What is the “DNS server is not responding” error in WordPress?
The “DNS server is not responding” error is one of the most common WordPress errors that users may encounter.
This error will prevent you from accessing your own website, making it difficult to troubleshoot. Many beginners are not sure whether only they or others see this error.
The “DNS server is not responding” error indicates that your browser cannot establish a connection with the server hosting the website.
This error usually occurs when the DNS provider is unavailable, there is a firewall problem, there is a network connection problem, or there is a problem with the Internet modem or router.
1. Check your Internet connection.
You may receive a “DNS server is not responding” error because your Internet connection has been disconnected. Therefore, first of all, you need to make sure that you are currently connected to the Internet.
If your Internet is connected, but the error still exists, you can restart your Internet connection by turning on and off your computer.
Alternatively, you can simply disconnect the router from the power supply, wait at least one minute, and then reconnect.
After that, try visiting your WordPress blog to see if the error disappears.
2. Try to switch to another web browser or stealth mode.
Sometimes this error occurs because there is a problem in the default Web browser.
You can simply try to solve the “DNS server is not responding” error by accessing WordPress website with other browsers such as Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Edge.
For example, if you use Google browser and the browser displays an error “DNS server is not responding”, try using Mozilla Firefox to visit your website.
You can also try to open the corresponding webpage in a private tab, for example, using the stealth mode of Chrome.
If you can access the Website in other browsers, it means that the problem is your default web browser.
In this case, you can clear the browser cache to see if you can solve the problem. If this doesn’t solve the problem, you can try reinstalling the browser.
3. Disable firewall or antivirus software
Firewalls and antivirus programs can protect your computer from malicious software.
However, sometimes due to strict settings or problems with the program itself, these programs will also block trusted sites.
To check whether you receive an “unresponsive DNS server” error due to these softwares, you need to temporarily disable the firewall and antivirus program.
If you are using Windows, you can easily disable the firewall and antivirus program by selecting Settings from the Start menu.
After entering the Settings application, click the Privacy and Security option in the sidebar.
Now just select the “Windows Security” option in the “Privacy and Security” tab.
On the Windows Security page, you need to select the Virus and Threat Protection option from the list.
After that, you need to toggle the switch under the Microsoft Defender Firewall option and set it to Off.
If you are using a Mac, just go to System Preferences Security and Privacy from the Apple toolbar.
This will take you to the Security and Privacy window.
Here, just click the “Firewall” tab and turn off the firewall.
You have now disabled your antivirus and firewall programs.
After disabling the firewall, please visit your site to see if the error has been resolved.
4. Change the DNS server address
Sometimes, when the DNS server assigned to you by your Internet service provider is unavailable or the information is incorrect, it will lead to the “DNS server is not responding” error.
In this case, you can solve the problem by switching to a different public DNS server, such as Cloudflare or Google Public DNS, which provides DNS addresses for free.
If you are using Windows, go to the Windows search box from the taskbar and type “ncpa.cpl” to access the Network Connection page.
After entering the Network Connections page, right-click the Internet connection you are currently using.
Next, just select the Properties option from the prompt that opens.
At this point, you may need to provide the administrator password. If you don’t have these permissions, please contact your IT department or computer administrator.
After that, you will see the Properties window.
Here, you must find and double-click the “Internet Protocol Version 4(TCP/IPv4)” option from the list, which will open a new window.
When you get here, just check the box “Automatically get IP address” and then check the box “Use the following DNS server address”.
After that, you need to enter the DNS address obtained from the public DNS server and click the “OK” button at the bottom.