---
title: "Change the DNS servers your Windows Machine uses"
slug: "change-the-dns-servers-your-windows-machine-uses"
updated: 2026-06-30T05:16:44Z
published: 2026-06-30T05:16:44Z
canonical: "docs.serversaustralia.com.au/change-the-dns-servers-your-windows-machine-uses"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.serversaustralia.com.au/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Change the DNS servers your Windows Machine uses

There are times when working with domains/subdomains you need to use reliable DNS servers, i.e., not your router-supplied DNS values.  

There are multiple free and reliable DNS providers such as:

| Provider | DNS Servers | Info | Reference |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Quad9 | 9.9.9.9 | Focuses on security and privacy; blocks malicious domains by default | [https://www.quad9.net/](https://www.quad9.net/) |
| Google | 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4 | Fast and reliable; backed by Google’s global infrastructure | [https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns](https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns) |
| Cloudflare | 1.1.1.1, 1.0.0.1 | Privacy-focused; claims not to log user data; very low latency | [https://1.1.1.1/](https://1.1.1.1/) |

Here is how you can update your DNS settings on a Windows server.

1. Go to the search bar and type in "**ncpa.cpl**" and press enter. You can also input "**ncpa.cpl**" in the Windows run command (Windows key + r). You can also manually navigate from the control panel to "Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center" and select "Change adapter settings".

![](https://cdn.document360.io/d809f158-d4f4-47ff-83d4-18d9c9f7a04d/Images/Documentation/SCR-20260422-lzof-2.jpeg)

![](https://cdn.document360.io/d809f158-d4f4-47ff-83d4-18d9c9f7a04d/Images/Documentation/SCR-20260422-mbjg-2.jpeg)

2. Right-click on the adapter that you wish to modify and select "properties".![](https://cdn.document360.io/d809f158-d4f4-47ff-83d4-18d9c9f7a04d/Images/Documentation/SCR-20260422-mbzt-2.jpeg)

3. Locate the entry "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" and double-click on it or press "properties".![](https://cdn.document360.io/d809f158-d4f4-47ff-83d4-18d9c9f7a04d/Images/Documentation/SCR-20260422-mdda-2.png)

4. In the second half of the options, you can add a preferred and alternate DNS server IP. In this example I have added Google DNS as preferred and Quad9 as an alternate.![](https://cdn.document360.io/d809f158-d4f4-47ff-83d4-18d9c9f7a04d/Images/Documentation/SCR-20260424-nlgh-2.png)

5. Press 'ok' on all the open menus

![](https://cdn.document360.io/d809f158-d4f4-47ff-83d4-18d9c9f7a04d/Images/Documentation/SCR-20260424-nnwj-2.png)

Once the networking windows have closed, the new settings are ready to be used straight away. You may want to clear your browser cache or use private/incognito browsing just to make sure there are no cache issues as well.