ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED (-105): Meaning & Fix in Chrome

What Is ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED?

ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED means the DNS lookup for the website's name failed, so Chrome never got an IP address to connect to. Chrome shows "This site can't be reached" with "example.com's server IP address could not be found." Chromium's error list calls it error -105, "The host name could not be resolved" (net_error_list.h).

Your device asks a DNS resolver to turn a name like example.com into an IP address. This error means that failed: the resolver didn't answer, answered with an error, said the name doesn't exist, or your device couldn't reach a resolver at all.

It can hit one site (that domain's DNS, or a cached failure for it) or every site (your resolver, network or device settings). The fixes below cover both.

ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED vs DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN

They start as the same failure. When a page fails to load because of DNS, Chrome usually runs a quick test, a DNS probe, and replaces ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED with the result:

You see ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED itself when no probe runs: in apps and DevTools, for a page's images and scripts, when the probe is turned off (current Chrome has no switch for it; only the AlternateErrorPagesEnabled admin policy or an extension can), or when the probe's result is inconclusive (net_error_tab_helper.cc).

Either way the fixes overlap: check the name, then your DNS path.

Common Causes of ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED

The causes, from your side to the website's:

• No working DNS resolver — Your device's configured DNS server is down, unreachable, or blocked by the network you're on.
• Misconfigured Secure DNS (DoH) — Chrome's "Use secure DNS" setting points at a custom provider URL that's broken or mistyped, so every lookup fails.
• Android Private DNS typo — a wrong Private DNS hostname (e.g., dns.gogle instead of dns.google) breaks every lookup on the phone; Android warns "Private DNS server cannot be accessed".
• A cached failure — your system, router or Chrome stored an earlier failed or "doesn't exist" answer and repeats it until it expires.
• Router problems — The router's DNS forwarder glitched; devices can't resolve anything until it's restarted.
• Typo in the domain — A misspelled or incomplete domain can produce NAME_NOT_RESOLVED as well as NXDOMAIN.
• VPN, firewall, or antivirus interference — Security software intercepts DNS queries and fails, or a VPN tunnel is up but its DNS server isn't answering.
• Hosts file or parental controls — Local overrides or filtering software block resolution for specific domains.
• The domain's DNS is genuinely broken — Missing A/AAAA records or misconfigured nameservers on the website's side.

Fix 1: Check the URL and Try Another Site

First, rule out the trivial causes. Check the address for typos — a single wrong character means you're asking DNS for a name that can't resolve.

Then open two or three other websites. If only one site fails, the problem is that domain's DNS or your cached entry for it — jump to flushing DNS below, and check whether the domain actually resolves globally with DNS Robot's DNS Lookup. If every site fails, the problem is your resolver or network — continue with the connection and DNS-server fixes.

Fix 2: Check Your Internet Connection

ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED often appears when the network connection itself is half-broken: you're connected to Wi-Fi, but the network has no working route to the internet or to a DNS server.

Toggle Wi-Fi off and back on (or unplug/replug Ethernet). On a phone, switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data to see which path works. If you're on a captive-portal network (hotel, airport, café), open a new tab and try to trigger the login page — DNS often fails until you've signed in.

Fix 3: Flush DNS and Renew Your IP

A cached failure can outlive the problem that caused it. Flushing clears every stored lookup, including cached failures, and renewing your IP lease refreshes the DNS servers your device was given.

# Windows (Command Prompt as Administrator)
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
netsh winsock reset

# macOS
sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

# Linux (systemd-resolved)
sudo resolvectl flush-caches

The netsh winsock reset command on Windows repairs the network stack itself — worth running if flushing alone doesn't help, but it requires a restart. For a deeper walkthrough of every platform, see How to Flush DNS on Windows, Mac, Linux & Chrome.

Fix 4: Clear Chrome's Internal DNS Cache

Chrome keeps its own DNS cache, separate from your operating system's. A failed lookup cached inside Chrome survives an OS-level flush — so clear both.

• Type chrome://net-internals/#dns in the address bar and click Clear host cache
• Then open chrome://net-internals/#sockets and click Flush socket pools
• Restart Chrome and try the site again

Fix 5: Check Chrome's Secure DNS Setting

Chrome can encrypt DNS lookups with DNS over HTTPS: the Use secure DNS setting. If it points at a custom provider whose address is mistyped, discontinued or blocked on your network, lookups in Chrome fail while other apps work fine.

To check it:

• Open chrome://settings/security in the address bar
• Find Use secure DNS under Advanced
• Under Select DNS provider, choose OS default (when available), or a listed provider such as Google or Cloudflare, instead of a custom URL
• Or turn it off for a moment to confirm it's the cause, then turn it back on with a working provider
• Reload the page

Fix 6: Switch to a Public DNS Server

If your ISP's DNS resolver is slow, flaky, or down, switching your device to a public resolver fixes resolution immediately and usually speeds up browsing too.

Windows: Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi → Manage known networks → your network (Ethernet → your network) → Edit next to DNS server assignment → Manual → IPv4 on → Preferred 1.1.1.1, Alternate 1.0.0.1 → Save.

macOS: System Settings → Network → Wi-Fi → Details → DNS → remove old entries and add 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 → OK.

iPhone: Settings → Wi-Fi → tap the (i) next to your network → Configure DNS → Manual → add 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1.

Unsure which resolver is fastest where you live? Benchmark them from your own connection with DNS Robot's DNS Speed Test.

Fix 7: Restart Your Router

Most home devices send DNS queries to the router, which forwards them to the ISP. When the router's DNS forwarder glitches, every device on the network starts throwing ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED even though Wi-Fi looks connected.

Unplug the router (and modem) for 30 seconds, plug it back in, and wait 2–3 minutes. If resolution fails again within days, set your devices to a public DNS server directly (Fix 6) so they stop depending on the router's forwarder — or update the router's own DNS settings to 1.1.1.1 / 8.8.8.8.

Fix 8: Check Private DNS on Android

Android's Private DNS (Android 9 and later) encrypts DNS for every app. With a provider hostname set, a typo (dns.gogle, one.one.one.one1) or a provider that shut down stops every lookup on the phone, on Wi-Fi and mobile data, and Android warns "Private DNS server cannot be accessed".

To check it:

• Open Settings → Network & Internet → Private DNS (sometimes under More connection settings)
• If "Private DNS provider hostname" is selected, verify it's exactly one.one.one.one (Cloudflare) or dns.google (Google)
• Or select Automatic to let the phone decide, and test again
• Also clear Chrome's cache: Chrome → Settings → Privacy and security → Delete browsing data

Fix 9: Check Hosts File, VPN, and Antivirus

Three local interceptors can break name resolution for specific sites or all of them:

Hosts file — Manual entries override DNS entirely. Open it (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts on Windows, /etc/hosts on Mac/Linux) and remove any line mentioning the domain you can't reach.

VPN — When a VPN tunnel is connected but its DNS server stops answering, all resolution dies. Disconnect the VPN and test; if that fixes it, switch VPN servers or set the VPN app to use a public DNS.

Antivirus / parental controls — Web-filtering modules resolve names on your behalf and can fail or deliberately block categories of sites. Temporarily disable the web-protection module to test, then re-enable it.

For Website Owners: Your Domain Doesn't Resolve

If visitors report ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED for your domain, your DNS configuration is the suspect. Check these in order:

• Do A/AAAA records exist? Run your domain through DNS Lookup. No A or AAAA records means browsers have nothing to connect to.
• Are your nameservers answering? Check the NS records with NS Lookup. If your DNS provider is down, or the nameservers at your registrar are wrong, the whole domain fails.
• Did you just change DNS? Changes reach each resolver as the old answers' TTLs expire. A brand-new name can also be stuck behind a cached "doesn't exist" for the negative-caching time in the SOA record of the zone that said so: 15 minutes for a newly registered .com or .net, 30 minutes for a new subdomain on Cloudflare.
• Is the domain on hold? If WHOIS Lookup shows clientHold or serverHold (often after non-payment or an unverified registrant email), the domain is pulled from DNS. An expired domain more often shows the registrar's renewal or parking page instead.
• Is DNSSEC broken? A bad signature makes validating resolvers (Google, Cloudflare and Quad9 all validate) reject the whole domain while non-validating ones still answer, which looks random to visitors. DNS Robot's DNS Health Check tests DNSSEC with your other records.

How to Verify the Fix Worked

Confirm DNS resolution directly instead of just reloading the page:

# Ask your current resolver:
nslookup example.com

# Ask a specific public resolver (bypasses your settings):
nslookup example.com 1.1.1.1

# Mac/Linux — more detail:
dig example.com +short

# If nslookup with 1.1.1.1 works but plain nslookup fails,
# your configured DNS server is the problem — switch it (Fix 6).

If the terminal resolves the domain but Chrome still shows ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED, the failure is inside Chrome — clear its host cache (Fix 4) and check Secure DNS (Fix 5). And to confirm the domain resolves from every corner of the world, run it through DNS Robot's DNS Lookup.