12 stepsAbout 2 minutesUpdated 23 October 2026
How to flush the DNS cache on Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android and Chrome
Your device keeps a short list of website addresses it has already looked up, called the DNS cache, so it does not have to ask again on every visit. When a site moves to new servers or comes back after an outage, an old entry can keep sending you to the wrong place. Flushing the cache empties the list and your device looks every address up fresh.
It is safe. Only saved addresses are removed: you stay signed in and no files, passwords or bookmarks are touched. Pick your device below.
Flush DNS on Windows 10 and 11
Open Command Prompt
Press the Windows key, type cmd and press Enter. If Windows later says the command needs administrator rights, right-click Command Prompt in the Start menu and choose Run as administrator.
Run ipconfig /flushdns
Type the command below and press Enter. Windows answers “Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.”
ipconfig /flushdns
Flush DNS on a Mac
Open Terminal
Press Command and Space, type Terminal and press Return. You can also find it in Applications, Utilities.
Run the flush command
Paste the line below and press Return, then type your Mac login password and press Return again. Nothing shows while you type the password, which is normal. When it works, the command prints nothing.
sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
Flush DNS on iPhone and iPad
Turn on Airplane Mode
Open Control Center and tap the airplane button, or go to Settings and switch on Airplane Mode.
Wait 10 seconds, then turn it off
Your iPhone or iPad reconnects with an empty DNS cache. If the site still fails, restart the device, which clears the cache as well.
Flush DNS on Android
Turn Airplane mode on and off
Swipe down from the top of the screen (twice on some phones) to open Quick Settings, tap Airplane mode, wait 10 seconds and tap it again.
Or restart the phone
If that does not help, hold the power button (on some phones, power and a volume button together) and tap Restart. A restart always clears the cache. Chrome keeps its own copy too, so also follow the Chrome steps below.
Clear the DNS cache in Chrome
Chrome keeps its own list of addresses on top of the one in your system. Clear both when a site keeps failing.
Open Chrome’s DNS page
Copy the address below and paste it into Chrome’s address bar. Web pages cannot link to it, so it has to be pasted or typed. In Microsoft Edge, use
edge://instead.net-internals/ #dns chrome://net-internals/ #dns Press Clear host cache
Then open
chrome://and press Flush socket pools, which closes connections still open to the old address. Reload the site.net-internals/ #sockets
The browser cache is something else
The DNS cache holds addresses. The browser cache holds saved copies of pages, pictures and scripts. If a site loads but looks broken or out of date, clear the browser cache instead.
Try a hard reload first
Press Ctrl+F5 on Windows, or Command+Shift+R on a Mac (Command+Option+R in Safari). The page reloads without using saved copies.
Clear cached files
In Chrome, Edge or Firefox, press Ctrl+Shift+Delete (Command+Shift+Delete on a Mac), tick only the option for cached images and files, and clear it. Leave cookies unticked to stay signed in. In Safari on a Mac, turn on the developer features in Settings, Advanced, then choose Develop, Empty Caches. Menu names change between versions, so look for similar wording.