Wi-Fi slow? It’s probably this

By Kim Komando

April 26, 2025

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You pay for high-speed internet, but your current connection is slower than your mom who took nine months to come up with a good joke. Something’s off, and no, it’s not Mercury in retrograde (this time). 

Enter: DNS.

🧠 Wait, what’s DNS?

DNS stands for Domain Name System. It’s like your computer’s address book. When you type in a website like komando.com, your device has to look up the matching IP address (the real location of the site) before it can load it. 

Now here’s where it gets spicy: Most people are using the DNS servers provided by their internet service providers (ISPs), and those servers are often slow. 

Why? They’re overloaded, outdated and in desperate need of a nap. 

⚡ The solution: Change your DNS

Yes, you can do this and switch to a faster, more private DNS service. You have two great options:

1. Google DNS
   Primary: 8.8.8.8
   Secondary: 8.8.4.4
   
2. Cloudflare DNS
   Primary: 1.1.1.1
   Secondary: 1.0.0.1

🛠️ How to change your DNS in baby steps

These are the correct steps for most. Yours might be a tad different depending on your device and operating system.

On Windows:

1. Go to Settings > Network & Internet
2. Select Wi-Fi or Ethernet
3. Under DNS server assignment, click Edit
4. Choose Manual from the drop-down menu
5. Toggle IPv4 ON
6. Enter the DNS numbers above
7. Hit Save
   

On Mac:

1. Go to System Settings > Network
2. Click your Wi-Fi > Details
3. Go to the DNS tab
4. Press the + icon and enter the new DNS addresses 
5. Hit OK
   

🔍 What you’ll notice

• Websites load faster
• Fewer random “server not found” errors
• A bit more privacy from prying ISPs
  

Try it for a week. Best case, your internet goes from molasses to Mario Kart on a mushroom. Worst case, you switch back. I bet you won’t though.

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Tags: Google, internet, network, settings, Wi-Fi