Cloudflare DNS settings | How to switch and setup?

Here you will find information about Cloudflare DNS settings. It might help if the DNS resolver of your ISP is not so fast and secure. For this reason, it may seem to the user that some websites are down, while this is just ISP’s server overload.

What is Cloudflare DNS?

Cloudflare is a web infrastructure company that offers a lot of services including a consumer DNS resolver service. Its analogues are Google DNS and OpenDNS, which settings we’ve already described on our website. However, according to some sources CloudflareDNS resolver is considered to be the fastest one because of the minimum average latency (around 14 ms).

Cloudflare DNS addresses

• Cloudflare DNS IPv4 are 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1.
• Cloudflare DNS IPv6 are 2606:4700:4700::1111 and 2606:4700:4700::1001.

How to switch to Cloudflare DNS?

To test Cloudflare DNS you should set it up firstly.

Configure Cloudflare DNS on the router

You can reconfigure DNS on each device, but more on that later. Now we will tell you how to reconfigure your router so that it is updated on all your devices connected to the same network. This instruction is suitable for any browsers: Google Chrome, Opera, Firefox and others.

1. Open the browser to enter the IP address of your router (press “Enter” after it).

How to know the IP of a router? Use the command Win + R at the same time, enter “cmd”  and click “OK”. Now you should run the command “ipconfig on” Command Prompt. The router IP address will be in the Default Gateway field.

2. Log in using the router username and password. This information must be on a sticker of the device (on the back or bottom side).
3. Open the DNS server settings page. To find it you should follow the instructions of the router manufacturer.
4. Enter IPv4 addresses 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 in the DNS settings section. If you’re required to use the IPv6 addresses, you have to enter 2606:4700:4700::1111 and 2606:4700:4700::1001 in the IPv6 DNS setting page.
5. Save it and restart the browser.

Switch Cloudflare DNS for Windows 10

1. Open Control Panel (open “Start”, type “Control Panel” and click the top result).
2. Select “Network and Internet” and click on “Network and Sharing Center”.
3. Select “Change Adapter Settings” from the left menu.
4. Right-click needed Wi-Fi or Ethernet adapter and select the “Properties” option.
5. Select the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click on the “Properties” button.
6. Check the box “Use the following DNS server addresses” below.
7. Enter IPv4 addresses in the fields “Preferred DNS server” (1.1.1.1) and “Alternative DNS server” (1.0.0.1).
8. Click the “OK” button.

If necessary, you can repeat the same steps for IPv6 (by entering the appropriate IP addresses in step 7). They are 2606:4700:4700::1111 and 2606:4700:4700::1001.

Switch Cloudflare DNS for MacOS

1. Go to the “System Preferences”.
2. Click the “Network” tab for choosing the necessary network and click on it in the results list.
3. Click on the “Advanced” button.
4. Select the “DNS” tab where you should click on the “+” symbol to add a new DNS record. The first one must be 1.1.1.1.
5. Click on the “+” symbol again and write down “1.0.0.1” this time.
6. Click on the “OK” button and then click “Apply”.
7. Restart the browser.

Switch Cloudflare DNS for Android

The instructions may vary greatly depending on your device model and OS version, so we will give you a few methods known to us to change the DNS to Cloudflare DNS for Android.

Method 1.

1. Expand the settings bar (swipe the screen down) and hold down the icon of Wi-Fi.
2. Tap on “More Settings” of “Wi-Fi setting” (depending on your interface) under the list of available networks.
3. Long-press on the name of the network and tap “Modify Network”.
4. Select “Advanced options” and then tap on “IP settings” to select “Static”.
5. Scroll down to the DNS1 and DNS2 fields. You should enter 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 there.
6. Tap on “Save”.

Method 2.

1. Expand the settings bar (swipe the screen down) and tap on the icon of gear.
2. Tap on “Network”.
3. Search for the point with information about DNS, where you will be able to enter new IP addresses of Cloudflare DNS.

Switch Cloudflare DNS for iOS

1. Open the “Settings” section and select Wi-Fi.
2. Find the name of your internet connection and tap on the right-arrow next to it.
3. Tap “Configure DNS” > “Manual”.
4. If any DNS entries exist, delete them. Don’t forget to note the initial data down.
5. Tap on the “+” symbol to add server 1.1.1.1 for the first address value.
6. Tap on the “+” symbol again but enter 1.0.0.1.
7. Tap on the “Save” button.

Pay attention, both Android and iOS only use IPv4 addresses.