DNS errors

    ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED: The hostname could not be resolved

    Also searched as: net::ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED · name not resolved · cannot resolve host

    Is ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED happening on your domain?

    Resolving the name from outside your machine shows whether public resolvers can find a record, helping distinguish a public DNS issue from a local resolver or network problem.

    Free, no signup. Runs from outside your network, which is the only way to tell a server fault from a local one.

    Short answer

    Chrome could not turn the hostname into an IP address. Closely related to NXDOMAIN but broader: it also covers resolver failures and timeouts, not just definitive 'does not exist' answers.

    What ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED means

    This is the browser-level version of a DNS failure. It fires whether the resolver returned NXDOMAIN, timed out, or was unreachable, so the first diagnostic step is establishing which of those happened.

    Causes and fixes, most likely first

    most common

    No DNS record exists for the hostname.

    Add the A or CNAME record. Check apex and www separately.

    common

    The configured DNS resolver is unreachable or failing.

    Switch the device to a public resolver temporarily. If everything resolves again, the original resolver is the fault.

    common

    A VPN or split-DNS setup is routing lookups to an internal server without this record.

    Disconnect the VPN and retry. Split-DNS configurations routinely break public hostname resolution.

    occasional

    A local hosts-file entry or DNS-blocking extension is intercepting the name.

    Check the hosts file and disable ad-blocking or DNS-filtering extensions, then retry in a private window.

    ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED on specific platforms and devices

    ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED on ChromeChrome keeps its own DNS cache separate from the operating system, so the site resolves in every other app and fails only in Chrome.ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED on WindowsA stale entry in the Windows hosts file or a leftover VPN DNS suffix overrides public DNS, so the name resolves to nothing.ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED on CloudflareA domain moved to Cloudflare resolves nowhere until the registrar's nameservers are changed — the DNS records exist in the dashboard but nothing on the internet is asked for them.ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED on AndroidAndroid's Private DNS setting forces every lookup through a specified DoT provider; if that hostname is wrong or the provider is blocked on the current network, all resolution fails.

    How to stop it happening again

    • •Monitor resolution from multiple public resolvers so a single provider's failure is visible before users report it.
    • •Alert on NS and A record changes.

    Frequently asked questions

    What is the difference between ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED and NXDOMAIN?

    NXDOMAIN is a definitive answer that the name does not exist. ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED is Chrome's broader failure, which also covers resolver timeouts and unreachable DNS servers.

    Related errors

    DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN
    DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG
    Server DNS address could not be found

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    Last verified: by the Lemwatch research team.