How To Use The Fastest DNS Servers on Android
You might be wondering: DNS servers — why do they even matter? Or, what is a DNS server anyway? Both of these are important question, but in addressing both, a DNS is your access or gateway to the rest of the Internet. It’s how you connect to www.facebook.com or www.youtube.com, and sometimes (actually, a lot of the time), DNS servers can also affect traffic speed big time. By being on a slow DNS server, or one that’s too crowded, your Internet speeds can take a dive. By connecting up to a fast and well-rounded DNS server, you can increase Internet speeds, as well as response times for connecting up to websites.
Today, we’re going to show you how you can use some of the fastest and secure DNS servers on Android by simply changing an IP address.
Are there other DNS servers available?
The quick answer is yes! We use DNS servers all the time — usually there’s a default one already set in your phone or computer. On your computer, it might be one that your ISP offers, or on your Android phone, it might be one that Google offers, usually called Google Public DNS. But, there are plenty of other DNS servers out there that you can try out and connect to — OpenDNS, Level3 DNS, Quad9 DNS, Norton, OpenNIC, SmartViper, FreeDNS, and so many more options.
It’s worth noting that changing DNS servers won’t cost you a dime either. All of these are completely free to use — there’s no checkout you have to use, no credit card information, nothing — it’s as simple as taking the IP address of that DNS server and plugging it into your computer or phone, whichever you’re trying to change the DNS server on.
We should also mention that many of these DNS servers all do different tasks. For example, OpenDNS is designed to increase speeds while offer whitelisting and blacklisting capabilities for the Internet. On the other hand, Quad9 DNS is designed to offer ample security and privacy while browsing the ‘net, but then, Google Public DNS provides better speeds than what you would get with your ISP. So, choosing a DNS server all depends on what your needs are. It’s worth doing some research and finding out which one is best for you, but if you’re looking for speed, Google Public DNS or Quad9 is a good way to go. Really, any DNS server might increase speeds, as typically, ISP DNS servers are pretty slow.
Let’s get started, shall we?
Changing DNS Servers On Android
Right now, you can’t manually change the DNS servers well without manually configuring your Wi-Fi connection. Frustrating, we know, but you still have a few options.
DNS Changer Beta
The best way right now to change your DNS server is to download the DNS Changer Beta application. You download the application, and then when you open it up, it’ll give you the option to set your Preferred DNS server, and then the secondary DNS server in the event that the Preferred DNS Server is down or you’re unable to connect to it.
So, to change your Android device’s DNS server with this app, you’ll first need to decide what DNS server you want. For the purposes of this article, we’re just going to use Google Public DNS as well as Quad9 DNS.
Open the DNS Changer app. In the option that says DNS 1, put 8.8.8.8. This is the primary Google DNS server. Under DNS 2, you’re going to want to put 8.8.4.4. Congratulations, you just changed your phone’s DNS server over to Google Public DNS. However, the secondary DNS is the DNS server you will connect to if the primary is ever down. That said, I personally like to use a completely different service in this case. So, just go ahead and switch DNS 2 over to Quad9 DNS — the IP to put is 9.9.9.9.
You can, of course, put whatever DNS you want to there — we’re just using these IP addresses for the purpose and example of this article.
Download it now: Google Play
Verdict
As you can see, switching over your DNS server is quite easy. It’s as simple as having an app handy, as well as the IP address you want to switch over to. Switching DNS servers is about to get even easier, at least for new phones. With the upcoming Android P software update, users will be able to directly into their settings and edit DNS servers by the new Private DNS option. But for now, changing your DNS by way of an app will work just fine.