How To Fix The “dns_probe_finished_bad_config” Error (2023)

The purpose of the error message ‘dns_probe_finished_bad_config’ is to let you know that there is an issue with the DNS configuration, which is the system that helps your computer find the right website when you type in its name. When you type in a website address, your computer sends a request to a DNS server, which then sends back the address of the website’s server so your computer can connect to it.

• What is “DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG”?
• What is DNS?
• How To Fix The “dns_probe_finished_bad_config” Error In Windows
  • Clearing your DNS cache
  • Restart your DNS client service
  • Changes in your DNS network settings
  • Disable your antivirus or firewall temporarily
  • Reset your network’s setting
• Fixing The “dns_probe_finished_bad_config” Error In macOS
  • Clearing your network cache for MacOS
  • Restarting your network connection
  • Change your network settings in DNS
  • Disable your firewall temporarily
  • Reset your network settings
• Fixing The “dns_probe_finished_bad_config” Error In Linux
  • Restarting systemd-resolved service
  • Changes in your resolv.conf
  • Disable IPv6 temporarily
  • Reset your network settings

What is “DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG”?

DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG is an error message that can occur on various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. This error message usually appears in your web browser when it is unable to establish a connection with the website’s domain name server (DNS). The message itself indicates that there is a problem with the DNS configuration for the website, which is preventing your browser from connecting to it.

When you type a website address into your browser, such as google.com, your browser sends a request to the domain name server (DNS) to translate the domain name into an IP address, which is the unique identifier for the website’s server. The IP address is then used by your browser to establish a connection with the website and retrieve its content aka website.

What is DNS?

The DNS server is responsible for maintaining a directory of domain names and their corresponding IP addresses. When you type a website address into your browser, your computer sends a query to the DNS server to look up the IP address associated with that domain name. If the DNS server is unable to find the IP address or there is an error in the DNS configuration, you may encounter the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG error message.

How To Fix The “dns_probe_finished_bad_config” Error In Windows

Before doing one of the following suggestions, please reboot windows. It may just need a reboot. To troubleshoot this issue on Windows, you can do one of the following or more:

Clearing your DNS cache

Your computer stores website information in its DNS cache to speed up future visits. Sometimes, this cache can become corrupted and cause DNS-related issues.

To do this,

1. Click on the Start menu and type “Command Prompt” in the search bar.
2. Right-click on “Command Prompt” and select “Run as administrator.”
3. In the Command Prompt window, type ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter.
4. You’d then have a confirmation message that the DNS cache has been flushed.

Restart your DNS client service

The DNS client service is responsible for resolving domain names into IP addresses. If this service is not running correctly, it can cause DNS-related issues.

To restart the DNS client service, follow these steps:

1. Open the Services app. To do this, press the Windows key + R, type “services.msc,” and press Enter.
2. Scroll down to the “DNS Client” service, right-click on it, and select “Restart.”
3. Wait for the service to restart, and then try to access the website again.

Changes in your DNS network settings

In the event your DNS server is misconfigured or is not responding, you may need to change your DNS server to a different one. You can use a public DNS server like Google DNS or OpenDNS. To do this:

1. Click on the Start menu and type “Network and Sharing Center” in the search bar.
2. Click on “Change adapter settings” on the left-hand side of the window.
3. Right-click on the network adapter you are using and select “Properties.”
4. Select “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)” and click on “Properties.”
5. Select “Use the following DNS server addresses” and enter the IP addresses of your preferred DNS servers.

Disable your antivirus or firewall temporarily

Sometimes, your antivirus or firewall software can interfere with your network connection and cause DNS-related issues. To rule out this possibility, try disabling your antivirus or firewall temporarily and see if the problem persists.

Reset your network’s setting

If none of the above methods work, you can try resetting your computer’s TCP/IP settings.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
2. In the Command Prompt window, type netsh int ip reset and press Enter.
3. Wait for a response that the TCP/IP settings have been reset.
4. Restart your computer and try to access the website again.

Disclaimer: this is doing a hard reset of your internet setting and will fully flush your cache. It’s expected to have slowness afterwards till it has refreshed cache. Use this as a last resort.

Fixing The “dns_probe_finished_bad_config” Error In macOS

To troubleshoot this issue on macOS, you can try resetting your DNS settings or clearing your DNS cache as first step or try one of the following factors:

Clearing your network cache for MacOS

Your Mac computer stores website information in its DNS cache to speed up future visits. Sometimes, this cache can become corrupted and cause DNS-related issues.

To clear your DNS cache, follow these steps:

1. Open the Terminal app. You can do this by searching for “Terminal” in Spotlight or by navigating to Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
2. In the Terminal window, type sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder and press Enter.
3. Enter your admin password when prompted.

Restarting your network connection

Sometimes, restarting your network connection can fix DNS-related issues.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Apple menu and select “System Preferences”.
2. Click on “Network.”
3. Select the network connection you are using and click on the minus (-) button to remove it.
4. Click on the plus (+) button to add the network connection back.
5. Restart your computer and try to access the website again.

Change your network settings in DNS

If your DNS server is misconfigured or is not responding, you may need to change your DNS server to a different one. You can use a public DNS server like Google DNS or OpenDNS.

To change your DNS server, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Apple menu and select “System Preferences.”
2. Click on “Network.”
3. Select the network connection you are using and click on “Advanced”.
4. Click on the “DNS” tab.
5. Click on the plus (+) button to add a new DNS server.
6. Enter the IP address of your preferred DNS server and click on “OK.”

Disable your firewall temporarily

Sometimes, your firewall software can interfere with your network connection and cause DNS-related issues. To rule out this possibility, try disabling your firewall temporarily and see if the problem persists.

Reset your network settings

If none of the above methods work, you can try resetting your computer’s TCP/IP settings.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open the Terminal app.
2. In the Terminal window, type “sudo /usr/libexec/configureLocalKDC” and press Enter.
3. Enter your admin password when prompted.
4. Restart your computer and try to access the website again.

The command /usr/libexec/configureLocalKDC is not harmful and can be ran with no intentions of a hard reset.

Fixing The “dns_probe_finished_bad_config” Error In Linux

In Linux, the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG error message can also be caused by misconfigured DNS settings, issues with your network connection, or problems with your browser cache. Linux users may also encounter this error message due to issues with the DNS resolver or server configuration.

To troubleshoot this issue on Linux, you can try resetting your DNS settings or clearing your browser cache. You can also examine your DNS resolver configuration or server settings to ensure that they are configured correctly.

Restart your network connection: sometimes, restarting your network connection can fix DNS-related issues.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open a Terminal window.
2. Type sudo service network-manager restart and press Enter.
3. Enter your admin password when prompted.

Restarting systemd-resolved service

Your Linux computer stores website information in its DNS cache to speed up future visits. Sometimes, this cache can become corrupted and cause DNS-related issues.

To clear your DNS cache, follow these steps:

1. Open a Terminal window.
2. Type sudo systemctl restart systemd-resolved.service and press Enter.
3. Type sudo systemd-resolve --flush-caches and press Enter.

Changes in your resolv.conf

To change your DNS server, follow these steps:

In the case of your DNS server is misconfigured or is not responding, you may need to change your DNS server to a different one. You can use a public DNS server like Google DNS or OpenDNS.

Open a Terminal window.

1. Type sudo nano /etc/resolv.conf and press Enter.
2. Enter your admin password when prompted.
3. Add the following lines to the file, replacing the IP address with a public DNS server:
   • nameserver 8.8.8.8 nameserver 8.8.4.4
4. Save the file and exit.

There are other public nameservers you can use as well, such as:

• Cloudflare DNS:   1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1
• Google DNS:   8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
• Comodo Secure:   8.26.56.26 and 8.20.247.20
• Open DNS:  208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220

Disable IPv6 temporarily

Sometimes, IPv6 settings can interfere with your network connection and cause DNS-related issues. To rule out this possibility, try disabling IPv6 temporarily and see if the problem persists.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open a Terminal window.
2. Type sudo sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.all.disable_ipv6=1 and press Enter.
3. Type sudo sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.default.disable_ipv6=1 and press Enter.

Reset your network settings

If none of the above methods work, you can try resetting your computer’s network settings.

To do this, follow these steps:

Open a Terminal window.

1. Type sudo service network-manager stop and press Enter.
2. Type sudo rm /etc/network/interfaces and press Enter.
3. Type sudo service network-manager start and press Enter.

The folder for the interfaces will get repopulated with newer files and data. This should be used some-what as a last resort.

In summary, sometimes, the DNS server may not respond or may send back incorrect information, which can cause your computer to display the ‘DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG’ error message. This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as problems with your internet connection, issues with the DNS server, or errors in your computer’s configuration. Let’s figure out what may be causing this error for you below.