The err_name_not_resolved error can appear on the browser when DNS resolution (or name resolution) fails. In this guide, we will see what the error may depend on and how to solve it, case by case.
First, let’s see what exactly the error consists of and how it occurs.
Table of Contents
What is err_name_not_resolved?
The DNS (Domain Name System) allows you to connect a domain name to the corresponding IP address. It is thanks to this system that it is possible to connect to a website by remembering only the domain name and therefore there is no need to remember each IP address by heart.
The process by which an Internet domain is converted to the corresponding IP address is called DNS resolution or name resolution. To learn more about how the resolution works, you can read our article on DNS propagation.
When something goes wrong during the domain resolution process, the browser cannot reach the website. In these cases, an error such as err_name_not_resolved may appear.
Another error that can depend on problems with DNS and that we have seen how to solve in the relative guide is dns_probe_finished_nxdomain.
Note that the err_name_not_resolved error doesn’t just show up on Chrome, but this browser is typically the only one that uses this error code.
Other variants of the err_name_not_resolved error are:
- NET :: ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED
- Failed to load resource net :: err_name_not_resolved
- The site cannot be reached
- Unable to reach the site
- Could not find the IP address of the server
- The web page is not available.
What are the causes of err_name_not_resolved?
The association between domains and IP addresses is managed by DNS. When the domain resolution process fails, the error err_name_not_resolved can occur.
This can happen for example due to obsolete cached data. The error can also be caused by incorrect browser configurations, connection problems or the configuration of the hosts file.
To understand what are the causes of the err_name_not_resolved error, let’s see how we can manage to solve it.
Keep in mind that the solutions we propose start from some simple ones, such as clearing cookies and the cache, to more technical solutions such as checking the configuration of the hosts file or clearing the DNS cache of your computer.
How to fix err_name_not_resolved
Let’s see the different methods to resolve the error.
Here are the solutions we will look into to fix err_name_not_resolved:
- check that the address is correct
- check the connection
- delete browsing data
- check your browser settings
- clear the DNS cache
- change DNS servers
- check the hosts file
- check firewall and antivirus settings.
Check the address
The first thing you can do when you are faced with the error err_name_not_resolved is to check if you typed the address correctly.
In particular:
- Check that the address is spelled correctly and there are no typos.
- Try adding or removing “www”.
Check the connection
Another check you can do is if the err_name_not_resolved error depends on the connection.
First of all you can try to connect to another website to see if you can navigate or errors occur again.
The second thing to do is to try using a different connection. For example, you can use your phone’s data connection.
Another check you can do is make sure if the error occurs with only one device or with all devices connected to the same network.
Finally, try restarting the router.
If these solutions did not allow you to resolve the err_name_not_resolved error, then keep trying the methods shown below.
Clear cookies and cache
Most navigation errors can be due to cached data or problems with cookies.
Cached data allows faster loading of web pages you’ve already visited, but it can also cause errors, just like err_name_not_resolved.
Depending on the browser you are using, you can follow the detailed procedure to clear your browsing data by following our guide on how to clear the cache.
In this case, let’s see how to clear the cache with Google Chrome step by step.
First open your browser and click on the three vertical dots icon (⁝).
Then click on More tools → Clear browsing data.
A new window will open from which you can select the data to be deleted and the reference time interval.
If you want to clear the cache and delete the cookies, check these two boxes and then click on Clear data.
You can use the advanced settings to keep passwords and delete only cache files and cookies.
Clearing the cache can help us to resolve other errors as well such as dns_probe_finished_bad_config.
Disable the browser preload feature
One setting that can often cause the err_name_not_resolved error is the Google Chrome preload feature.
By activating this function, the browser will preload the links not yet open, for example the links on the page you are browsing.
Let’s see how to check if the setting is active and how to disable it.
Open Google Chrome and click on the three-dot icon (⁝), then click on Settings.
Click on Security and privacy from the right side menu and then on Cookies and other site data.
Scroll to the Pages are preloaded option for faster browsing and searching, and turn it off.
At this point, try reloading the page to see if the err_name_not_resolved error has been resolved.
Clear the DNS cache
Since the err_name_not_resolved error is due to an address resolution problem, the error may also be due to stale data stored in the DNS cache.
Just as we saw in the case of the dns_probe_finished_nxdomain error and for err_connection_refused, also in this case a possible solution is to clear the DNS cache.
Let’s see how to clear the DNS cache on Google Chrome and how to clear the DNS cache from a computer with Windows.
Clear the DNS cache on Google Chrome
Google Chrome stores the DNS cache and you can empty it directly from the browser settings.
Type chrome: // net-internals / # dns in the address bar to access the DNS cache settings.
Then click on Clear host cache. Doing so will clear the browser’s DNS cache.
Now check if the err_name_not_resolved error is resolved, or keep trying the other methods.
Clear DNS cache on Windows
To clear the DNS cache on Windows you need to open the command prompt.
Note that the same steps are valid on all newer operating systems: Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.
To open the command prompt follow these steps:
- use the Windows + R key combination
- type cmd and click OK.
To empty the DNS cache, type the following command:
ipconfig / flushdnsA message like the one you see on this screen will tell you that the cache was successfully emptied.
Change the DNS servers
DNS errors like err_name_not_resolved, but also DNS server is not responding, can be resolved by changing DNS servers.
Let’s see how to set up public DNS on Windows 10, Android, Mac and Linux and how to set them directly from the router.
Change DNS servers on Windows 10
To resolve the err_name_not_resolved error on Windows you can change the DNS servers and use the OpenDNS or public DNS from Google or Cloudflare.
Google DNS
Preferred DNS Server: 8.8.8.8
Alternate DNS Server: 8.8.4.4
Cloudflare DNS
Preferred DNS Server: 1.1.1.1
Alternate DNS Server: 1.0.0.1
OpenDNS
Preferred DNS Server: 208.67.222.222
Alternate DNS Server: 208.67.220.220
To change the DNS server settings open the Control Panel and click on Network and Sharing Center.
Click Change adapter settings.
Access the properties of the network you are using by right clicking and then clicking on Properties.
Find Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP / IPv4) in the list, select it and click Properties.
Check the option Use the following DNS server addresses and fill in the fields with the public DNS.
In this example we used Google’s DNS servers.
Change DNS servers on Android
If you encounter the error err_name_not_resolved on Android a solution can be to set up public DNS servers.
To do this, you need to access the settings of the network you are connected to.
The first thing to do is set a static IP, after which you can change the DNS by entering the preferred and secondary servers as you see in this screen.
Change DNS servers on Linux
On Linux we can change the DNS servers by editing the resolv.conf file.
We can open the file from the terminal with an editor such as gedit or nano. To use nano, use the following command with root permissions:
~ # nano /etc/resolv.confThen change the entry next to nameservers with public DNS servers, for example using those of Google as you see in the screenshot below.
Change DNS servers on Mac
To change DNS servers on Mac, open System Preferences and click Network.
Click on Advanced or More options and then open the DNS tab.
Use the “+” button below to add the new DNS servers.
Change the DNS servers on the router
Some routers allow you to set up DNS servers manually. This way the settings apply to the network and you can resolve the err_name_not_resolved error on smart tv, firestick and all devices connected to the network.
To access the router, you usually just type 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 in the address bar of the browser.
Then just look for the DNS settings and enter the preferred and secondary servers as you see in our example.
In our specific case with a GL-MT300N-V2 router, just go to More Settings → Custom DNS Server → Manual DNS Server Settings.
Check the hosts file
Another possible solution to resolve the err_name_not_resolved error, is to check the hosts file.
In short, the hosts file allows us to associate a specific IP with a domain name. In fact, inside the hosts file we will find a list of IPs and domains, like this:
IP domain-name
If there are errors within the hosts file, you may encounter error messages trying to visit the desired site.
Check your firewall and antivirus settings
In some cases viruses and malware can change the DNS configuration, so it could also be useful to run a scan with an antivirus.
In other cases, access to sites may be blocked by the antivirus or firewall. To solve this, you can try to temporarily disable these programs.
If, on the other hand, you have recently changed the settings, you can try to reset the default ones.
Conclusion
We have seen what the err_name_not_resolved error is and what it can be caused by. We then focused on the solutions to fix this error.
In some cases the problem may occur on only one device, in others on the whole network. We have therefore seen what checks can be made to understand what is the cause of the error.
We started with simpler solutions that help solve various navigation problems, for example trying to double-check the address we entered or try to connect from another device.
To get to see how to change the browser settings, clear the DNS cache or change the DNS servers, setting the public ones.
Have you ever come across the error err_name_not_resolved? How did you manage to solve? Let me know with a comment.
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