How to Fix Dns_Probe_Finished_Nxdomain Error in Chrome

How to Fix Dns_Probe_Finished_Nxdomain Error in Chrome

There are a couple of errors you could encounter when surfing the web. Some of them include  502 Bad Gateway and Header Error. These are errors very common to WordPress sites. However, there are many other less common errors. One of them is the Dns_probe_finished_nxdomain error, which often shows on the Chrome browser.

It looks like this:

Domain error

This error in Google Chrome can be frustrating because it can occur when you have a network connection and nothing else seems wrong. And if you don’t know much about DNS servers, fixing this error can seem really difficult.

Not to worry; in this article, we will show you easy techniques you can use to resolve this error. But first, let us discuss why this happens.

Content:

  1. What is DNS_Probe_Finished_Nxdomain Error?
  2. How to fix DNS_Probe_Error
  3. Conclusion

What is DNS_Probe_Finished_Nxdomain Error?

To have a better grasp of this problem, it’s important you understand what DNS and IP addresses are.

Every website has a URL and an IP address. The URL is the link you type into the browser when looking to visit a site. For example, https://fixrunner.com.

However, what your browser uses to locate the site is its IP address (e.g 45.674.255.069), and not the URL you typed in.

So, how does your browser match a site’s URL to its corresponding IP? The simple answer is, via the Domain Name System, or just DNS.

Dns_probe_finished_nxdomain error arises when this matching up process fails or doesn’t complete.

A number of factors can cause this problem. First, it could be that your browser has DNS cache problems (more on this later).

Secondly, there’s a good chance that your computer’s antivirus software or VPN program is the culprit. It could also be that you erroneously entered the wrong URL to a site.

How to Fix DNS_Probe_Finished_Nxdomain Error

Method 1: Restart Your Computer

As easy as this might look, restarting your computer can clear away this error. Doing this, at least, saves you the trouble of fondling with system settings you might not be familiar with.

Best of all, Chrome lets you restore your last browsing session right after rebooting your computer.

Method 2: Disable VPN and Antivirus programs

Temporarily disabling your antivirus software and VPN program can also help fix this error. So, if up to this point nothing has worked, try disabling them, and then restart your PC.

Method 3: Clear Your Browser’s Cache

If after restarting your PC you noticed the error hasn’t gone away, you might have to clear your browser cache.

To reset Chrome cache on Windows, simply hold down  Ctrl + Shift + Delete. Then with Cached images and files selected, click the Clear data button.

Clear Cache

For Mozilla Firefox, the process is similar.

If after clearing your browser cache, the problem still persists, try the next method.

Method 4: Reset Chrome Flags

If you are using an unofficially released feature on Chrome, there is a good chance you will experience the Dns_Probe_Finished_Nxdomain error.

As such, the best way to fix the problem is to reset Chrome flags. To do so, simply copy and paste the following line into your address bar and hit enter.

chrome://flags/

Then click Reset all to default

Chrome flag

As the last step, restart your browser.

Method 5: Restart DNS Client Service

Restarting the DNS Client Service on your computer can help fix this error. This works for both Windows and Mac.

To do so on a PC, begin by simultaneously pressing the Windows key + R. This will bring up the Run dialog box. Next, type in service.msc, and then click Ok.

DNS client

You will see a settings window open up. Scroll down a little to the DNS Client. Once you’ve found it, right-click on it and select Restart

DNS server

In some cases, the restart option will be greyed out (as in my case above). There is a good chance it is inactive on your computer as well.

Thankfully, there’s another way to go about it. Start by typing cmd in your search bar. This will fire up your PC’s command prompt.

Then type in the following lines of code into your command prompt

net stop dnscache
net start dnscache

Hit the enter key, and you are done.

The problem should be fixed by now. If it wasn’t, or, perhaps, you ran into errors in the process, just proceed to the next method.

Method 6: Flush DNS Cache and Renew IP Address

Dns_probe_finished_nxdomain error can indicate that the IP address of the site you are trying to access has changed. As such, to fix it, you would have to flush out the old IP address cached on your computer, and then renew it.

To flush DNS cache on Windows, click the start menu and start typing cmd. When you’ve found it,  right-click and Run as administrator.

DNS cache

With the command prompt opened, copy and paste “ipconfig release” like so:

ipconfig /release

flush DNS cache

Note that there are no quotation marks. Once you have pasted the line, hit the enter button on your keyboard.

Next, paste in the following and hit enter:

ipconfig /flushdns

After that, do the same for the line below

ipconfig /renew

And with that, you are done. The last step is to exit the command prompt. To do so, type exit and then enter.

If you experienced difficulties following these steps, you could try resetting your computer’s IP settings by pasting the following line into your command prompt:

netsh int ip set dns

Method 7: Change Your DNS Server to Google’s

If up to now nothing has worked for Dns_Probe_Finished_Nxdomain error, then you can likely fix this by changing the DNS server.

By default, the DNS server your computer runs on is the one provided by your ISP. However, these default servers often develop issues. As such, switching to Google public DNS server can help.

The switching process is quite simple. On Windows, open up your control panel. Next, click Network and Internet

Network sharing center

After that, click Network sharing center. On the left-hand side, you will see Change adapter settings. Click on it.

DNS server

This will open a list of connections associated with your computer. Locate the network you’re currently connected to, right-click on it, and select properties.

DNS server - Dns_Probe_Finished_Nxdomain error

Next, scroll down till you locate Internet Protocol Version 4. Click on it and then on Properties.

DNS SERVER - Dns_Probe_Finished_Nxdomain error

Next, check Use the following DNS server addresses. In the Preferred DNS Server input, type in 8.8.8.8

Then in the Alternate Server DNS input, type in 8.8.4.4

DNS server address - Dns_Probe_Finished_Nxdomain error

Finally, click OK and you are done. Now restart your browser.

Conclusion

DNS_Probe_Finished_Nxdomain error can indeed be disrupting. Thankfully, it can be easily resolved.

In this post, we showed you seven methods you can use to resolve the error. We hope that you found this guide helpful and that your issue is solved.

Also, do check out our other WordPress guides and tips to help you get the best out of your site.

More Resources: