ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED: What It Means and How to Fix It
The browser could not find the site's IP. How it differs from DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN, console errors, missing subdomain records, nameservers, broken DNSSEC.
On this page
- A visitor types the name yourcompany.com
- The resolver asks Their internet provider looks the name up
- The nameservers answer They hold your domain’s “phone book”
- The address is returned The IP of the server that hosts you
- Your site opens Wrong or missing entries = nothing opens
ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED: what it means
Before a site opens, the browser asks DNS (the internet's "phone book") which IP address belongs to a name such as company.com. "Name not resolved" means that lookup failed: the answer was "no such name", an error came back, or nothing came back at all.
Why do you sometimes see ERR_DNS_ (your DNS works, so the name is the problem). If that check does not run, for example because the relevant Chrome option is off or disabled by the device administrator, or if it is inconclusive, the original ERR_
The check only runs for the page you opened, not for the files it loads. So when an image, font or script comes from a domain that does not resolve, the page opens normally and the Developer Tools console (F12) shows net::ERR_ next to that file.
How it looks in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari
| Browser | What the page says | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome | "This site can't be reached" and "company.com's server IP address could not be found." | ERR_ or DNS_ |
| Chrome / Edge (console, F12) | The page opens, but one of its files fails | net:: |
| Edge | "Hmmm… can't reach this page" | ERR_ or DNS_ |
| Firefox | "Server Not Found" (older versions: "Hmm. We're having trouble finding that site.") | Usually no code shown |
| Safari | "Safari can't find the server" | No code shown |
If you are a visitor
- Check the spelling. One wrong letter or the wrong extension (.com instead of .co.uk) is enough.
- Try from a phone on mobile data, off Wi-Fi. If it opens there, your network or computer is the problem. If it opens nowhere, the domain is.
- Flush your DNS cache, restart the router and temporarily turn off any VPN. The commands for Windows and Mac are in the DNS_
PROBE_ guide.FINISHED_ NXDOMAIN - If it opens for others but not for you (or the other way round), tell the owner. It may be a DNSSEC problem, which only affects people whose DNS checks signatures.
DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NO_INTERNET and BAD_CONFIG: the problem is your connection
When Chrome's check concludes that the site is fine and your own connection is at fault, you will see one of these codes:
DNS_: not even Google's public DNS answers, so you are most likely offline. Check Wi-Fi, the cable and the router.PROBE_ FINISHED_ NO_ INTERNET DNS_: public DNS answers, but the DNS server your device uses does not. Switch to another DNS: on Windows, on Mac, on your phone or router. To choose one, see Google, Cloudflare or Quad9.PROBE_ FINISHED_ BAD_ CONFIG DNS_: Chrome's Secure DNS is on with a provider that does not answer. Check or change the provider in that setting.PROBE_ FINISHED_ BAD_ SECURE_ CONFIG
If you own the website: the usual causes
- The subdomain has no record. company.com opens, but www.company.com or shop.company.com does not, because the DNS zone has no A or CNAME record for that name. Add it at the provider that hosts your DNS.
- The nameservers don't answer or the delegation is broken. This often happens after changing nameservers: the registrar points to nameservers where the zone has not been set up yet, or a nameserver name has a typo. See changing nameservers.
- Broken DNSSEC. If the domain had DNSSEC and you moved to nameservers that do not sign the zone, the old DS record is still at the registry. Resolvers that check signatures, such as 1.1.1.1 and 8.8.8.8, then answer SERVFAIL and the site "disappears" for many visitors, while others, whose DNS does not check signatures, still see it. Fix: remove the DS at your registrar, or enable DNSSEC at the new provider and submit the new DS. Next time, disable DNSSEC before changing nameservers. More in the DNSSEC guide.
- The domain expired. Without renewal the domain stops resolving. See what to do if your domain expired.
- A forgotten external file. The theme or a plugin loads a script, font or image from an old CDN or from a domain that expired. The page opens, but something is missing and the console says
net::ERR_. Find the address in the Network or Console tab and remove it, or host the file on your own server. Anyone can buy an expired domain, so a script loaded from one is also a security risk.NAME_ NOT_ RESOLVED
See where the DNS lookup breaks
The DNS Checker asks several public resolvers at once and shows what each one answered. NXDOMAIN means the name does not exist (missing record or expired domain). SERVFAIL or a timeout instead of an answer points to nameservers that don't answer properly or to broken DNSSEC. DNS Diagnostics checks the nameservers and the delegation from the registry.
→ DNS Checker → DNS DiagnosticsThe DNSSEC Checker compares the DS at the registry with the keys in your zone. The DNS Propagation Checker shows which resolvers already see a new record. WHOIS shows nameservers and, for most TLDs, the expiry date (not for .gr).
→ DNSSEC Checker → DNS Propagation Checker → WHOIS LookupMore: DNS_
Common mistakes
- Testing only company.com and forgetting the www or the subdomain that actually fails.
- Changing nameservers before the records exist at the new provider, or leaving the old DS record at the registrar.
- Testing only from your own network and concluding "it works": your ISP's DNS may not check DNSSEC, while 1.1.1.1 and 8.8.8.8 do.
- Adding a record and expecting it to show everywhere at once: any resolver that asked before remembers the "doesn't exist" answer for a while. See how long DNS propagation takes.