How to Fix the ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED Chrome Error

The ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED error in Google Chrome is a common connectivity issue. It means that your browser was unable to translate the human-readable website name (like google.com) into the computer-readable IP address required to locate the server. Essentially, Chrome cannot find the website’s address. Here is a step-by-step guide to troubleshooting and fixing this error.

1. Perform Basic Checks

Before diving into system settings, rule out the simplest causes:

• Check for typos: Ensure you spelled the URL correctly without any accidental spaces.
• Test your connection: Verify your internet is working by trying to load a different, reliable website. Also, try loading the broken website on your phone (using cellular data) to see if the website itself is simply offline.
• Restart your router: Power-cycle your modem and router. Unplug them for 30 seconds and plug them back in. This simple step resolves the majority of DNS routing issues.

2. Clear Caches and DNS Data

If your computer is holding onto outdated or corrupted routing data, it will fail to resolve the name.

• Clear Chrome’s Browser Data: Open Chrome settings, navigate to Privacy and security > Clear browsing data. Select “All time” and ensure “Cached images and files” and “Cookies” are checked, then hit Clear data.
• Clear Chrome’s Internal DNS: Type chrome://net-internals/#dns directly into your Chrome address bar and press Enter. Click the Clear host cache button.
• Flush Your Computer’s DNS Cache:
  • On Windows: Open the Command Prompt (search for “cmd” in the Start menu). Type ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter.
  • On Mac: Open the Terminal. Type sudo dscacheutil -flushcache, press Enter, and type your password.

3. Change Your DNS Servers

By default, you use the DNS servers provided by your Internet Service Provider, which can sometimes be unreliable. Switching to a free, public DNS provider like Google or Cloudflare often fixes persistent resolution errors.

You can change these in your operating system’s Network or Wi-Fi settings (look for “DNS settings” or “TCP/IPv4 properties”). Change your DNS server addresses to:

• Google DNS: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
• Cloudflare DNS: 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1

4. Disable Chrome Prediction Services

Chrome uses a feature called “page preloading” to guess what links you might click and load them in the background to speed up browsing. Sometimes this service misbehaves and causes the ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED error.

Go to Chrome Settings > Performance (or Privacy and security, depending on your version) and find the toggle for Preload pages. Turn this feature off, restart Chrome, and see if the website loads.

If you have tried all these steps and the site still will not load on any device, the problem is almost certainly on the website’s end (a server outage or domain configuration error), and you will simply have to wait for the site administrators to fix it.