How to Change DNS Settings on Your Router

Changing DNS on the router applies to every device on your network at once - no need to change settings on each phone, laptop, or smart TV individually.

What Is DNS and Why Change It?

DNS (Domain Name System) translates domain names like google.com into IP addresses your computer can connect to. Every internet request starts with a DNS lookup. By default your router uses your ISP's DNS servers, which are often slower than alternatives and may log your queries for marketing purposes.

Switching to faster, privacy-focused DNS servers like Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) or Google (8.8.8.8) can reduce DNS resolution time from 50-100ms to under 10ms on a good day, and Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 explicitly does not log queries.

How to Change DNS on Your Router

1
Log in to the router admin panel

Go to http://192.168.1.1. Enter admin credentials.

2
Find DNS settings

Look under WAN settings, Internet settings, or Advanced > Network. The DNS server fields are often in the WAN configuration section, not the LAN section.

3
Enter your preferred DNS servers

Replace the ISP-assigned DNS with your preferred servers. Enter the primary in the first field (e.g., 1.1.1.1) and secondary in the second (e.g., 1.0.0.1). The secondary is used as a fallback if the primary is unreachable.

4
Save and test

Save the settings. Open a browser and navigate to a website to confirm it still works. You can test DNS speed with a tool like DNS Benchmark or simply compare browsing speed before and after.

WAN DNS vs LAN DNS, and Why It Matters

Router menus usually offer DNS fields in two different places, and they do different things. The WAN (or Internet) DNS setting controls which servers the router itself asks when it relays queries for your devices. The LAN or DHCP DNS setting controls what the router hands out to devices, and if you put 1.1.1.1 there, your devices start asking Cloudflare directly, skipping the router as middleman.

For most homes the WAN setting is enough and keeps things tidy. Setting the DHCP option instead shaves off one tiny hop and makes device-level tools report the "real" DNS server, which some people prefer. Either works. Just avoid mixing filtered and unfiltered servers across the two spots, because then blocking behaves inconsistently and you'll chase ghosts.

Heads up if you're on an ISP gateway: some lock the DNS fields entirely. Xfinity's XB series is the famous case, the panel simply has no editable DNS setting, and your options are per-device DNS or putting the gateway in bridge mode behind your own router.

Verifying the Change Actually Took

Don't trust the save button, verify. On Windows, open Command Prompt and run nslookup example.com, the first lines show which server answered. On Mac and Linux, dig example.com does the same. If you switched to Cloudflare, visiting 1.1.1.1/help gives you a straight yes/no on whether their resolver is in use.

Two things routinely confuse this check. First, devices cache DNS aggressively, so flush before testing (ipconfig /flushdns on Windows) or just reboot the device. Second, modern browsers often use their own encrypted DNS (DNS over HTTPS) and ignore the router entirely. Chrome and Firefox both do this by default in various regions. So a browser test can show Cloudflare while your smart TV still uses the ISP. If you rely on DNS filtering for parental controls, disable "secure DNS" in browsers or the filtering will have a browser-shaped hole in it.

DNS FAQ

Will changing DNS speed up my downloads?

No. DNS only affects the lookup before a connection starts, a few milliseconds per new site. Pages with many third-party resources feel a bit snappier, but your download speed is untouched. Anyone promising "faster internet" from a DNS change is overselling it.

Something broke after I changed DNS. How do I undo it?

Set the DNS fields back to "Automatic" or "Get from ISP" and save. That restores the original behaviour. Breakage right after a change is usually a typo in the server address, worth double-checking the digits before rolling back, an 8.8.8.8 typed as 8.8.8.7 will half-work in confusing ways because of the secondary fallback.

Which DNS server should I actually pick?

Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 if you want speed and a no-logging policy. Quad9 if you want known-malicious domains blocked for free. OpenDNS or Cloudflare Family if you want content filtering for kids. Google 8.8.8.8 is fine too, just does nothing special. There's no wrong answer among these, and switching later takes a minute.

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