DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN

Why this usually isn't the site's fault

NXDOMAIN is scoped to one name, not to your connection as a whole. If every other site loads normally, your DNS is working in general — something specific to this one address is what failed to resolve, which narrows the likely cause considerably:

• The address itself is wrong. A typo, an old subdomain autocomplete brought back, or a link that pointed at a domain which has since moved.
• A stale cache entry. Your device or browser remembers a lookup failing from before a DNS change took effect, and keeps serving that old miss.
• Something on the network is substituting its own answer. Some routers and resolvers respond to unknown names with their own page instead of a clean NXDOMAIN, and because that doesn't happen the same way every time, it can make the failure look intermittent.
• The domain's own records are genuinely gone. A lapsed registration or a zone with its records removed produces this error for everyone who visits, not just you.

The check above narrows that list where a browser can: it reads whether resolution is working at all on this connection and whether public resolvers agree with what you're getting. Interception is the one item it can't test for you — a browser is not allowed to probe a made-up domain — but the FAQ below shows how to spot it by hand in a few seconds.

How to fix it, in order

1. Check the address itself

   Before touching any settings, look at what's actually sitting in the address bar. Autocomplete resurrecting an old subdomain, a typo, or a link copied with a stray character is the single most common cause of a one-off NXDOMAIN — and none of those are a DNS problem to fix.

2. Flush your device's DNS cache

   If the address is right, your device may be holding a negative result from before the record existed or changed. Windows: ipconfig /flushdns. macOS: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder. Linux with systemd-resolved: sudo resolvectl flush-caches. Full steps for every OS, including the browser's own cache, are in the setup guides.

   Setup guides

3. Change your DNS resolver

   If the check above showed a known-good name also failing, or showed public resolvers disagreeing with what you're getting, point your device at a resolver directly instead of your ISP's default. It rules out a struggling or misbehaving resolver in about a minute.

   Compare public resolvers · See setup guides

4. Check whether the domain itself has lapsed

   If you manage the site, an expired registration or a zone with its records pulled produces this exact error for every visitor, not just you. Look the domain up directly — no records at all, rather than one specific failure, points at the domain and not at your connection.

   Run a DNS lookup

DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN — frequently asked questions

What does DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN actually mean?

It means Chrome asked DNS to resolve a domain and got back NXDOMAIN — a definitive, standard DNS answer meaning the name doesn't exist. That's different from a timeout or a refused connection: the DNS system responded, and its answer was "there is nothing here." The PROBE_FINISHED part just means Chrome's own diagnostics ran to completion and confirmed the failure rather than guessing at it.

Is this caused by my computer, my network, or the website?

Usually none of those in isolation — it's caused by whatever produced the NXDOMAIN answer, and that could be a wrong address, a stale cache entry on your device, a resolver mishandling the lookup, or the domain's own DNS records being gone. The live check on this page narrows that down using your actual connection instead of a generic list of possibilities.

Will flushing my DNS cache fix this?

Sometimes. If a record changed recently and your device cached the old miss, flushing clears it immediately. If the check above shows a known-good domain also failing to resolve, or shows public resolvers disagreeing with your result, a cache flush won't help — the problem sits upstream of your device's cache, and changing resolver is the more useful next step.

What does the check on this page actually test?

Three things, run from your own browser: whether a known-good domain resolves right now, whether your resolver validates DNSSEC, and what a handful of public resolvers say about the same lookups. It does not identify which resolver you're using, and it does not measure resolver speed — both need a different kind of test than a browser page can run.

Can my ISP or router be causing this?

Yes, and it's a well-known cause of this particular error. Some routers and ISP resolvers substitute their own search or advertising page for names that don't exist instead of returning a clean NXDOMAIN, and when that happens inconsistently it produces exactly the pattern people describe here — working, then not, then working again.

The check on this page does not look for it: a browser's own security rules stop a web page from probing a made-up domain, so this is something to confirm by hand. Type a domain you're certain doesn't exist — a random run of letters followed by .com — straight into the address bar. A clean setup gives you the browser's ordinary "site can't be reached" error. An intercepting one gives you a search or advertising page belonging to your provider or router. If you see the latter, pointing the device at a public resolver removes it.

Why did I only see this error on one website?

Because NXDOMAIN is a per-name answer, not a per-connection one. If every other site loads normally, your DNS setup is working in general, and something specific to that one address is what failed — it was mistyped, it moved, or its own DNS records are no longer published. If several unrelated sites fail the same way, that's a broader problem, and the check above is more likely to catch it.