How to Change DNS Servers on Android?

Last modified: March 1, 2019

In this article, we will guide you on how to change DNS servers on your Android device with alternative ones but first, below are some frequently asked questions (FAQ).

What is DNS?

Think about your phone, do you remember all the numbers of your contacts? but you do remember their names and you can easily search for them on your device to get their phone numbers.

The Domain Name Systems (DNS) is the phonebook of the Internet. We access information online through domain names as it’s easier to remember words than numbers. i.e. Facebook.com IP address is 157.240.10.35. It is difficult to remember the IP addresses and therefore, a DNS service translates domain names to IP addresses so web browser can load the website that you wanted to access.

Why do I need to change my DNS servers?

If you’re using our VPN Client app, you don’t have to change your DNS Servers. You only need the changes if you configured the VPN connection on your device manually.

With a manual VPN set up, your Internet service provider (ISP) might have been redirecting your DNS queries over the Internet to a wrong IP address which can lead your device vulnerable to Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) attack and also leak it’s DNS.

Which Public DNS addresses would you recommend?

We recommend that you use either Google’s or Cloudfare’s public DNS addresses as they have been reliable free DNS service providers. In this article, we will be using Cloudfare’s DNS addresses an example.

Now that you’ve read and understood about DNS, please follow the steps below to make changes on your Android device.

Note: These instructions below were written for generic Android devices but the principle should hold true for most Android devices on the market.

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STEP 1: Accessing WiFi Menu

Open the Settings menu on your device and tap on Wi-Fi.

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STEP 2: Modify Network Settings

Press and hold on your WiFi network name and tap on Modify Network.

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STEP 3: WiFi Advanced Options

Now, tap on Show advanced options and tap on IP settings.

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STEP 4: Changing IP settings to static.

By default, IP settings should be on DHCP, select Static.

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STEP 5: Adding Manual DNS addresses

You should now see your IP address, Gateway etc. On some Android devices, this information is automatically populated. If that is not the case for your device, you will need to enter them manually.

Scroll down and you should see a DNS settings option. You will see your default DNS server address, which will usually be your router’s IP address.

I would suggest that you jot down your router’s IP address for future reference.

Tap on the DNS section and enter the following DNS addresses: Tap on that and enter the following DNS addresses:

DNS 1 : 1.1.1.1
DNS 2 : 1.0.0.1

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STEP 6: Saving configuration

Tap on Save and return to your home screen.

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