DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NO_INTERNET: Meaning & How to Fix It

What Does DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NO_INTERNET Mean?

Before Chrome can open a site, it looks up the site's name in DNS. When that lookup fails, Chrome runs a quick test, a DNS probe, and the code after DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_ is the probe's answer. NO_INTERNET is the bluntest one. Chromium's source describes it in four words: "There's no internet connection." (Chromium)

Chrome treats it exactly like being offline. Its error page code groups DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NO_INTERNET with ERR_INTERNET_DISCONNECTED as an offline error, shows the heading No internet and suggests: "Checking the network cables, modem, and router", "Reconnecting to Wi-Fi" and, on Windows, "Running Windows Network Diagnostics". On Android and iPhone it suggests turning off airplane mode, turning on mobile data or Wi-Fi, and checking the signal. (Chromium)

How Chrome Decides You're Offline

The probe asks for google.com twice: once through your device's DNS settings and once straight through Google Public DNS at 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. NO_INTERNET is the result when both fail and Google's servers couldn't be reached at all. In Chromium's words: "If the current DNS config is not working and Google DNS is unreachable, assume the internet connection is down." (Chromium)

"Unreachable" covers more than a dead line. A timeout counts too: Chromium's rule is that any error other than a DNS answer means "we never reached the DNS server in the first place". (Chromium)

Find Where the Connection Breaks

The connection runs from your device to the router, then the modem, then your provider. A few quick checks tell you which part failed:

How to Fix DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NO_INTERNET

Reload the page after each step.

1. Check the cables, modem and routerChrome's own first suggestion. Make sure cables are seated and the router and modem lights show a connection.
2. Restart the modem and routerUnplug them, wait, and plug them back in. Microsoft: "This helps create a new connection to your Internet service provider (ISP)."
3. Reconnect to the Wi-FiTurn Wi-Fi off and on, or forget the network and join it again with the password.
4. Run Windows Network DiagnosticsOn Windows, Chrome links it from the error page: select the link and follow its checks.
5. Turn off a VPN, proxy or security app to testIf the connection comes back without it, update or reconfigure that software rather than leaving it off.
6. Reset the network settingsIf only this device fails, run Microsoft's reset commands (netsh winsock reset, netsh int ip reset, ipconfig /release, ipconfig /renew, ipconfig /flushdns) as administrator, as in our IP configuration guide.

DNS_PROBE Errors Compared

The other probe results point at different culprits, and each has its own guide:

• DNS_PROBE_STARTED: the probe is still running. See DNS_PROBE_STARTED.
• DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN: your DNS works and says the name doesn't exist. See the NXDOMAIN guide.
• DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG: your DNS fails while Google's answers, so the connection works and the DNS setting doesn't. See BAD_CONFIG.
• DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NO_INTERNET: neither answers. This guide.

If It Keeps Coming Back

An error that comes and goes usually means the connection drops for seconds at a time: weak Wi-Fi, an overloaded router, or a line that loses its sync with the provider. Pages fail during a drop and load again after it.

When you're back online, measure it: the Packet Loss Test sends a steady stream of packets for a while and shows when and how many get lost, and a ping test shows whether the delay jumps when the drops happen. Our Wi-Fi connected but no internet guide covers the Wi-Fi side.