How to Change DNS on Android

This article explains how to change your DNS servers on an Android phone to create faster and more secure wireless connections. Instructions apply to Android 9 (Pie) and higher, as well as Android 8 (Oreo), but the process is similar on older Android versions.

Changing DNS on Android 9 and Higher

It's fairly easy to change the DNS address on Android 9 and higher. Instead of changing the addresses on a per-network basis, you can set alternative DNS addresses in a single location. To manually change the DNS, follow these steps:

1. Open your phone's Settings, then tap Network & Internet.

2. Tap Advanced.

   

3. Tap Private DNS, then select Private DNS provider hostname and enter either the Cloudflare URL or one of the CleanBrowing URLs in the text field. You can find them in the section below.

   

4. Tap Save to finish.

Caveats About Changing DNS on Android

It's important to note that with Android 9 and higher, you can't configure a standard DNS server (such as Google or OpenDNS). Instead, you have to use DNS over TLS, which is an encrypted form of DNS. These addresses are domain names and not IP addresses.

One of the most popular Private DNS services is Cloudflare. The Cloudflare DNS address is 1dot1dot1dot1.cloudflare-dns.com. You can also opt to use the CleanBrowsing DNS service, which has three DNS servers:

• Security Filter: Blocks phishing, malware, and malicious domains, and uses the address security-filter-dns.cleanbrowsing.org.
• Family Filter: Blocks access to adult, pornographic, and explicit sites, as well as sites like Reddit. This uses the address family-filter-dns.cleanbrowsing.org.
• Adult Filter: Blocks access to all adult, pornographic and explicit sites and uses the address adult-filter-dns.cleanbrowsing.org.

Changing DNS on Android 8 and Earlier

Here's how to configure a Wi-Fi network to use an alternative DNS server on Android Oreo. This method also works for Android 7 and 6, although the location of some of the settings might vary.

When changing the DNS address for Android 8 and earlier, it's done on a per-network basis, so you have to do this for any wireless network where you want to use a different DNS server or service.

Here’s how:

1. Pull down the notification shade twice, tap the gear icon in the upper-right corner, and then tap Wi-Fi.

2. Long press the name of the wireless network to be modified and then tap Modify network.

   

3. Tap Advanced options and then tap DHCP.

   

4. From the pop-up menu, tap Static and then tap DNS 1. Type the DNS address (such as 8.8.8.8).

   

5. Tap SAVE to finish.

Go through the above process with every wireless network you want to use alternate DNS addresses for. You can also configure different DNS servers for different Wi-Fi networks. For instance, for your home network, you could use the Google DNS address of 8.8.8.8, and for another network, you could use the OpenDNS address of 208.67.220.220.

You might find that one DNS server works better with a certain wireless network. Fortunately, with Android, you can make such changes to the network configurations.

More About DNS and Changing Your Servers

DNS stands for Domain Name System and serves as the “phone book” for the internet. It's responsible for translating domains (like lifewire.com) to routable IP addresses. You don't want to have to remember 151.101.130.114 as the address for lifewire.com every time you visit. Without DNS, those domain addresses couldn't be translated to routable IP addresses. That's why DNS is important.

Every device that requires access to the outside world (the Wide Area Network, aka WAN) has a DNS server (or two) that tells your phone how to get to a given address. Those addresses are almost always associated with your device carrier (such as Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint) or the wireless network you use.

DNS services provided by your carrier or Wi-Fi network might not always be the fastest at translating domains to IP addresses. Or worse, they could be less than secure. However, it's not possible to change the carrier DNS of an unrooted device. But, it's possible to change the DNS addresses when connected to a wireless network.

Considering wireless networks are often less secure than carrier networks, changing the DNS services used might be wise.