I can’t access any Google-related websites

Question

When I try to go onto Google or YouTube, this message always pops up:

"Hmmm… can't reach this page
Check if there is a typo in www.google.com.
DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN"

I even checked them in my other browser. I was using Edge and Chrome. This problem was going on for an hour earlier, but then it stopped and it went back to normal for a few hours. But now the problem is going on again. What’s wrong and how can I stop it from happening?

Answer 1

The DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error may occur due to the misconfiguration or due to the problem with the DNS.

Several ways are available that might help you fix this issue.

1. Disable VPN or antivirus software temporarily.
2. Restart the computer.
3. If possible for you then reset the flags for the Chrome and Edge browsers.

The flags menu allows you to enable or disable experimental features. In the Edge browser, you can type edge://flags/ in the address bar and press the Enter key. In the Chrome browser, you can type chrome://flags/ in the address bar and press the Enter key. Then you can click the Reset all button to reset flags.

4. Check the hosts file and make sure that it does not contain the site address that you want to visit.

On a Windows machine, the hosts file is located under C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc.

On a Mac machine, try to run the sudo nano /private/etc/hosts command in a terminal to access the hosts file.

If the issue persists after trying the above options then you may try these advanced options.

5. If possible for you then try to release and renew the IP address.

On a Windows machine, launch the command prompt and run ipconfig /release command to release the current IP address. Then after running the ipconfig /flushdns command to flush local DNS cache. After that run the ipconfig /renew command to renew the IP address.

On a Mac machine, go to System Preferences, click on the network icon, and then click “Advanced.” Click the TCP/IP tab, and then click on the “Renew DHCP” button.

To clear the local DNS cache on Mac, run dscacheutil -flushcache command in terminal.

6. If possible for you then try to restart DNS Client Service on the Windows machine. Launch the command prompt and run the net stop dnscache command. After that run the net start dnscache command.

You can test the above suggestions and see whether it fix this issue.

Answer 2

In my case, I installed Cloudflare Warp VPN. Even though I didn't use it when I start my PC, it's services were still running in the background. The problem was solved by uninstalling it.