---
title: "Server DNS address could not be found: causes and how to…"
description: "The human-readable wrapper Chrome shows around a DNS failure. The technical code underneath — usually DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN or ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED —…"
canonical: "https://lemwatch.com/errors/server-dns-address-could-not-be-found"
source: "https://lemwatch.com"
---

# Server DNS address could not be found: Chrome's plain-English DNS failure message

> The human-readable wrapper Chrome shows around a DNS failure. The technical code underneath — usually DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN or ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED — is the one that tells you which fix applies.

## Short answer

 The human-readable wrapper Chrome shows around a DNS failure. The technical code underneath — usually DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN or ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED — is the one that tells you which fix applies.

## What Server DNS address could not be found means

 Chrome shows this heading whenever name resolution fails for any reason. It is worth reading the smaller code beneath it: a definitive NXDOMAIN and a resolver timeout need completely different fixes.

## Causes and fixes, most likely first

- The hostname has no DNS record. Add the A or CNAME record at the DNS provider and wait out the TTL.
- The resolver in use is failing or slow. Switch to a public resolver and retry to confirm.
- The domain registration lapsed. Check the registration status at the registrar. An expired domain removes the zone entirely.

## How to stop it happening again

- Monitor domain expiry — a lapsed registration is the one DNS failure no amount of server monitoring will catch.
- Alert on record changes so a bad zone edit is caught in minutes.

## Check your own domain

 Looking the domain up from outside identifies immediately whether records exist, which is the fork in the road for every fix below.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is this the same as NXDOMAIN?

 Usually, yes — it is the message Chrome shows above the NXDOMAIN code. But it also appears for resolver timeouts, which need a different fix.


## Related

- [All website error codes](https://lemwatch.com/errors)
- [DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN](https://lemwatch.com/errors/dns-probe-finished-nxdomain)
- [ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED](https://lemwatch.com/errors/err-name-not-resolved)
- [Free DNS lookup](https://lemwatch.com/tools/dns-lookup)
- [SSL handshake failed: The TLS handshake did not complete](https://lemwatch.com/errors/ssl-handshake-failed)
- [Error establishing a database connection on WordPress](https://lemwatch.com/errors/error-establishing-a-database-connection/in-wordpress)
- [All monitoring checks](https://lemwatch.com/features)