"This site can't be reached" (DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN)? 8 fixes
✓ Reviewed & updated July 2026You type an address, hit Enter, and instead of the website you get "This site can't be reached" with DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN underneath. In plain terms: your computer asked "where does this website live?" and got no answer. It's one of the most common browser errors, it's not a virus, and it's usually fixed in a few minutes — the problem is almost always in your device's DNS settings, not the website itself.
Work through these in order. The first four solve the vast majority of cases.
Quick check first: does the same site fail on your phone using mobile data? If it loads there, the site is fine and the problem is on your PC or Wi-Fi — the fixes below will sort it. If it fails everywhere, the site itself may be down or its domain expired, and there's nothing to fix on your side.
Quick checklist
- Check the address and test another device
- Restart your router and PC
- Flush the DNS cache and renew your IP
- Switch to a public DNS (8.8.8.8 / 1.1.1.1)
- Clear Chrome's cache and host cache
- Turn off VPN and test antivirus
- Check the hosts file
- Reset the network stack
What DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN means
DNS is the internet's phone book — it turns a name like example.com into the numeric address your browser actually connects to. This error means the lookup finished ("probe finished") and the answer was "non-existent domain" (NXDOMAIN) — no address found. The usual culprits: an outdated DNS cache on your device, a misbehaving ISP DNS server, a VPN or antivirus interfering, or (rarely) an entry in your hosts file blocking the site. Each fix below clears one of those.
The 8 fixes
Check the address and test another device
Rule out the simple stuff before touching settings.
- Re-type the address carefully — a single typo produces exactly this error.
- Try 2-3 other websites. If nothing loads, it's your connection, not DNS for one site.
- Try the failing site on your phone with Wi-Fi off (mobile data). Loads there? The problem is local to your PC/network — continue below.
Restart your router and PC
A stale router DNS cache causes this more often than people expect.
- Unplug your router for 30 seconds, plug it back in, and let it fully reconnect.
- Restart your PC too, then try the site again.
Flush the DNS cache and renew your IP
Your PC keeps a local copy of old lookups. If an entry is stale or corrupted, the browser keeps failing on it. Clearing it is safe and takes seconds.
- Click Start, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt → Run as administrator.
- Run these one at a time, pressing Enter after each:
ipconfig /flushdnsipconfig /releaseipconfig /renew - Try the website again.
Switch to a public DNS
If your internet provider's DNS server is slow or misconfigured, every lookup can fail. Switching to Google or Cloudflare DNS fixes this instantly for many people.
- Go to Settings → Network & Internet → click your connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet) → Edit next to DNS server assignment.
- Choose Manual, turn on IPv4, and enter
8.8.8.8(preferred) and8.8.4.4(alternate) — or Cloudflare's1.1.1.1and1.0.0.1. - Save, then flush the cache again (
ipconfig /flushdns) and reload the site.
Clear Chrome's cache and host cache
Chrome keeps its own DNS cache separate from Windows, and it can hold onto a bad entry.
- Paste
chrome://net-internals/#dnsinto the address bar and press Enter. - Click Clear host cache.
- Then press
Ctrl + Shift + Del, select Cached images and files, and clear. - Restart Chrome and test.
Turn off VPN and test antivirus
VPNs route your lookups through their own DNS servers, and security software can silently block them — both are common triggers.
- Disconnect your VPN completely and reload the site.
- Briefly disable third-party antivirus/firewall and test. If the site loads, add an exception in that software, then turn protection back on.
Check the hosts file
This is the step most guides skip. The hosts file can override DNS entirely — if the site you want is listed there with a wrong address, it will never load, no matter what else you fix.
- Click Start, type Notepad, right-click it → Run as administrator.
- Go to File → Open, change the file type from "Text Documents" to All Files, and open:
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts - Look for any line containing the website you're trying to reach. If you find one (and you didn't add it on purpose), delete that line.
- Save the file and reload the site.
Reset the network stack
If nothing above worked, resetting Windows' networking components clears deeper corruption. It's safe — your files are untouched.
- Open Command Prompt as administrator again.
- Run these one at a time:
netsh int ip resetnetsh winsock reset - Restart your PC and test the site.
Frequently asked questions
Is DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN a virus?
No. It's a network lookup failure — your device couldn't translate the website's name into an address. It's a configuration issue, not malware. (That said, if many sites suddenly appear in your hosts file that you never added, run a malware scan.)
Only one specific website shows this error. Why?
If it fails on every device and network, that site's domain may have expired or its DNS records are broken — nothing on your side will fix it. If it fails only on your PC, check the hosts file (fix 7) and flush your DNS (fix 3).
The site loads on mobile data but not on my Wi-Fi. What does that mean?
That points at your router or your internet provider's DNS. Restart the router (fix 2), and if it persists, set a public DNS (fix 4) — you can also change DNS on the router itself so every device benefits.
Is it safe to change my DNS to 8.8.8.8 or 1.1.1.1?
Yes. These are free public DNS services run by Google and Cloudflare, used by millions. They're often faster and more reliable than ISP defaults, and you can switch back anytime.
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