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How to Change DNS on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One

Set a faster DNS server on your Xbox from the network settings menu so page and store lookups resolve quicker — no app or extra hardware needed.

Updated 4 min

Xbox Beginner ~4 min

  1. Open the guide

    Press the Xbox button on your controller to open the guide overlay from anywhere — the dashboard, a game, or an app.

  2. Go to Settings

    Scroll to Profile & system, then select Settings. This opens the console's full settings menu.

  3. Open Network settings

    Choose General, then Network settings. This is where the Xbox shows your current connection status and connection options.

  4. Open Advanced settings

    Select Advanced settings. This section holds IP settings, DNS settings, alternate MAC address, and other lower-level network options.

  5. Choose DNS settings, then Manual

    Select DNS settings. It defaults to Automatic (which uses your ISP's DNS). Choose Manual to enter your own addresses.

  6. Enter the Primary DNS

    Type your Primary IPv4 DNS address — for example 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare), or whichever resolver won your speed test — and select Enter.

  7. Enter the Secondary DNS

    Type your Secondary IPv4 DNS address — for example 1.0.0.1 (Cloudflare's second address) — and select Enter. The Xbox tests the connection and returns to the network screen.

  8. Confirm and test the connection

    When prompted, confirm the change. The Xbox re-tests the network automatically; you can also run Test network connection under Network settings to verify it still connects.

Why change DNS on Xbox

Every time your Xbox loads a store page, checks for a game update, streams a video app, or connects to a multiplayer service, it first has to translate a hostname into an IP address. That translation is a DNS lookup. By default the Xbox uses whatever DNS server your ISP hands out, which is often not the fastest one available from your connection. Pointing it at a quicker public resolver shortens that lookup delay, so dashboards, the store, and apps feel a little snappier when they first load.

Be clear about what this does and does not do. A faster resolver only shortens the lookup step — the moment before a connection is made. It does not increase your bandwidth, it does not make downloads faster once they’ve started, and it will not lower your in-game ping. Ping to a game server is about the network path and distance to that server, not about DNS. If someone tells you a “gaming DNS” will fix your latency, treat that as marketing, not fact.

Before you start, run the DNS speed test from a device on the same network to see which resolver actually responds fastest from your location, then use its addresses on the Xbox instead of the example ones below. You can also browse the public DNS servers page to compare resolvers on privacy and filtering, not just speed.

Series X|S vs Xbox One

The menu path is the same across the current Xbox family — Xbox Series X, Series S, Xbox One, One S, and One X all share the same dashboard and network menus, so Settings → General → Network settings → Advanced settings → DNS settings works identically on each. The only real differences you’ll notice are cosmetic dashboard updates between system software versions; the DNS fields themselves haven’t moved. The Manual DNS screen only accepts a primary and a secondary IPv4 address — the Xbox has no field for entering an IPv6 DNS server by hand (IPv6 DNS, if your network uses it, is configured automatically).

Encrypted DNS (DoH/DoT)

Here’s the honest limitation: the Xbox only supports plain, unencrypted DNS. There is no built-in option for DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) or DNS-over-TLS (DoT) anywhere in the console’s settings, on any current Xbox model or system software version. The Manual DNS screen accepts plain resolver IP addresses and nothing more. Any guide claiming to enable “encrypted DNS on Xbox” through a console menu is describing a menu that does not exist.

If you want your Xbox’s lookups encrypted, the practical route is to encrypt them one level up — at your router — so every device on the network (including the console) is covered:

That’s the only way to get encrypted DNS reaching the Xbox today; the console itself can’t do it per-device.

Verify it worked

The Xbox doesn’t expose a command line, so you verify indirectly:

  • Right after saving, the console runs its own network test. A green result confirms it still reaches the internet using the new DNS addresses.
  • Go back to Settings → General → Network settings → Advanced settings → DNS settings and confirm it still reads Manual with the addresses you entered — if it silently reverted to Automatic, the addresses weren’t accepted.
  • For a stricter check, run the DNS speed test from a computer or phone on the same network using the same resolver you set on the Xbox; if it responds fast there, the Xbox is getting the same benefit.

Troubleshooting

  • “Can’t connect” or the network test fails after saving. Double-check each octet of the DNS addresses — a single wrong digit stops resolution. Re-enter 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 (or your chosen resolver) carefully, or switch DNS settings back to Automatic to confirm the rest of your connection is fine.
  • Apps or the store won’t load, but games still connect. That’s a resolver problem. Try a different resolver from the public DNS servers page, or revert to Automatic.
  • The setting won’t stick / keeps showing Automatic. Fully restart the console (Settings → General → Power options → Restart, or hold the Xbox button and choose Restart) and set it again.
  • Your ping didn’t improve. Expected — DNS doesn’t affect in-game latency. See the “Why change DNS” note above; for lag, look at your connection type, network path, and the game server region instead.
  • Some Xbox online services act up. These are almost never DNS-related. Check the Xbox status page and your general connection before blaming the resolver.

Revert to your old settings

Return to Settings → General → Network settings → Advanced settings → DNS settings and choose Automatic. The Xbox goes back to using the DNS server your ISP or router provides, and re-tests the connection. Nothing else on the console is affected, and you can switch back to Manual any time.