How to Clear DNS Cache 2026

How to clear your DNS cache

Windows®

To clear your DNS cache if you use Windows, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start or the Windows icon.

2. In the search text box, enter cmd.

3. Right-click Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.

4. Run the following command

ipconfig /flushdns

If the command succeeds, the system returns the following message:

Windows IP configuration successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.

macOS®

To clear your DNS cache if you use macOS X version 10.10.4 or above, perform the following steps:

Warning: To run this command, you must know the computer’s administrator account password.

1. Click Applications.

2. Click Utilities.

3. Click Terminal.

4. Run the following command:

sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

If the command succeeds, the system does not return any output.

ChromeOS

To clear your DNS cache if you use ChromeOS, perform the following steps:

1. Open a new Chrome tab.
2. Enter the following address:

chrome://net-internals

3. Hit the Enter key.
4. From the menu, select DNS.
5. Click the Clear host cache button.

If the command succeeds, the system will perform any DNS lookups again.

Ubuntu®

To clear your DNS cache if you use Ubuntu, run the following command:

sudo resolvectl flush-caches

If the command succeeds, it will return results with an empty cache.

Non-Ubuntu Linux®

To clear your DNS cache if you use a Linux-based operating system that is not Ubuntu (for example, CloudLinux™ or AlmaLinux OS), run the following command:

systemctl restart nscd

If the command succeeds, the system does not return any output.

How to edit your /etc/hosts file

Some server development environments, like MAMP, can cause DNS conflicts by preventing you from clearing addresses in your operating system’s /etc/hosts file. If you experience a DNS caching error while using one of these environments, you must delete the conflicting IP address’ line from your /etc/hosts file manually.

To manually edit your /etc/hosts file, perform the following steps:

Note: If you are using Windows, you must perform these steps with administrator privileges. If you are using macOS, you must know the computer’s administrator account password.

1. Open the /etc/hosts file with your preferred text editor. Your file will resemble the following example, where 192.0.2.0 is the IP address your system tries to access when you type example.com into your web browser’s address bar:

10.0.0.0 localhost
192.0.2.0 example.com
8.8.8.8 google.com

2. Delete the lines that contain outdated or malfunctioning IP addresses.

3. Save the file.

4. Clear the DNS cache to apply the changes.

Conclusion

Clearing your DNS cache is an easy step that can fix many internet and website loading problems. No matter which operating system you use, refreshing the DNS cache helps your device get the correct and latest website information.

If issues continue, updating the /etc/hosts file and then clearing the DNS cache can help resolve conflicts. By following these steps, you can quickly restore a smooth and reliable internet connection.

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