Think about your phone. Do you remember all your contact numbers? But do you know their names? And to find out their phone numbers, you can easily find them on your phone.
Domain Name Systems (DNS) is the phone book on the Internet. Through domain names, we access information on the Internet, since words are easier to remember than numbers. For example, the IP address of Facebook.com is 157.240.10.35. IP addresses are hard to remember, so we use a DNS service to translate domain names into IP addresses so that the web browser can load the page we want to visit.
In this blog post, I will walk you through the DNS server and how you can change the DNS server on your Android phone. You will also learn why you need to change this server and how it works on the Android system.
What is a DNS server?
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a system that is used to translate domain names such as facebook.com and host names such as support.namecheap.com into Internet Protocol (IP) numeric addresses, and to identify and determining the location of computer systems and services on the Internet.
Your device must understand which numeric IP address it needs to contact to view content when using an alphanumeric address such as "facebook.com". The Domain Name Server is the server responsible for maintaining the file containing information about the domain name(s) and corresponding IP addresses (the zone file).
Why change DNS servers?
You don't need to change DNS servers if you are using VPN client software. But you will need to make changes if you have manually set up a VPN on your device.
Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may have redirected your DNS queries over the Internet to the wrong IP address with a manual VPN setup, which can leave your device vulnerable to a Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) attack as well as DNS leaks.
How does a DNS server work?
The DNS resolution method involves resolving the name to a computer-friendly IP address (for example, www.example.com to 192.168.1.1). Every device on the Internet is given an IP address, and this address is important for finding the corresponding Internet device, just like a street address is used to find a specific house. The conversion of what the user enters into their web browser (example.com) and the machine address needed to find the example.com web page must occur when the user tries to load the web page.
How to change the DNS server on your Android device?
Android custom DNS requires a static IP address, which requires additional configuration steps. It is recommended to use a router here. Setting the IP options to Static will change how DHCP addresses are allocated and should only be used as a short term solution. For proper operation, you need to configure the router and assign a static IP address to the MAC address of the device.
Changing your DNS settings will only affect your existing Wi-Fi network. Changing the DNS settings for your 3G/4G data network will not work. In addition, for each Wi-Fi network that you want to connect to, you need to change the DNS server settings.
There are two methods to change the DNS server on an Android device:
Method 1. Change DNS Server on Android Directly
This is how you change DNS servers in Android Wi-Fi settings.
➦ Open the Wi-Fi settings of your device. You can do this by opening Settings and selecting Wi-Fi, or by pulling down the notification bar and long-pressing the Wi-Fi icon.
➦ Now open the network details for your Wi-Fi network. How this works will depend on your phone manufacturer and Android version. You will need to press and hold on the Wi-Fi name and tap Change Network, or a side arrow may appear next to the Wi-Fi name.
➦ In Network Details, scroll down and tap IP Settings. If you don't see the menu, look for the "Advanced" icon, then you will see the "IP Settings" button. Change it to static.
➦ Switch DNS1 and DNS2 to the settings you need, for example, Google DNS - 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 respectively.
Method 2: Change DNS on Android Using a Third Party App
This is the preferred way for most users to change DNS addresses on Android phones. Because it's simple and hassle-free. Many people assume that only rooted smartphone users can change their mobile internet DNS settings. But this is not true. Using any eminent third party application, both users and non-root users can do this. There are many apps on the Google Play Store that can change DNS settings. I have tested and confirmed that these two apps below work and work well so that you don't waste your time.
Cloudflare app for 1.1.1.1
This app creates a VPN that is DNS only and forces all DNS queries to go through Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 network. It is effective, safe and easy to use. Use it if you want fast DNS on your mobile.
Cleanbrowsing App
This app also creates a DNS-only VPN and enforces DNS that removes adult content. You can also choose between their filtering levels and they are very easy to use.
