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I have a home network with a PC hard wired and a laptop connecting via wi-fi to a DLink DIR-655 router. I've recently started to have problems where most websites (not all) stop working on both machines with Chrome saying it cannot resolve DNS.

I've tried to power down/power up the router, reboot the router, updating firmware, and reset to factory setting but it does not seem to help. I can achieve connectivity again if I hard wire my PC directly into the modem provided by my ISP and bypassing my router completely. When doing this, Windows reports that connectivity is limited, but the "Troubleshoot problems" option usually fixes this for me.

As long as I'm wired directly to the modem I never have any issues. I usually revert back to the router as needed because of wi-fi, but it's happening more and more frequently and I'm not sure how to troubleshoot further. My next step is to buy a new router but my current one is only a year old so I'd like to figure out the issue if possible.

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Basically, you are going to want to isolate where the problem is. Is it a problem with your DNS settings on the computer(s), your router or your ISP. Since you can connect directly to your mode, it is probably not your ISP.

  1. While your computer is plugged into your router, o to a command prompt and do ipconfig /all. Note the DNS server(s). Check to see if it shows your router's IP (such as 192.168.0.1) or public IPs. Check the TCP/IP v4 properties on your network card to see if you are using static DNS or obtaining them automatically through DHCP.
  2. Log into your router's config and check to see what DNS servers it is using. You should find it in the Internet Connection Setup section. Check to see if the DNS servers match your ISP. For example, Comcast uses 75.75.75.75, OptOnline uses 167.206.112.138, etc. If it is wrong, update with the correct IPs.
  3. If you corrected the DNS settings in your router and you still have issues. Go to the TCP/IP v4 settings, set to "Use the following DNS server addresses" and use a public DNS server like Google's 8.8.8.8. If this works, try changing it to your ISP's DNS servers.

To wrap it up: If you see the router is configured with the wrong DNS servers, configuring in the correct ones and renewing your computer's DHCP leases will fix the issue. If not, manually configuring your PCs with the proper DNS servers should be a good work around. If that doesn't work either, then there is something going on with your router.

Update: I did a bit of digging and there are reports model router and DNS relay (using the router as a DNS server) Disable DNS relay in your settings and make sure you enter in the correct DNS servers in the Internet Connection Setup. For more info see the following link

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  • 1) the DNS address is the IP of my router. I am using DHCP to obtain DNS server.
    – Mike Cole
    Nov 12, 2014 at 2:31
  • 2) How do I find the correct IP? Should I contact my ISP? It seems to have found an address.. I'm assuming it was assigned?
    – Mike Cole
    Nov 12, 2014 at 2:32
  • 3) I'll try this next time I have issues.
    – Mike Cole
    Nov 12, 2014 at 2:33
  • You can google the name of your ISP and DNS server. Or, you can always just call up and ask tech support. Either way, next time you have issues, first try statically assigning their DNS to your computer and then try 8.8.8.8 or some other free DNS server if you don't like Google. This will see if there's problems with using your router as a DNS server and if there are issues with your ISP's DNS servers respectively.
    – pooter03
    Nov 12, 2014 at 2:39
  • I updated my answer. Try disabling DNS relay and see if that helps.
    – pooter03
    Nov 12, 2014 at 2:47

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