---
title: "DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG: causes and how to fix it"
description: "The probe finished and concluded the device's DNS configuration itself is broken — a bad resolver address, a corrupted network profile, or conflicting…"
canonical: "https://lemwatch.com/errors/dns-probe-finished-bad-config"
source: "https://lemwatch.com"
---

# DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG: The DNS configuration is invalid

> The probe finished and concluded the device's DNS configuration itself is broken — a bad resolver address, a corrupted network profile, or conflicting settings from a VPN.

## Short answer

 The probe finished and concluded the device's DNS configuration itself is broken — a bad resolver address, a corrupted network profile, or conflicting settings from a VPN.

## What DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG means

 Unlike NXDOMAIN, this points at the client, not the domain. Chrome is reporting that the machine's DNS setup cannot serve lookups reliably regardless of which hostname is requested.

## Causes and fixes, most likely first

- A manually set resolver address is wrong or the server is offline. Set DNS back to automatic, or to a known-good public resolver, and reconnect the interface.
- A VPN client left stale DNS settings behind after disconnecting. Reconnect and cleanly disconnect the VPN, or reset the network adapter to clear leftover resolver entries.
- A corrupted network profile after an OS update. Reset the network stack, then re-join the network.

## How to stop it happening again

- Keep resolver settings automatic on client machines unless there is a specific reason not to.

## Check your own domain

 If an external lookup returns healthy records, the domain is fine and the fault is confirmed to be local configuration.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG a website problem?

 Almost never. It reports that the device's own DNS configuration is unusable, so the same error appears for many sites at once.


## Related

- [All website error codes](https://lemwatch.com/errors)
- [DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN](https://lemwatch.com/errors/dns-probe-finished-nxdomain)
- [DNS_PROBE_STARTED](https://lemwatch.com/errors/dns-probe-started)
- [ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED](https://lemwatch.com/errors/err-name-not-resolved)
- [Free DNS lookup](https://lemwatch.com/tools/dns-lookup)
- [DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NO_INTERNET: No usable internet connection for DNS](https://lemwatch.com/errors/dns-probe-finished-no-internet)
- [Cloudflare Error 526: Invalid SSL certificate on the origin](https://lemwatch.com/errors/cloudflare-526)
- [Lemwatch pricing](https://lemwatch.com/pricing)