---
title: "ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED: causes and how to fix it"
description: "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…"
canonical: "https://lemwatch.com/errors/err-name-not-resolved"
source: "https://lemwatch.com"
---

# ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED: The hostname could not be resolved

> 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.

## 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

- No DNS record exists for the hostname. Add the A or CNAME record. Check apex and www separately.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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

- ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED on Chrome — Chrome 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 Windows — A 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 Cloudflare — A domain moved to Cloudflare resolves nowhere until the registrar's nameservers are changed — the DNS records exist in the dashboard but…
- ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED on Android — Android's Private DNS setting forces every lookup through a specified DoT provider; if that hostname is wrong or the provider is blocked on…

## 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.

## Check your own domain

 Resolving the name from outside your machine proves in one step whether the record exists at all or whether only your resolver is failing.

## 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

- [All website error codes](https://lemwatch.com/errors)
- [DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN](https://lemwatch.com/errors/dns-probe-finished-nxdomain)
- [DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG](https://lemwatch.com/errors/dns-probe-finished-bad-config)
- [Server DNS address could not be found](https://lemwatch.com/errors/server-dns-address-could-not-be-found)
- [Free DNS lookup](https://lemwatch.com/tools/dns-lookup)
- [ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED on Cloudflare](https://lemwatch.com/errors/err-name-not-resolved/in-cloudflare)
- [ERR_INTERNET_DISCONNECTED: The device is not connected to the internet](https://lemwatch.com/errors/err-internet-disconnected)
- [All monitoring checks](https://lemwatch.com/features)