How to Change DNS Servers on Your Router

Log in to your router, switch its DNS setting from automatic to manual, enter 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 or another public resolver, and apply it to every device.

DNS turns names like example.com into addresses. The router uses the provider's DNS by default. Changing it at the router applies a faster or filtering resolver to every device on the network at once.

Pick the DNS servers

Write down a primary and a secondary address:

  • Cloudflare: 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1
  • Google: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
  • Quad9: 9.9.9.9 and 149.112.112.112

Quad9 blocks known malicious domains. Cloudflare also offers 1.1.1.2 and 1.0.0.2 for malware blocking, and 1.1.1.3 and 1.0.0.3 to block malware and adult content.

Log in to your router

Open the admin page in a browser and sign in. See log in to your router.

Find the DNS settings

A router can hold DNS in two places, and brands differ on which one matters:

  • Internet, WAN, or Internet Setup: the DNS the router itself uses. Most routers pass this on to devices.
  • DHCP, LAN, or DHCP Server: the DNS the router hands out to devices directly. If this section has DNS fields, this is the one devices actually use.

Check both. If the DHCP section has DNS fields, set them there; otherwise the WAN section is the one.

Switch to manual and enter the addresses

Change the DNS option from Automatic, Get from ISP, or Use ISP DNS to Manual, Static, or Use these DNS servers. Enter the primary in the first field and the secondary in the second. Click Save or Apply. Some routers reboot.

Reconnect the devices

Devices keep the old DNS until their lease renews. Turn Wi-Fi off and on, or restart the router so every device reconnects. To confirm, open a browser and visit 1.1.1.1/help (for Cloudflare) or dnsleaktest.com, which report which resolver is answering.

If some devices ignore the change. A DNS address set on the device itself, in its Wi-Fi or Ethernet settings, overrides what the router hands out. So does Private DNS on Android, iCloud Private Relay on Apple devices, a VPN, or DNS over HTTPS in the browser. Turn those off or set them to automatic on that device.

If sites stop loading after the change. A typo in an address breaks every lookup. Recheck the digits, or set the option back to automatic to restore the provider's DNS.

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