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Clear DNS Cache: Flush DNS on Any Device

Use this guide to clear DNS cache entries on Windows, macOS, Linux, your browser, your phone or your router. Pick your system and get the exact commands, ready to copy, with a note on what to expect.

By Debmedia Technologies LLP · Kolkata, India · Updated

Why Clear DNS Cache on Your Device?

To clear DNS cache data means to delete the saved answers that your device uses to turn website names into addresses. Every lookup is remembered for a while, so the next visit is faster. If a website moves to a new server, your device can keep sending you to the old one until that saved answer runs out.

Clearing the cache forces a fresh lookup. This page shows how to clear DNS cache entries on every common system. Pick yours in the box above and copy the exact command.

How to Use This Guide

  1. Choose your system from the list. The steps appear straight away.
  2. Copy the command with the Copy button, or follow the steps for your browser or device.
  3. Open the site again. If the old version still shows, try the next level of cache below.

The Different Caches

Several caches sit between you and a website. Any of them can hold an old answer.

CacheHow to clear it
Your browserUse the browser’s own page, or restart the browser.
Your operating systemRun the flush command for Windows, macOS or Linux.
Your routerRestart it. It keeps one cache for every device at home.
Your internet providerYou cannot clear it. It expires on its own when the record’s TTL ends.
Public DNS servicesGoogle and Cloudflare offer pages to flush a single name.

You can flush a name on Google Public DNS through its flush cache page or on Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 through its purge cache page.

When It Helps and When It Does Not

  • It helps when your device shows an old site after a move, or shows an error that others do not see.
  • It does not help if the DNS record itself has not changed at the source, or if another cache still holds the old answer.
  • It does not speed up propagation for other people. They must wait for their own caches to expire.

Check Before You Clear

If you have just changed a record and nothing has updated, first look at what the rest of the world sees with the DNS propagation checker. You can also read the live record with the DNS lookup tool. If the source is wrong, flushing will not fix it, and the DNS setup validator can show the mistake.

It is safe to clear DNS cache data on any device. The only effect is that your next visits are slightly slower, because your device asks the DNS again.

More Help

After the cache is clear and the problem remains, test the whole domain with the DNS health checker. It queries every authoritative server, so it finds problems that no cache can hide or cause.

Frequently Asked Questions

It is a short-term memory of recent lookups. Your device, browser, router and internet provider all keep one, so they do not have to ask the DNS again for every page.
After you change a DNS record or move a website to a new server, and your device still shows the old site. Also when a site fails to load with a "server not found" error that others do not see.
Yes. The only effect is that the next visits to sites are a little slower while your device asks DNS again.
Another cache may still hold it, such as your router or your internet provider. Each keeps a record until its TTL runs out. Check what the rest of the world sees with the DNS checker.

Disclaimer: results come from live requests and can change as records and servers change. We cannot guarantee that every answer matches what every visitor sees.