Imagine yourself working on an important presentation. You are just in the research phase when DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG appears on your screen.
DNS error is quite irritating. You might have encountered it once or several times. It gets frustrating when you are not able to access the internet. Whether you are using Windows, macOS, or mobile phone, you can fix this error by following some simple tips.
DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG is an error that might prevent you from accessing a website. When you see this error, a screen like the one below will appear on your browser when you browse anything on the internet.
Is It A browser-specific Error?
The DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG is not a website related error. Nor is it a browser-specific error. You can encounter this error in any browser as well from Chrome to Mozilla or even Opera.
So, we can conclude that the error is network related not browser or website related. You are receiving this error when you are trying to access any website regardless of the browser you use.
Some people assume that a lot of Chrome users get this error. This is because Chrome is the most popular browser in the market.
At times some of the Android users also face this error. That’s because there is a wrong configuration on their router. This blog will help you eliminate DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG whether you are getting an error on mobile, laptop or any device.
You know that this is a DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG error because of the message displayed right next to ‘This page is not available’. Just follow these instructions, and you can get rid of the error with a little effort.
You need to understand that DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG is a standard error, so there is no need to worry about it. If you get a DNS error, it can mean a few things. And before you rush to your IT department, you can try out these things and see if you can resolve the error without anyone’s help.
Here are some basic methods that will help you to get rid of the error.
- Restart Your router
- Clear Browser Cache
- Renew Your IP Address And Flush DNS Cache
- Reset The IP Catalog
- Change The DNS Servers
- Flush The Temporary Files
- Disable Antivirus & Firewall
- Update Your Network Drivers
- Disable Website Blockers
- It's Economical
The first thing that you can do to get rid of the error is to restart your router. Whether you are getting this error on your Android phone, Mac or PC, you can turn the router off, wait for 10 seconds and turn the router back on
Even if your computer is attached to a LAN, you can quickly resolve it by doing this simple trick.
But if you find that you are still getting DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG error, you can move on to the tips mentioned below and resolve the error.
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- Clear Browser Cache
At times, a corrupt cache creates a DNS error. When this happens the only way out is to clear your browser cache. It is one of the fastest ways to remove the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG error from your system.
For each browser, there are different settings, but mostly the browser’s cache can be cleared with the following steps:
- Open the browser.
- Go to ‘Settings’
- Now see for ‘browsing data’, ‘history’ or ‘browsing data’.
- From here, you’ll be able to clear cookies and the browsing data of your browser.
In most cases, this should do the trick. If you still get the error after clearing browser cache, follow the steps below to get rid of the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG error.
- Renew Your IP Address And Flush DNS Cache
If there is still an error, you can either renew your IP or flush DNS to fix the error. Because when you flush the DNS it will reset the network configuration and all the DNS related errors will be removed.
Here’s how you can fludsh DNS cache and renew your IP Address:
- Open the Run dialogue box by hitting the Windows + R key.
- You’ll be presented with a command line window. Press Enter to go to a new line.
- Now write the following line of code of separate line:
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /renew
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /all
4. Hit enter after you wrote these lines.
5. Restart your computer/laptop.Your system is now DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG error-free. If you are still getting the error, feel free to move to the net set of tricks to eliminate the error.
- Reset The IP Catalog
To repair and reset the Windows IP Catalog you first need to run the command prompt by pressing Windows + R key.
In the command line type the following code and hit enter
netsh Winsock reset
Next, restart the computer. Your error will be no more.
If you want to know the log changes type this code in the command line and hit enter
netsh Winsock reset c:\winsockreset.log
What you’ve done now is you have reset the Winsock Catalog and brought it to a new state. You’ve removed all the previously installed layers that might have caused the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG error.
- Change The DNS Servers
At times, the problem is quite simple, but we make it complicated. Try to change the DNS server, and DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG error might go away.
Here is how you can do it.
- Click on the Windows OS icon.
- Goto’ Open Network and sharing centre.’
- For Windows 8 and 10, you can search for ‘network and sharing’, and the settings will appear.
- Here click on ‘Change Adapter Settings’
- On Network Connection Settings go to ‘Properties’.
- Select, ‘Internet Protocol Version 4’ and click on properties of the local area.
- You can make the DNS changes here
- Change it to 8.8.8.8 and in the alternative DNS change to 8.8.4.4
- Finally, save the settings.
Now go and browse the internet. You will be able to browse your favourite websites with no error at all. If there is still an error you might want to restart your computer and the error will be removed.
- Flush The Temporary Files
Mostly the browsers store the temporary files to speed up the load times of the visitors next sessions.
At times, however, one of these files gets corrupted, which creates the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG error. So, another solution is to clear the temporary files to fix the DNS error.
You can do this by going to the temporary folder. Type in the search “%temp%” and hit enter.
You’ll be directed towards the folder where all the temporary internet files are stored. Clear those files, and your computer will be error-free.
Once you are in the Windows temporary folder, you can select all the files and delete them.
If you are using macOS, you can do that by going to Finder and hitting ‘cmd + shift + .’ key.
You will be able to view all the hidden files from where you can quickly delete them.
Another way to do this is to go to the Finder and hit ‘Shift + Cmd + G’ keys. There will be a text field. In that type “~Library/caches” and hit enter. You’ll be able to see the relevant folders from where you can delete them and get rid of the DNS error.
For Ubuntu users, you can easily skip this step because in Ubuntu the temporary files folder gets automatically flushed out when you reboot the system.
Moreover, it is good to erase your temporary files from time to time because temporary files sometimes take much space on your computer. So, you can use a tool to clear the cache, or you can follow the same steps to remove temporary files manually from your computer.
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- Disable Antivirus & Firewall
One of the issues that users face is that the antivirus or the firewall software they use can create a conflict with the network settings and block the internet from browsing. More specifically, it can conflict with your DNS servers.
So, if you are getting DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG error, one reason might be blockage from your antivirus software or a firewall application that you are using.
If you are using Windows, you can hit the Windows icon, type ‘Defender’ in the search box, and click on ‘Virus and threat protection’ to open your antivirus settings.
Here, goto real-time protection and turn it off. When you turn off the real-time protection, whatever was blocking your way, will be no more so there will be no error.
At times you might have to browse particular settings of an antivirus software to disable the real-time protection and make your browser error-free.
Next up is to disable the Firewall. You can go to the Firewall and network protection and goto Domain network.
In the Windows Defender Firewall, please disable it and try to access any website that you can.
I am sure you will be able to do it. It is easier than it sounds.
Indeed, this depends on the process you are using, which means for some antivirus you need to Google to stop that particular antivirus from protecting your system before you can continue browsing the internet.
If your website is creating an issue, there is a good chance that one of your WordPress security plugins is creating a problem. Just disable any plugin that you have installed and try to access the website.
- Update Your Network Drivers
If you are reading this blog until here, you are still receiving the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG error, which upsets you. Fortunately, you can even try this another method to get rid of the error.
At times, it is about updating the network drivers because they are corrupted. When you update the Windows Network drivers, some bugs get removed, and one of those bugs might prevent you from accessing the internet.
You can update the network drivers manually by going to the device manager in your control panel. Click on the Network adapters setting and right-click to the network driver that you are using.
Just select the driver and click update. Your system will be updated with the latest drivers.
Now, if you reset your system, you might not get the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG error message.
For Apple users, there is no point of worrying because Apple handles driver updates in their way. But still, there is no harm in checking whether your system drivers are updated or not.
Navigate to the Apple menu icon and go to About this Mac. Now click on Software Update and here you’ll be able to see if the software is updated or not.
You can check for Android users ,if you are using an updated OS, by going into the System and System updates. For various mobile phones, you need to access this with a different path, but you’ll see the current Android version in the end.
- Disable Website Blockers
Some of the websites are blocked at times, and it seems that your internet is not working. You can see if your browser has not stopped the website. For that, you need to delete the cookies, the temporary files and the cache of your system.
For this, you need to Google the particular browser that you are using to see the specific method to clear your browser’s cache.
Once you do that, you might be able to access the particular website or the set of websites you are trying to access. You can easily browse them without fear.
- Closing Thoughts
A DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG is a standard error, which you might get any time. Mostly, people get confused about what to do when this error occurs. Now, with the above tips, you can quickly troubleshoot the error without pleading to your IT department.
If you think that any of these methods have worked for you, please share in the comments section. And if there are any other methods you use to clear the error, don’t be shy to share them.
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