Want to change the DNS on your Android or iPhone? You have landed at the right place. Whichever DNS you select, changing the DNS on an Android device or iPhone is quick and easy. It can make you safer online and enhance your browsing experience. Let’s learn how to use Google DNS and OpenDNS on Android and iPhone.
What Is DNS?
Think of DNS (Domain Name System) as the phonebook of the Internet that converts human-readable website names to machine-readable IP addresses. Basically, every time you type “maketecheasier.com” into your browser, DNS converts this request into an IP address (number), which it then uses to locate and deliver the site to your device.
As humans, we could never remember hundreds of IP addresses, but we can remember named sites like “google.com,” and that’s where DNS comes in handy.
DNS is automatically provided by your internet service provider. However, sometimes the default DNS may be slow or not working properly, and that’s why you may consider changing the DNS. On a mobile device, it’s easy to switch to Google DNS or OpenDNS, which are two of the most reliable, fast, and secure DNS servers.
Pro Tip: check out the best DNS servers you can use for free.
How to Change DNS on Android
Follow these steps to change the DNS to Google DNS, OpenDNS, or any other DNS on Android:
- Open Settings on your Android phone.
- Go to “Network & Internet -> Internet.”
- Tap on the Settings icon for the Wi-Fi network whose DNS you want to change.
- Tap on the Edit (pencil) icon at the top. Expand “Advanced options” in the pop-up. If you see the IP settings option, jump to step #6.
- If you don’t see the IP settings option, press and hold the name of the network you want to change. Once the information box appears, select “Modify Network.”
- To adjust your Android DNS settings, tap on the small arrow under “IP settings” and switch from “DHCP” to “Static.”
- Once selected, a number of text fields will appear with the DNS settings that are available to edit. We only need to focus on the DNS field. Scroll down and tap the text field under DNS 1. Type “208.67.222.222” for the OpenDNS server. Similarly, type “208.67.220.220” in the DNS 2 field. Likewise, to use Google DNS servers, just change the DNS 1 and 2 to “8.8.8.8” and “8.8.4.4,” respectively.
- Lastly, click the “Save” button to confirm the change. You can test the DNS settings for OpenDNS by opening your web browser and navigating to https://welcome.opendns.com/, where you will see a confirmation message.
Note: if the “Save” button appears grayed out, you must fill in the “IP address,” “Gateway”, and “Network prefix length” fields as well. For that, simply enter whatever is shown as grayed-out data in those fields.
Tip: get up to speed on how to set a metered connection on Android.
How to Change DNS on Samsung Galaxy
Follow these steps to change the DNS servers on Samsung phones:
- Open Settings on your Samsung Galaxy phone.
- Go to “Connections -> Wi-Fi.”
- Tap on the Settings icon next to the Wi-Fi network whose DNS you want to change.
- Tap on “View more” to expand the Wi-Fi settings.
- Tap on “IP settings” and select “Static.”
- Tap the text fields for “DNS 1” and “DNS 2” and enter the addresses as described for Androids.
- Tap on “Save” to confirm the changes.
Tip: learn the top reasons you are not getting service on your iPhone.
How to Change DNS on iPhone
To change the DNS server used by your iPhone, follow these steps:
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Tap on “Wi-Fi.”
- Tap on the “(i)” icon next to the Wi-Fi network whose DNS you want to modify.
- Hit the “Configure DNS” option and select “Manual.”
- Remove any existing DNS server by pressing the red “-” icon next to it, then tapping the “Delete” button.
- Press the “Add server” button and add one of the DNS server pairs mentioned above for Android phones.
- Tap on “Save” to confirm the changes.
Tip: learn how to fix Safari not working on iPhone.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the benefits of using Google or OpenDNS?
Changing your default DNS to OpenDNS or Google DNS speeds up your browsing experience through central load balancing and caching. It also makes browsing more secure, as these providers negate many of the attacks and requests that are harmful in nature.
Can you change DNS for a mobile network?
Changing DNS only works on Wi-Fi networks. The DNS servers cannot be changed when using a cellular network.
Do you have to change DNS for every Wi-Fi?
Yes, changing DNS works on a per-network basis. If you connect to a new network, you will have to repeat the setup process. Fortunately, it is a one-time task, and your phone will remember the DNS settings for known networks.
All screenshots and images by Mehvish Mushtaq.
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