cache<\/strong>. This enables your web browser to retrieve the information locally when you revisit the website instead of retrieving it from the DNS server again, making the process quicker.<\/p>However, this DNS cache might become invalid or corrupted, preventing your web browser from properly resolving a URL into its IP address. In this situation, you must delete the DNS cache to force the browser to fetch fresh information.<\/p>
How to flush DNS cache on different operating systems<\/h2> The steps to flush the DNS cache differ across operating systems. In this section, we will explain how to do so in the three most popular OSes – Windows<\/strong>, macOS<\/strong>, and Linux<\/strong>.<\/p>How to flush DNS cache in Windows 10 and Windows 11<\/h3> With Windows, the steps to flush DNS will be similar for most versions, especially the newer ones. Here’s how to do so:<\/p>
\nClick the Start <\/strong>button and look for Command Prompt <\/strong>by entering cmd<\/strong> into the search bar. <\/li>\n\n\n\nRight-click Command Prompt <\/strong>and select Run as administrator<\/strong>. <\/li>\n\n\n\nEnter the following flush DNS command:<\/li>\n<\/ol>Ipconfig \/flushdns<\/pre>That’s it. Your system will automatically delete the stored DNS cache and reset the resolver settings. Once the process is complete, you should see a confirmation message in Command Prompt.<\/p>
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/path>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure><\/div>If you encounter an error when running the command, make sure to launch Command Prompt as an administrator. Otherwise, you won’t have the necessary permissions to flush the DNS cache.<\/p>
How to flush DNS cache in macOS<\/h3> Flushing the DNS cache in macOS is trickier since it requires different commands depending on the operating system version. However, the general procedure is the same:<\/p>
\nClick the magnifying glass <\/strong>icon on the top menu bar. Alternatively, press Command <\/strong>+ spacebar<\/strong>. <\/li>\n\n\n\nIn the Spotlight Search<\/strong> menu, find Terminal<\/strong>. Hit Enter<\/strong>. <\/li>\n\n\n\nBased on your MacOS version, type the following command to flush the DNS cache:\n\nmacOS Big Sur (11), Monterey (12), Ventura (13), Sonoma (14), and Sequoia (15): sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\nmacOS El Capitan (10.11), Sierra (10.12), High Sierra (10.13), Mojave (10.14), or Catalina (10.15): sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\nmacOS Yosemite (10.10): sudo discoveryutil udnsflushcaches<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\nmacOS Lion (10.7), Mountain Lion (10.8), or Mavericks (10.9): sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\nmacOS Snow Leopard (10.6): sudo dscacheutil -flushcache<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\nmacOS Leopard (10.5): sudo lookupd -flushcache<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\nIf Terminal asks for authorization, enter your user password. This will grant you the required admin privileges to run the command.<\/li>\n<\/ol>How to flush DNS cache in Linux<\/h3> Commands to flush DNS caches in Linux differ depending on your distributions since they might use different DNS services. For example, Ubuntu uses dnsmasq<\/strong>, while Red Hat Enterprise Linux typically utilizes NCSD<\/strong>.<\/p>If you are unsure which DNS service your system uses, check it by running the following command in Terminal. Replace dns_service<\/strong> with dnsmasq<\/strong>, ncsd<\/strong>, or bind<\/strong>:<\/p>sudo systemctl status dns_service <\/pre>Here’s the general procedure to flush DNS caches on a Linux system:<\/p>
\nPres Ctrl <\/strong>+ Alt<\/strong> + T<\/strong> to open Terminal. <\/li>\n\n\n\nEnter these commands according to the DNS service your distribution uses:\n\nDnsmasq<\/strong>: sudo \/etc\/init.d\/dnsmasq restart<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\nNCSD<\/strong>: sudo \/etc\/init.d\/nscd restart<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\nBIND<\/strong>: sudo \/etc\/init.d\/named restart && sudo rndc restart && sudo rndc exec<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\nEnter your account password to authorize the command execution. If you log in as root<\/strong>, you can skip this step.<\/li>\n<\/ol>The DNS service will stop briefly and reboot. If systemctl can’t find any of the DNS services, use the following command to flush the cache:<\/p>
sudo resolvectl flush-caches<\/pre>How to flush DNS cache on web browsers<\/h2> Since web browsers typically store their own DNS cache, you might need to flush them separately. Here’s how to do so in some of the most popular browsers:<\/p>
\nOpen your web browser. <\/li>\n\n\n\n In the address bar, enter the following address based on your browser:\n\nGoogle Chrome<\/strong>: chrome:\/\/net-internals\/#dns<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\nMicrosoft Edge<\/strong>: edge:\/\/net-internals\/#dns<\/code> <\/li>\n\n\n\nFirefox<\/strong>: about:networking#dns<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\nOpera<\/strong>: opera:\/\/net-internals\/#dns<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\nPress Enter<\/strong> to open the DNS management page.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/path>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure><\/div>\nFind and click the button that says Clear host cache <\/strong>or Clear DNS cache<\/strong>. The name varies depending on your web browser.<\/li>\n<\/ol>We’re done. Restart your web browser, and it should redownload all the DNS details when you revisit a website.<\/p>
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Important!<\/strong> Safari doesn’t have a page for flushing the DNS cache and uses the system-level configuration instead. This means resetting your macOS system’s DNS will also flush the web browser’s data. <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/p>How to flush DNS: Video tutorial<\/h2>
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