Cloudflare is one of the popular content delivery networks that offers security and firewall protection for websites. As part of secure and free internet, Cloudflare also offers public DNS service like Google Public DNS. You can make use this Cloudflare DNS to speed up your internet connection especially when your ISP provided DNS is not working for you. You can either configure Cloudflare DNS in your computer or only on the browser depending upon you need.
Why Cloudflare DNS?
There are many public DNS service providers including Google. However, Cloudflare is the best option for the following reasons.
- It’s completely free.
- It is the fastest domain name resolver to map domain names to IP addresses.
- Cloudflare does not collect your usage data and sell to third parties. The data is stored 24 hours for debugging purposes and then automatically purged.
Cloudflare uses the following primary and secondary DNS server IP addresses.
| Server | IPv4 | IPv6 |
|---|---|---|
| Primary or Preferred | 1.1.1.1 | 2606:4700:4700::1111 |
| Secondary or Alternate | 1.0.0.1 | 2606:4700:4700::1001 |
You can use one of the below methods to use Cloudflare DNS for your network.
1. Setup Cloudflare DNS in Windows 11
- Press “Win + I” shortcut keys and open Windows Settings app.
- Go to “Network & internet” section and select your active network connection. In my case, I will select “Ethernet” option.
- Scroll down on the next page and click “Edit” button showing against “DNS server assignment” option.
- Select “Manual” option from dropdown and enable “IPv4”.
- Enter 1.1.1.1 in “Preferred DNS” box and select “On (automatic template)” option for “DNS over HTTPS” option. You will see the Cloudflare template address shows automatically in “DNS over HTTPS template” box.
- Scroll down and type the “Alternate DNS” as 1.0.0.1. Select automatic template for “DNS over HTTPS” option.
- If you also want to use IPv6, enable IPv6 option and provide similar details. Otherwise, just leave IPv6 turned off and click “Save” button to start using Cloudflare DNS in your Windows 11 PC.
2. Use Cloudflare DNS in Mac
The latest macOS version has a Settings app where you can manage the DNS servers.
- Click Apple logo showing on top left corner of the screen and select “System Settings…” option.
- Go to “Network” section and click your active network. I select “Wi-Fi” option in my case.
- On the next page, click “Details…” button showing against your network.
- Go to “DNS” section to view your current DNS server IP addresses.
- Click the + icon to remove the current IPs and add 1.1.1.1. Again, click the + icon and add the secondary server IP as 1.0.0.1.
- Click “OK” button to apply your changes.
3. Cloudflare DNS in Chrome
Chrome offers an option to use secure DNS over HTTPS connection instead of your computer’s setup. With this, it is possible to use public DNS like Cloudflare DNS.
- Open Chrome and go to chrome://settings/privacy page.
- Scroll down on the right side and click “Security” option showing under “Security and privacy” section.
- Go to “Advanced” section and enable “Always use secure connections” option to force HTTPS.
- Chrome by default uses your ISP DNS servers, to change that first turn the switch on against “Use secure DNS” option.
- After that, select “With” radio button and click the dropdown.
- Select “Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) to use Cloudflare DNS on Chrome.
4. Use Cloudflare DNS in Firefox
Follow the below steps if you are using Firefox in Windows or Mac.
- Open Firefox and go to about:preferences#general page (check the complete list of about: pages in Firefox).
- Scroll down to the bottom and click “Settings…” button under “Network Settings” section.
- This will open “Connection Settings” pop-up and scroll down to bottom on the pop-up.
- Check “Enable DNS over HTTPS” option and select “Cloudflare (Default)” option from the dropdown.
- Click “OK” button to use Cloudflare DNS in Firefox.
5. Enable Cloudflare DNS in Edge
Edge has similar settings like Chrome as both browsers use the same Chromium backend.
- Open Edge and go to edge://settings/privacy page.
- Scroll down on the right side and enable “Use secure DNS to specify how to lookup the network address for websites” option under “Security” section.
- After that, select “Choose a service provider option”.
- Click on the “Enter custom provider” box and select “Cloudflare (1.1.1.1)” from the dropdown.
Note: You will see “The setting is turned off for managed browsers” if your browser is managed by your organization or network administrator. You should contact the administrator to unlock the setting for you.
6. Cloudflare DNS Setup on iPhone and Android
Most browsers do not offer an option to use Cloudflare DNS in mobile apps. So, you need to manually change the DNS setup and assign the primary and secondary server IP addresses as given in the above table. Learn more on how to change DNS servers in Android and iOS.
Final Words
Changing system DNS setup will route all your network connections through Cloudflare DNS. If you only want to use it for browsing purposes, then configure only in your browser (Chrome, Firefox or Edge). On Mac and mobile devices, you need to change the system DNS as the browsers do not support app level setup.
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