How to Clear DNS Cache on Windows 10

In this tutorial, we are going to see how to clear DNS cache on Windows 10. DNS are directories that convert domain names such as www.google.com into IP addresses and access the requested resources.

While many DNS servers are available, it can take some time to get a response from a DNS server. It can also happen that some DNS servers are overloaded in case of a high number of requests. To get around this problem, operating systems such as Windows keep a history of all resolved addresses for a certain period of time in a cache called DNS cache.

Thanks to the DNS cache, the operating system no longer needs to go through the DNS server to find out where the requested resource is located: it simply retrieves the information from the DNS cache, which allows it to respond to the request much faster.

Sometimes it can be useful to clear the DNS cache. Indeed, if a website or a web service changes its IP address, you will not be able to access it anymore because the IP address saved in the DNS cache is outdated. In this case, you need to clear the DNS cache of Windows in order to access the resource again.

Clearing the DNS cache is also necessary if you have changed the DNS on Windows.
 

 

Method 1: How to Clear DNS Cache on Windows 10 Using PowerShell

To clear the Windows DNS cache via PowerShell, follow these instructions:

Step 1: Open PowerShell.
 

 
Step 2: Type the Clear-DnsClientCache command and press Enter.
 

 
The Windows DNS cache has been cleared.
 

 

Method 2: How to Clear DNS Cache on Windows 10 Using Command Prompt

To clear the Windows DNS cache via Command Prompt, follow these instructions:

Step 1: Open the Command Prompt.
 

 
Step 2: Type the command ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter.
 

 
The Windows DNS cache has been cleared.
 

 

Clear Google Chrome’s DNS cache

If needed, you can also clear Google Chrome’s DNS cache:

Step 1: Open Google Chrome.
 

 
Step 2: Type the address chrome://net-internals/#dns and press Enter. Then click the Clear host cache button.
 

 
Google Chrome’s DNS cache has been cleared.
 

 

Clear Microsoft Edge’s DNS cache

If needed, you can also clear the DNS cache of Microsoft Edge :

Step 1: Open Microsoft Edge.
 

 
Step 2: Type the address edge://net-internals/#dns and press Enter. Then click the Clear host cache button.
 

 
Microsoft Edge’s DNS cache has been cleared.