Configuring your network settings to use Google Public DNS

When you use Google Public DNS, you are changing your DNS "switchboard" operator from your ISP to
Google Public DNS.
In most cases, the IP addresses used by your ISPs domain name ser!ers are automatically set by your ISP !ia
the Dynamic "ost #onfiguration Protocol $D"#P%. &o use Google Public DNS, you need to e'plicitly
change the DNS settings in your operating system or de!ice to use the Google Public DNS IP addresses. &he
procedure for changing your DNS settings !aries according to operating system and !ersion $Windows, (ac
or )inu'% or the de!ice $computer, phone, or router%. We gi!e general procedures here that might not apply
for your *S or de!ice+ please consult your !endor documentation for authoritati!e information.
Note: We recommend that only users who are proficient with configuring operating system settings ma,e
these changes.
Important: Before you start
-efore you change your DNS settings to use Google Public DNS, be sure to write down the current ser!er
addresses or settings on a piece of paper. It is !ery important that you ,eep these numbers for bac,up
purposes, in case you need to re!ert to them at any time.
.fter changing your settings, if you encounter a problem and cannot connect to the Internet, please call our
support numbers for troubleshooting instructions.
We also recommend that you download this page and print it, in the e!ent that you encounter a problem and
need to refer to these instructions.
Google Public DNS telephone support
/00123415670 in the 8.S.
00419441:94: outside the 8.S.
Google Public DNS IP addresses
&he Google Public DNS IP addresses are as follows;
/./././
/./.5.5
<ou can use either number as your primary or secondary DNS ser!er. <ou can specify both numbers, but do
not specify one number as both primary and secondary.
Changing your DNS serers settings
-ecause the instructions differ between different !ersions=releases of each operating system, we only gi!e
one !ersion as an e'ample. If you need specific instructions for your operating system=!ersion, please consult
your !endors documentation. <ou may also find answers on our user group.
(any systems allow you to specify multiple DNS ser!ers, to be contacted in a priority order. In the following
instructions, we pro!ide steps to specify only the Google Public DNS ser!ers as the primary and secondary
ser!ers, to ensure that your setup will correctly use Google Public DNS in all cases.
Note: Depending on your networ, setup, you may need administrator=root pri!ileges to change these
settings.
!icrosoft "indows
DNS settings are specified in the #CP$IP Properties window for the selected networ, connection.
%&ample: Changing DNS serer settings on !icrosoft "indows '
:. Go the Control Panel.
9. #lic, Network and Internet, then Network and Sharing Center, then Change adapter settings.
6. Select the connection for which you want to configure Google Public DNS. >or e'ample;
&o change the settings for an ?thernet connection, right1clic, (ocal )rea Connection, and
clic, Properties.
&o change the settings for a wireless connection, right1clic, "ireless Network Connection,
and clic, Properties.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or pro!ide
confirmation.
5. Select the Networking tab. 8nder #his connection uses the following items, clic, Internet
Protocol *ersion + ,#CP$IP+-, and then clic, Properties.
2. #lic, )danced and select the DNS tab. If there are any DNS ser!er IP addresses listed there, write
them down for future reference, and remo!e them from this window.
7. #lic, ./.
0. Select 0se the following DNS serer addresses. If there are any IP addresses listed in the Preferred
DNS serer or )lternate DNS serer, write them down for future reference.
/. @eplace those addresses with the IP addresses of the Google DNS ser!ers; /./././ and /./.5.5.
3. @estart the connection you selected in step 6.
:4.&est that your setup is wor,ing correctly+ see &esting your new settings below.
::.@epeat the procedure for additional networ, connections you want to change.
!ac .S 1
DNS settings are specified in the Network window.
%&ample: Changing DNS serer settings on !ac .S 2345
:. >rom the )pple menu, clic, System Preferences, then clic, Network.
9. If the loc, icon in the lower left1hand corner of the window is loc,ed, clic, the icon to ma,e changes,
and when prompted to authenticate, enter your password.
6. Select the connection for which you want to configure Google Public DNS. >or e'ample;
&o change the settings for an ?thernet connection, select Built6In %thernet, and clic,
)danced.
&o change the settings for a wireless connection, select )irport, and clic, )danced.
5. Select the DNS tab.
2. #lic, A to replace any listed addresses with, or add, the Google IP addresses at the top of the
list; /./././ and /./.5.5.
7. #lic, )pply and ./.
0. &est that your setup is wor,ing correctly+ see &esting your new settings below.
/. @epeat the procedure for additional networ, connections you want to change.
(inu&
In most modern )inu' distributions, DNS settings are configured through Networ, (anager.
%&ample: Changing DNS serer settings on 0buntu
:. In the System menu, clic, Preferences, then clic, Network Connections.
9. Select the connection for which you want to configure Google Public DNS. >or e'ample;
&o change the settings for an ?thernet connection, select the "ired tab, then select your
networ, interface in the list. It is usually called eth3.
&o change the settings for a wireless connection, select the "ireless tab, then select the
appropriate wireless networ,.
6. #lic, %dit, and in the window that appears, select the IP+ Settings tab.
5. If the selected method is )utomatic ,D7CP-, open the dropdown and select )utomatic ,D7CP-
addresses only instead. If the method is set to something else, do not change it.
2. In the DNS serers field, enter the Google Public DNS IP addresses, separated by a space;
/./././ /./.5.5
7. #lic, )pply to sa!e the change. If you are prompted for a password or confirmation, type the
password or pro!ide confirmation.
0. &est that your setup is wor,ing correctly+ see &esting your new settings below.
/. @epeat the procedure for additional networ, connections you want to change.
If your distribution doesnt use Networ, (anager, your DNS settings are specified in =etc=resol!.conf.
%&ample: Changing DNS serer settings on a Debian serer
:. ?dit =etc=resol!.conf;
sudo vi /etc/resolv.conf
9. If any nameserver lines appear, write down the IP addresses for future reference.
6. @eplace the nameserver lines with, or add, the following lines;
nameserver 8.8.8.8
nameserver 8.8.4.4
5. Sa!e and e'it.
2. @estart any Internet clients you are using.
7. &est that your setup is wor,ing correctly+ see &esting your new settings below.
.dditionally, if you are using D"#P client software that o!erwrites the settings in =etc=resol!.conf, you will
need to set up the client accordingly by editing the clients configuration file.
%&ample: Configuring D7CP client sofware on a Debian serer
:. -ac, up =etc=resol!.conf;
sudo cp /etc/resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf.auto
9. ?dit =etc=dhcp6=dhclient.conf;
sudo vi /etc/dhcp3/dhclient.conf
6. If there is a line containing domain-name-servers, write down the IP addresses for future
reference.
5. @eplace that line with, or add, the following line;
prepend domain-name-servers 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4;
2. Sa!e and e'it.
7. @estart any Internet clients you are using.
0. &est that your setup is wor,ing correctly+ see &esting your new settings below.
8outers
?!ery router uses a different user interface for configuring DNS ser!er settings+ we pro!ide only a generic
procedure below. >or more information, please consult your router documentation.
Note: Some ISPs hard1code their DNS ser!ers into the eBuipment they pro!ide+ if you are using such a
de!ice, you will not be able to configure it to use Google Public DNS. Instead, you can configure each of the
computers connected to the router, as described abo!e.
&o change your settings on a router;
:. In your browser, enter the IP address to access the routers administration console.
9. When prompted, enter the password to access networ, settings.
6. >ind the screen in which DNS ser!er settings are specified.
5. If there are IP addresses specified in the fields for the primary and seconday DNS ser!ers, write them
down for future reference.
2. @eplace those addresses with Google IP addresses; /./././ and /./.5.5.
7. Sa!e and e'it.
0. @estart your browser.
/. &est that your setup is wor,ing correctly+ see &esting your new settings below.
!obile or other deices
DNS ser!ers are typically specified under ad!anced wi1fi settings. "owe!er, as e!ery mobile de!ice uses a
different user interface for configuring DNS ser!er settings, we pro!ide only a generic procedure below. >or
more information, please consult your mobile pro!iders documentation.
&o change your settings on a mobile de!ice;
:. Go to the screen in which wi1fi settings are specified.
9. >ind the screen in which DNS ser!er settings are specified.
6. If there are IP addresses specified in the fields for the primary and seconday DNS ser!ers, write them
down for future reference.
5. @eplace those addresses with Google IP addresses; /./././ and /./.5.5.
2. Sa!e and e'it.
7. &est that your setup is wor,ing correctly+ see &esting your new settings below.
#esting your new settings
&o test that the Google DNS resol!er is wor,ing;
:. >rom your browser, type in a hostname, such as http;==www.google.com. If it resol!es correctly,
boo,mar, the page, and try accessing the page from the boo,mar,. If both of these tests wor,,
e!erything is wor,ing correctly. If not, go to step 9.
9. >rom your browser, type in a fi'ed IP address. <ou can use http;==:/.79.4.37= $which points to the
website http;==www.eecs.mit.edu=% as the 8@)C. If this wor,s correctly, boo,mar, the page, and try
accessing the page from the boo,mar,. If these tests wor, $but step : fails%, then there is a problem
with your DNS configuration+ chec, the steps abo!e to ma,e sure you ha!e configured e!erything
correctly. If these tests do not wor,, go to step 6.
6. @oll bac, the DNS changes you made and run the tests again. If the tests still do not wor,, then there
is a problem with your networ, settings+ contact your ISP or networ, administrator for assistance.
* Google thanks MIT for granting permission to use this URL for the purposes of testing web connectivity.
Diagnosing resolution problems
If you are encountering problems when resol!ing particular names, and want to !erify whether the problem is
with Google Public DNS, please try running the following diagnostic procedures. If you want to report a
problem to the Google Public DNS user group, please copy and paste the results of the commands in your
email. &his information is !ital to help us to identify the cause of the problem.
Step 2: *erify that your client can communicate with the Google Public DNS serers
*pen a command prompt, and run the following command;
*n Windows;
tracert -d 8.8.8.8
*n (ac *S D;
/usr/sbin/traceroute -n -w 2 -q 2 -m 30 8.8.8.8
*n )inu';
sudo traceroute -n -w 2 -q 2 -m 30 8.8.8.8
If the last line of the output does not list /./././ as the final hop, or if there are significant timeouts, there may
be a networ, problem pre!enting you from contacting our ser!ers. Please include the output of the command
in any communication with the Google Public DNS team.
If the last line of the output does list /./././ as the final hop, continue to step 9.
Step 9: *erify that Google Public DNS can resole the selected hostname
.t the command prompt, run the following command, where hostname is the name that you were ha!ing
difficulty resol!ing;
*n Windows;
nslooup -debu! hostname 8.8.8.8
*n (ac and )inu';
di! "8.8.8.8 hostname
If the the output shows an answer section with an . record for the hostname, then Google Public DNS is able
to resol!e the name. #hec, your settings to ma,e sure your system is correctly configured to use Google
Public DNS. If you are still unable to sol!e the problem, please include the output of the command in any
communication with the Google Public DNS team.
If the output does not show an answer for the hostname, continue to step 6.
Step :: *erify that another open resoler can resole the selected hostname
.t the command prompt, run any one of the following commands, where hostname is the name that you were
ha!ing difficulty resol!ing;
nslooup hostname 4.2.2.#
nslooup hostname 4.2.2.2
nslooup hostname 208.$%.222.222
nslooup hostname 208.$%.220.220
$&he first two commands test )e!el 6s DNS ser!ers. &he last two commands test *penDNS DNS ser!ers.%
If you are not able to get a successful result, this means that there is most li,ely a problem with the ser!er
you are trying to contact. Wait some time and try running the tests again. &his may be a temporary problem
on the ser!ers side that will li,ely resol!e itself e!entually. If it does not, you should contact the owner of the
ser!er.
If you do get a successful result, there may be a problem with Google Public DNS. Please include the output
of this command and the one from step 9 in any communication with the Google Public DNS team.
Switching back to your old DNS settings
If you had not pre!iously configured any customiEed DNS ser!ers, to switch bac, to your old settings, in the
window in which you specified the Google IP addresses, select the option to enable obtaining DNS ser!er
addresses automatically, and=or delete the Google IP addresses. &his will re!ert your settings to using your
ISPs default ser!ers.
If you need to manually specify any addresses, use the procedures abo!e to specify the old IP addresses.
If necessary, restart your system.
F