Using this information your browser can then connect directly to the server. So, when you go to your browser and type in a web address ( for example), your computer connects to its DNS server (usually provided by your ISP) and looks up the site’s IP address (54.247.85.215 in this case). Every computer on the internet has its own unique IP address, which is written as four numbers separated by full-stops, such as 172.238.118.72, which can be thought of as its postal address.ĭNS servers are charged with the job of converting the human addresses we use into IP addresses that your computer uses. The best way to think of the internet is as two layers: on top are the human readable addresses that you use in a web browser, such as underneath are the machine-readable IP addresses.

What does DNS do?īefore I get into how you fix the problem, it’s important to understand what DNS does and how it works. In this article, I'll show you how to find a better DNS server, which can give you better reliability or additional features, such as blocking your children from seeing inappropriate websites. This is a crucial part of how the internet works and, when it goes wrong, it will cause massive problems, even though the internet connection itself is working properly.

In reality, a lot of faults are caused by the Domain Name System (DNS). If your internet connection is playing up at home, the natural thinking is that the fault is either with your broadband, your router or the Wi-Fi connection at home (or a combination of the three).

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