Chrome says This site can’t be reached and, in small grey text, DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN. It is one of the most common connection errors on the web, and it almost never means the website is down. It means the Domain Name System could not turn the name you typed into an address. Here is what is happening and the eight fixes, ordered by how often each one solves it.
What the error means
Every visit starts with a DNS lookup: your device asks a resolver, usually your router or your internet provider, for the IP address behind the domain. NXDOMAIN is the resolver’s formal answer that the domain does not exist. Chrome’s probe then confirms the resolver is reachable and reports the code. So the error tells you two things at once: your DNS is answering, and it says the name is not there.
That answer is wrong far more often than it is right. Resolvers cache answers for the time-to-live on each record, sometimes hours, and a cached failure or a resolver that has quietly broken produces NXDOMAIN for sites that are perfectly healthy. Firefox shows the same problem as Hmm. We’re having trouble finding that site, and Safari as Safari can’t find the server.
Fix 1: check the address
Read the domain in the address bar. A missing letter, a doubled one, or .co instead of .com produces a genuine NXDOMAIN because the misspelt domain really does not exist. If you followed a link, the link may be broken; search for the site by name instead.
Fix 2: restart the router
Unplug the router for thirty seconds and plug it back in. Routers run a small DNS forwarder that caches answers, and after an ISP outage that cache can hold failed lookups. A restart also forces the router to reconnect to the provider’s resolvers. If you have a separate modem, restart it first, wait for its lights to settle, then the router.
Fix 3: flush your DNS cache
Your operating system keeps its own cache. Clear it and the next lookup goes to the resolver fresh.
| System | Command or steps |
|---|---|
| Windows | Open Command Prompt and run ipconfig /flushdns |
| macOS | Terminal: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder |
| Linux (systemd) | sudo resolvectl flush-caches |
| Chrome (any OS) | Visit chrome://net-internals/#dns and click Clear host cache |
| Android / iPhone | Toggle Airplane Mode on for ten seconds, then off |
The full walkthrough for every platform is in our guide to flushing the DNS cache.
Fix 4: switch to a public DNS resolver
If your provider’s resolver is the problem, stop using it. Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 and Google’s 8.8.8.8 are free, fast and rarely serve stale data. Change it on the device to test, then on the router so every device benefits.
- Windows: Settings → Network & internet → your connection → DNS server assignment → Edit → Manual → IPv4 on → Preferred 1.1.1.1, Alternate 1.0.0.1.
- macOS: System Settings → Wi-Fi → Details → DNS → + → add 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1, remove the old entries.
- Android: Settings → Network & internet → Private DNS → Private DNS provider hostname →
one.one.one.one. - iPhone: Settings → Wi-Fi → (i) → Configure DNS → Manual → add 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1.
- Router: log in at your router’s IP address, find DNS under WAN or Internet, enter the same two addresses, save and reboot.
Our DNS servers comparison covers the alternatives, including Quad9 for malware blocking and AdGuard for ad blocking. Cloudflare documents its resolver at developers.cloudflare.com.
Fix 5: release and renew your IP address
A stale DHCP lease can leave your device pointing at a resolver that no longer exists. On Windows, run ipconfig /release then ipconfig /renew in Command Prompt. On macOS, Wi-Fi Details → TCP/IP → Renew DHCP Lease. On phones, forget the Wi-Fi network and rejoin it.
Fix 6: reset Chrome’s flags and check for a proxy
Experimental flags can break DNS handling. Visit chrome://flags and click Reset all. Then check for a leftover proxy: on Windows, Settings → Network & internet → Proxy, and make sure Use a proxy server is off unless you set it deliberately. On macOS it is under Wi-Fi Details → Proxies. Old VPN and antivirus software often leaves a proxy behind after uninstall.
Fix 7: disable VPN and antivirus web shields temporarily
A VPN that has half-disconnected will route DNS into a tunnel that no longer exists. Turn it off and retest. Some security suites intercept DNS through a web-shield feature; pause it for a minute to rule it out, and if that fixes the error, update or reconfigure the suite rather than leaving protection off.
Fix 8: reset the network stack
When nothing else works, reset the operating system’s network settings. On Windows, run netsh winsock reset and netsh int ip reset as administrator, then restart. On macOS, remove the Wi-Fi service in Network settings and add it back. On iPhone, Settings → General → Transfer or Reset → Reset Network Settings. On Android, Settings → System → Reset options → Reset Wi-Fi, mobile & Bluetooth. You will need to rejoin Wi-Fi networks afterwards.
If it is your own website
If visitors see NXDOMAIN on a site you run, the domain’s nameservers are not answering for it. Check that the domain has not expired at the registrar, that the NS records point at the right DNS provider, and that the zone actually contains an A or AAAA record for the name. Recent changes take time to propagate; our DNS guide explains why.