How to configure Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 DNS service on Windows 10 or your router

Equally of your spider web traffic runs through a DNS — a Domain Name Service — usually managed by your Internet access provider. A number of companies offer alternatives, allowing you to route your traffic through faster or more secure means, and web infrastructure giant Cloudflare has rolled out their ain DNS for consumers: 1.1.1.1. Cloudflare promises its new DNS is not but faster than the contest, just information technology's besides more secure and individual also.

What is Cloudflare?

Cloudflare is a spider web infrastructure company, offering content delivery network (CDN), Distributed Deprival of Service (DDoS) mitigation, Administrative DNS services, and now a consumer DNS resolver service. Its network serves more than 6 million websites, including heavyweights like Uber, OkCupid, and Mobile Nations. Betwixt all of its services, Cloudflare has a huge infrastructure spread out around the globe — the closer its CDN servers are to your computer, the faster information technology can serve content to you. The sheer size of the Cloudflare CDN also means it had potential to serve equally a consumer-level DNS arrangement.

What is DNS and what makes Cloudflare'southward service unique?

DNS is essentially the web's phonebook. Every website is located at an IP address — a string of digits that denote the exact web location of the server. Because remembering a bunch of IP addresses like 104.16.213.223 would be a pain, instead we accept domain names similar WindowsCentral.com, which is stored in a DNS database aslope the IP address. Y'all type WindowsCentral.com into your browser, your calculator sends that through the network to a DNS, which so returns the page located at 104.16.213.223.

Your Internet access provider has its own DNS resolver, making information technology easy to just hook upwards service and get online. Simply they're not always the fastest or most secure services, and then third-political party options have been growing in popularity. Over the years, we've seen a lot of companies offering fast DNS services, including Cisco OpenDNS and Google Public DNS. While these services are known to be fast and reliable, Cloudflare's ane.1.1.1 is expected to exist even faster and more secure.

Epitome credit: Cloudflare

According to Cloudflare, ane.1.1.1's average latency is effectually 14ms, making it the fastest DNS resolver everywhere (Google Public DNS latency average is 34ms). Aslope speed, Cloudflare is also touting greater privacy promising that users records will never be stored on disks, and it'll flush out logs every 24 hours.

In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to configure your router or estimator to use the new super-fast and secure 1.1.one.1 DNS resolver from Cloudflare.

Cloudflare gratuitous DNS resolver IP addresses
How to configure Cloudflare DNS service on router
How to configure Cloudflare DNS service on Windows 10
How to bank check if you're using the Cloudflare DNS settings

Cloudflare free DNS resolver IP addresses

These are the IP addresses to prepare up Cloudflare's consumer DNS service on a computer or router.

IP version iv

1.i.1.i
ane.0.0.1

IP version 6

2606:4700:4700::1111
2606:4700:4700::1001

How to configure Cloudflare DNS service on router

The best way to alter your current DNS settings to start using Cloudflare's 1.1.ane.1 is to reconfigure your router. Using this approach automatically configures every device in the house (such as desktop, laptop, tablet, phone, game console, and smart Television set), instead of setting upwardly each device individually.

To configure your router to use the Cloudflare DNS addresses, exercise the following:

Important: The instructions to configure may be different on your router before proceeding make sure to check your manufacturer support website for more specific details.

Open your spider web browser.
Enter the IP address of your router and printing Enter.

Quick Tip: You can discover out this information using the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut, typing cmd, clicking OK, and on Control Prompt run the ipconfig command. The router IP address will be the ane that is listed in the Default Gateway field.
Log in using your router username and password as required. (Typically, y'all'll find this information on a sticker on your router.)
Open the DNS server settings folio. Refer to your router manufacturer back up website to locate these settings. However, nearly of the fourth dimension, these settings tin be found in the advanced settings section. Hither's the location to get to the DNS settings in some of the nearly pop dwelling router brands:
- Linksys: Setup > Basic Setup.
- ASUS: WAN > Internet Connection.
- Google Wifi: Settings > Networking & General > Advanced Network > DNS.
- Netgear: Internet.
- D-Link: Manual Net Connectedness Setup.
In the DNS settings section use these IPv4 addresses:
- i.one.1.1
- one.0.0.1
Save your settings.
Restart your browser.

Once you've completed the steps, restart your reckoner to start using the new settings.

Alternatively, you can open Command Prompt and run these ii commands:

ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /renew

These commands volition purge the DNS Resolver cache on your device and asking a renewal of the IPv4 settings.

Information technology'southward worth noting that yous don't need to apply the IP version six addresses on your router if your network is already using IP version four. Nevertheless, if you lot're required to apply the IPv6 addresses, you must enter them in the IPv6 DNS setting page on your router.

2606:4700:4700::1111
2606:4700:4700::1001

How to configure Cloudflare DNS service on Windows ten

Alternatively, if configuring your home router is a niggling challenging, or yous want to employ the Cloudflare DNS settings on every network you connect, including public networks (for instance, coffee shop and airport), with your laptop or tablet, you can configure the DNS settings on Windows 10, instead of configuring your router.

To configure the Cloudflare DNS settings on Windows 10, do the following:

Important: It's not recommended to use these instructions if you're using a computer at piece of work, because changing these settings could cause connectivity bug and other issues. If you desire to alter these settings on your work figurer, always consult with your IT ambassador first.

Open Outset.
Search for Control Panel, and click the height result to open up the experience.
Click on Network and Internet.
Click on Network and Sharing Centre.
Click on Change Adapter Settings.
Right-click the Wi-Fi or Ethernet adapter that yous're using to connect to the internet, and select the Backdrop selection.
Select the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) choice.
Click the Properties button.
Select the Use the following DNS server addresses option.
In the "Preferred DNS server" field, enter this IPv4 accost:
- 1.1.ane.1
In the "Alternative DNS server" field, enter this IPv4 accost:
- i.0.0.i
Click OK.
(Optional) If the Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) stack is enabled in the network adapter properties, select the choice.
Click the Properties push.
Select the Use the following DNS server addresses option.
In the "Preferred DNS server" field, enter this IPv6 accost:
- 2606:4700:4700::1111
In the "Culling DNS server" field, enter this IPv6 accost:
- 2606:4700:4700::1001
Click OK.
Click Close.

Later completing the steps, your device will contact the Cloudflare servers to resolve domain names (for example, Google.com or WindowsCentral.com).

The steps mentioned above are focused on Windows 10, merely the instructions volition also piece of work on Windows eight.1 and Windows 7.

How to bank check if you're using the Cloudflare DNS settings

If yous want to brand sure that you're in fact using the Cloudflare DNS settings, you lot tin can use the nslookup tool to observe out this information quickly:

Open Start.
Search for cmd, click the acme issue to open Command Prompt.
Type the post-obit control and press Enter:
- nslookup

The output of the command should include this result:

Default Server: 1dot1dot1dot1.cloudflare-dns.com
Address: 1.1.i.1

If you're using the IPv6 addresses, and so the output should await like this:

Default Server: 1dot1dot1dot1.cloudflare-dns.com
Address: 2606:4700:4700::1111

If y'all're configuring your router instead of your computer, the nslookup tool will bear witness the IP address of your router. This is an expected outcome as information technology's your router the one that is making the DNS requests on behalf of all the devices continued in the network.

If this is the case, you tin verify that the Cloudflare DNS settings are configured correctly using your router's network tools (if applicative), and using the nslookup method to test the settings.