How to fix an 'ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED' error?

The ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED error will prevent users from accessing a website. In the most basic terms it means that the site cannot be located, so the web browser returns an error.

In most cases this error is caused by problems at the user’s end, such as incorrectly cached network addresses or DNS resolution errors. And in most cases, a simple reboot or DNS settings refresh will resolve the issue.

However, if multiple users are seeing the ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED error, it may indicate an issue where the website operator will need to take action.

Advice for website owners and operators

If you receive multiple reports of this error (or you are experiencing it yourself), the issue may be caused by your DNSSEC settings. DNSSEC uses cryptographic signatures to protect your DNS records from being accessed by unauthorised users. Annoyingly, it can also prevent your domain details from propagating across the internet properly so that it cannot be ‘found’ by web browsers.

To check whether this may be the cause of your ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED problem, do a WHOIS search on your website domain name. Check the Delegation Signed section – if it says ‘Signed’, DNSSEC is enabled on your domain and may be causing the error.

To confirm whether DNSSEC is the cause of the ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED errors, try disabling it on your domain. Login to your web hosting control panel and search for the DNSSEC Protection controls.

Change the setting to off/disabled, save your changes and then retry accessing the affected website – everything should now work correctly.

Anything else I need to know about the ‘ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED’ error?

DNS resolution errors like this are almost always caused by DNS resolution issues. In most cases the problem will be a local configuration issue, but occasionally it may be domain name setting related to DNSSEC. If you can’t fix the problem yourself, ask your ISP customer support team for assistance.