LINK router, you can access the admin options by typing in http://192.168.1.1 in the address bar. If you do not know how to access the admin pages, we’ll leave links to the most popular routers for you to find out. Generally, it is – 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1

After accessing the admin page, look for the DHCP setting and then change the default gateway, primary DNS, and secondary DNS. In either case, just look for an option that mentions “DNS” and then try changing the DNS servers.

It should look like this:

Wrapping Up

So now you know how to change DNS server settings, you are all set! Would you prefer changing the DNS server? If you did, which 3rd party DNS server do you prefer to use? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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