Often offered by your ISP or telco, DNS or Domain Name System is an online server that is used by all the devices out there to look up the ip addresses of various human readable domain names in order to run the internet. But, as the default DNS servers offered by many ISPs or telcos are often slow it’s pretty common to change it to something else just to speed up your connection or block obnoxious ads.
However, unlike your laptop or wireless router whose DNS can be changed pretty easily how would you do that on your Android smartphone that runs on cellular data? To help you with this we have come up with a guide that explains how to change DNS server on any Android Smartphone:
Method 1: Manually in Settings
Most Android smartphones allow you to change their DNS servers by entering a Private DNS server address manually under Wi-Fi & Network settings and here’s how to do it:
- Open the Settings app on your Android Smartphone and tap on Wi-Fi & Network.
- Under Wi-Fi & Network tap on Private DNS.
- By default it’s set to off, tap on Private DNS provider host name and type in1dot1dot1dot1.cloudflare-dns.com before tapping on Save.
Method 2: Using DNS Changer
The second method, though a bit easier, unlike the first method requires you to install a free third-party app called DNS Changer and here’s how you can use it to change the DNS server on your smartphone:
- Head to Google Play Store and search for DNS Changer and install the first search result that appears.
- Open the new app, Accept the terms and conditions, then tap on Choose a DNS provider drop-down to select a DNS provider or you can type in your own. Once selected, tap on Start
- You will now see a VPN Connection request on your screen, allow it. You’ll now see a tiny key icon in the notification bar to show that you’re connected to a custom DNS provider.
That’s pretty much how you can change the DNS server on any Android Smartphone or a device of your choice without worrying about it being connected to your cellular data provider’s DNS server that might be slower.
