Have you ever noticed that your Wi-Fi is slow, but you actually have no idea how this is going to happen? Or that the App Store is slow when downloading apps?
Tested Methods on How to Change the DNS Server on iPhone, iPad and Mac
It may lie to the DNS server. You can easily fix this by setting up an extra DNS server on your iPhone, iPad or Mac. In this article, we explain how you can change the DNS on your iPhone, iPad and Mac devices.
How to Change DNS Server on iPhone, iPad and Mac devices
A DNS server is the system that translates the domain name of a website to the corresponding IP address. We explain what a DNS is exactly and how you can configure this on your iPhone, iPad and Mac.
What is DNS?
DNS stands for Domain Name System and is actually a sort of telephone book for the internet. This system ensures that domain names such as alltop9.com are translated to an IP address.
If you have not changed anything yourself, you use the DNS servers of your own internet provider. You can, however, also choose a server from another company, because it offers extra possibilities or works faster. This can be useful, for example, when you have slow or no internet, or when your internet service provider has problems with their own servers. It is also possible that you do not find the DNS of your own internet provider safe enough.
There are several popular DNS providers such as Google (8.8.8.8), Norton DNS and OpenDNS. The newcomers are also not wrong, such as the new CloudFlare server (1.1.1.1), which places extra emphasis on safety and privacy.
Which DNS servers are there?
There are a lot of different DNS servers around the world. Part of it is free to use and for others, you will have to pay. This also has to do with the security of the server. They all have a unique set of numbers, the IP address. This is the number to which the server can be identified.
Below is a list of the IP addresses of the most frequently used services:
- Google: 8.8.8.8
- OpenDNS: 208.67.222.222
- Norton: 199.85.126.20
- Quad9: 9.9.9.9
- CloudFlare: 1.1.1.1
Set up DNS on iPhone and iPad
You can easily customize the current server on your iPhone and iPad. Follow the following steps:
- Go to Settings and then to WiFi.
- Press the i next to your current WiFi network.
- Go to Configure DNS and tick Manual.
- You can now press the plus sign next to Add server.
- Tap the IP address of the desired server and press Save.
When changing, make sure that you choose Configure DNS and do not Configure IP, otherwise, it will not work.
You have now added an additional DNS server to the current Wi-Fi network. If your internet provider has problems with its own DNS server, your iPhone will use the other set DNS servers.
You can also delete the original server to only use the server of your choice. Later you can always add an extra DNS again.
Set up DNS on the Mac
If you want to change your DNS server on your iMac or MacBook, follow the steps below.
- On the Mac, go to System Preferences> Network.
- Click the Advanced button and go to the DNS tab.
- Click on the plus sign to add a new server.
- Here you enter the IP address and drag it to the top of the list.
- Click OK and you have set up the new server.
If your Mac does not respond to the change, you can optionally remove the DNS cache.
Delete DNS cache on the Mac
To remove your cache, you must open your Terminal. This is the fastest way to search for ‘Terminal’ in Spotlight. After you open the Terminal, type the following:
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder;sudo killall mDNSResponderHelper;sudo dscacheutil -flushcache
Then press Enter and enter your password when prompted. As soon as the cache has been emptied, you will receive a notification.
Note that removing your cache is not a requirement. macOS generally responds quite quickly to changing your DNS server. Removing your cache is only necessary if it does not work.
In this way, we are able to change the DNS server on our iPhone, iPad, Mac and iMac devices. I hope this article helps you to change DNS server settings on your iOS devices. If you have any queries while applying the above methods, let us know them in the below comment section and we will get back to you as soon as possible to solve all your queries.
Do you know any other fast DNS servers other than these? Then write them in the below comment box.
