ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED: what it means and how to fix it

What ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED means

Before a browser can connect to anything, it turns a hostname into an IP address through DNS. ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED is Chrome's catch-all for that lookup failing in some way other than a confirmed non-existent name: the resolver did not respond in time, returned an empty or malformed answer, or the browser's own network stack could not reach a resolver at all.

This is easy to confuse with DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN, which is a narrower, more specific case. NXDOMAIN means a resolver answered clearly: this name does not exist in the zone. ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED means the lookup itself failed or came back with nothing usable, which includes a broken resolver, a timeout, a network with no DNS access at all, or a local DNS override gone wrong. If you already know the domain used to work and nothing about the domain itself changed, ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED points more toward the resolution path than the domain's own records.

How the error appears

Chrome and Edge show "This site can't be reached - example.com's server IP address could not be found. Try running Windows Network Diagnostics." with the code ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED. Firefox shows "Hmm. We're having trouble finding that site" with the message "we can't connect to the server at example.com."

dig shows what a specific resolver returns, and +trace walks the full chain from the root down:

dig example.com A
;; ANSWER SECTION:
example.com.  300  IN  A  203.0.113.10

dig +trace example.com
; <<>> DiG 9.18 <<>> +trace example.com
.  518400  IN  NS  a.root-servers.net.
...
com.  172800  IN  NS  a.gtld-servers.net.
...
example.com.  300  IN  A  203.0.113.10

nslookup is a faster sanity check when you just need a yes or no answer:

nslookup example.com
Server:   8.8.8.8
Address:  8.8.8.8#53

Name:     example.com
Address:  203.0.113.10

If either command times out, returns SERVFAIL, or returns nothing under ANSWER SECTION, the lookup genuinely failed, distinct from an NXDOMAIN response that would say plainly "no such name."

What causes ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED

• A missing A or AAAA record. The domain resolves for other record types, or the zone exists, but no address record is published for the hostname being requested (including a missing record for a specific subdomain even though the root domain works).
• An expired domain registration. Once a domain lapses, its nameservers typically stop answering for it entirely, which produces exactly this failure rather than a clean NXDOMAIN.
• A nameserver outage or misconfiguration. If the domain's authoritative nameservers are unreachable or return malformed responses, every resolver trying to answer for that domain fails the same way.
• A DNSSEC validation failure. A validating resolver that cannot verify a DNSSEC signature (an expired signature, a broken chain of trust) refuses to return an answer at all, rather than returning one it cannot trust.
• The visitor's own resolver is down or unreachable, commonly on a broken VPN, a captive Wi-Fi portal, or a misconfigured router pointing at a DNS server that no longer exists.
• A corrupted local DNS cache on the visitor's machine, holding a stale or broken entry from before a domain was configured correctly.

How to tell whose fault it is

Query a public resolver directly, such as dig example.com @8.8.8.8, bypassing whatever the local network is configured to use. If that also fails, the problem is with the domain's own DNS setup, not the visitor's network. A DNS lookup run from multiple locations makes this immediate: consistent failure everywhere points to the domain's nameservers or registration, while failure from only one location or resolver points to something local to that vantage point.

How to fix ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED

If you are a visitor

1. Flush the local DNS cache. On Windows: ipconfig /flushdns. On macOS: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder. On Linux with systemd-resolved: sudo resolvectl flush-caches.
2. Switch to a public DNS resolver such as 8.8.8.8 or 1.1.1.1 in your network settings, temporarily replacing whatever your ISP or router provides by default.
3. Check the hosts file (/etc/hosts on macOS/Linux, C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts on Windows) for a stale manual entry overriding the domain.
4. Disconnect from a VPN and retry; some VPN clients route DNS through a resolver that is itself unreachable or misconfigured.
5. Restart the router if every site on the network fails to resolve, not just one.

If you run the site

1. Confirm the A/AAAA record exists for the exact hostname visitors are using, including any subdomain: dig www.example.com A and dig example.com A are two separate lookups.
2. Check the domain's registration and expiry status through your registrar; an unexpectedly expired domain is a common and easily overlooked cause.
3. Verify the nameservers listed at the registrar match the ones actually serving the zone, and that they respond: dig NS example.com followed by querying each returned nameserver directly.
4. If using DNSSEC, validate the chain with dig +dnssec example.com and check for an expired RRSIG record, a frequent and self-inflicted cause of resolution failures.
5. Run dig +trace to see exactly where in the chain from root to authoritative server the resolution breaks down, rather than guessing.

Related errors

• DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN is the sibling error for a confirmed "this name does not exist" answer, rather than a failed or empty lookup.
• DNS propagation explains why a freshly changed record can resolve correctly from some resolvers and not others for a period of time.

How to prevent ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED

DNS failures are easy to miss internally, since a stable office network and its cached records can keep working long after visitors elsewhere start failing. A DNS check that runs from 300+ checkpoints in 158 cities catches a nameserver outage, an expiring registration, or a broken record the moment it starts affecting resolution, rather than after a support inbox fills up. HostTracker has monitored websites since 2004 and alerts by email, SMS, voice call, Slack, Telegram and more.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED and DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN?

NXDOMAIN is a definite answer: the resolver checked and the name does not exist in the zone. ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED is broader and covers a lookup that failed, timed out, or returned nothing usable, which includes cases where the domain does exist but its nameservers are unreachable.

Can an expired domain cause this error?

Yes, and it is one of the more common causes. Once a domain lapses, its nameservers typically go dark, so every lookup for it fails rather than returning a clean "does not exist" response.

Why does the site work on my phone's mobile data but not my home Wi-Fi?

That points at the resolver your home network uses, either your router's configured DNS server or your ISP's resolver. Switching to a public resolver like 1.1.1.1 on the affected network usually confirms and fixes it.

I just added a new subdomain and it won't resolve. Why?

A new record needs to propagate through DNS caches after it is created, and it also needs to actually exist: confirm with dig subdomain.example.com A against the authoritative nameserver directly before assuming it is only a propagation delay.

Does DNSSEC ever cause this error on a domain that is otherwise fine?

Yes. If DNSSEC signatures expire or the chain of trust breaks, a validating resolver refuses to answer rather than return data it cannot verify, which looks identical to a resolution failure from the visitor's side.