How to Flush DNS Cache on Any Device

How to flush DNS cache: on Windows 11, open an elevated Command Prompt and run ipconfig /flushdns; on current macOS, run sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder; on Linux, use the command for the resolver that is actually running. Android and iPhone do not expose one universal flush command, so refresh the network or restart the device. A flush affects local cached name-to-address answers only.

How to flush DNS cache: start with the device

DNS turns a hostname such as loqmi.com into records that a device can use to connect. Your operating system keeps recent answers so it does not ask a resolver for every visit. Flushing removes those answers and makes the next lookup ask again. It helps after a DNS or network change, but is not a general speed boost. See what DNS does and how it works.

Choose the cache layer that is stale

A DNS answer can be cached in more than one place. Start with the narrowest matching layer:

Flushing is diagnostic, not proof that the domain is wrong. A “no such domain” answer may be cached upstream; RFC 2308 describes this.

Windows 11

Command Prompt method

Microsoft documents /flushdns as clearing and resetting the Windows DNS client resolver cache.

1. Open Start, type Command Prompt, right-click it, and choose Run as administrator. Select Yes if Windows asks for permission.
2. Enter ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter.
3. Retry the site or application that failed. The usual success message is Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache; no browser restart is required for the operating-system cache itself.

PowerShell's equivalent is Clear-DnsClientCache. ipconfig /displaydns shows the cache snapshot; nslookup example.com tests a lookup and shows the answering server. See Microsoft's ipconfig documentation and its PowerShell reference.

macOS

Current macOS Terminal method

Open Terminal with Command-Space, type Terminal, and press Return, or use Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal. Run:

sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

1. Enter your Mac login password when sudo asks. The characters will not appear while you type.
2. Wait for the prompt to return. A successful flush normally produces no confirmation text.
3. Quit and reopen the affected browser, then test the hostname again.

This is the commonly used sequence for current macOS releases. Very old OS X versions used different utilities. It does not clear Safari history, cookies, or saved passwords.

Linux

Identify the active resolver first

Linux has no single cache shared by every distribution. A minimal installation may have none; a desktop may use systemd-resolved, nscd, or dnsmasq. Run resolvectl status, then check the services below if it is unavailable.

resolvectl flush-caches clears caches maintained by systemd-resolved; see the resolvectl manual. If no caching service is active, there may be nothing local to flush; query with dig example.com.

Android and iPhone

Android

Android does not provide a universal user-facing command for flushing the whole system DNS cache. Start with a low-impact refresh: open Settings > Network & internet > Airplane mode on stock Android, turn it on, then off. Samsung and other manufacturers may use different labels.

1. Restart the phone if the refresh did not fix the lookup.
2. For a browser-only problem, open Chrome and tap More > Delete browsing data > More options. Select only cached files if appropriate, then tap Delete data. This is not a guaranteed system flush.
3. To inspect the resolver, open Settings > Network & internet > Private DNS. The choices are Off, Automatic, or a provider hostname; labels vary. Google recommends keeping Private DNS on when available.

iPhone and iPad

iOS has no public DNS-flush command. Toggle Settings > Airplane Mode on and off, or restart. This refreshes network state without deleting saved Wi-Fi networks. If only Safari or one app is affected, close and reopen it first.

As a last resort, use Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings. Apple warns that this removes saved Wi-Fi networks and passwords and resets cellular, VPN, and APN settings. See Apple's Wi-Fi guidance.

Browser and router caches

Flushing the operating-system cache may not affect a browser's DNS cache or an open connection. If one browser still reaches an old destination, fully quit and reopen it. Chromium browsers may expose chrome://net-internals/#dns with Clear host cache; Edge may use edge://net-internals/#dns. Firefox can expose about:networking#dns; restarting is safer.

Restarting a router can clear its forwarding cache, but not an ISP or public resolver. Use the router login guide to inspect settings; never factory-reset it for this.

Verify the result and find the real cause

A flush is successful when the next lookup is made without the old local entry; it does not prove the website is healthy.

1. Open Loqmi's IP tool and note the public IP, ISP, and approximate location. A DNS flush should not change them; a change suggests a separate VPN or network event.
2. On Windows run nslookup example.com; on macOS or Linux run dig example.com. Replace the hostname, note the resolver and answer, and repeat after flushing.
3. Retry the page. If the command-line lookup works but the browser fails, investigate its cache, secure DNS, proxy, or open connections.
4. Use Loqmi's speed test only to compare general latency and throughput. It cannot prove that DNS was flushed.