Have you ever been instructed to clear the DNS cache? Especially after DNS changes, it is a troubleshooting tip that can help you get to the latest website version.

Your browser uses DNS information to discover websites. This information is saved in your computer’s cache so browsers can quickly go in the right direction.

This post will demonstrate removing the DNS cache on Chrome, Windows, and Mac. This will make it easy to update the DNS records on your device and help you figure out why a website isn’t working.

How does DNS Cache work?

DNS cache is like an address book that stores the domain name server (DNS) information of each website you visit on your computer.

DNS, or Domain Name Server, is software that provides your computer with the IP address linked to a domain name. See our guide to domain name functionality for more information.

Your browser can quickly find a website when the DNS information is saved in a local DNS cache.

When you type a website address into your browser, it will first look in the local cache for DNS information. If it finds the directions, it goes to the website using the DNS cache.

Without a local DNS cache, the browser will get it from other servers across the internet. This ensures that every time you go to a website, your browser takes the shortest route to get the DNS information needed to find the website on the internet.

But this could sometimes be a problem. WordPress sites can be easily moved to new domains or hosts when they are moved from one domain to another.

Your computer may not update DNS information quickly, so you may go to an old website or get a “page not found” message. It will get updated eventually, but why wait until you can clear the DNS cache?

Let’s look at the different platforms’ methods for clearing the DNS cache.

How to Clear the Windows DNS Cache

Here’s how to clear your device’s DNS cache using a Windows computer.

First, click the “Start” button and then choose the “CMD” (command prompt) tool.

This will open a window called “command prompt.” If you would like to run the command prompt, you will need to type the following:

ipconfig /flushdns is the command.

When you press enter to run the command, Windows will clear the DNS cache.

Now you can return to your website and get the updated DNS information.

How to Remove DNS Cache in macOS

If you’re using a Mac, follow these steps. You must first open the Terminal app. You can find it in the “Other” folder on Launchpad. You can also open it by going to Finder’s Applications -Utilities folder.

This will open a window called “Terminal,” where you must type the next command.

sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

You’ll be asked to enter the password for your macOS account. You use the same password to access your computer.

Your computer will then clear the DNS cache. You can now go to the website to find the most up-to-date DNS information.

Chrome: Clear DNS Cache

Google Chrome also keeps its DNS cache, which is different from your operating system.

You’ll need to clear Chrome’s DNS cache if your main browser is Google Chrome.

First, type the following address into your browser’s address bar and press the enter key on your keyboard.

chrome:/net-internals/#dns

This will bring up Chrome’s internal settings page for the Internet. Click the “Clear host cache” button, and Chrome will clear its DNS cache.

Now, remember that the browser cache is different from the DNS cache.

Your browser stores a lot of website information in a temporary cache so that pages load quickly the next time you visit.

If you can’t see the changes you made to a page even though you updated it, you may need to clear your browser’s cache.

We have a step-by-step guide showing you how to clear the cache on all the most popular browsers.

How to see if DNS has been updated

When you move your WordPress site to a new host or transfer your domain registration to a new domain registrar, you’ll need to change your DNS settings to point to the new location.

Once you make these changes in your domain settings, it takes a while for them to spread across the internet. There may be a defer in completing this process for a few days.

Your domain will fluctuate throughout this period, sometimes pointing to the old site and other times to the new location. This look at where you are in the world and which DNS servers your browser uses to find its way.

You can use online tools like DNS Checker to see how these DNS changes are spread worldwide.

Just type in your domain name, which will get DNS information from different places worldwide.

If all locations have a green checkmark next to the same IP address, the DNS changes you made have been made everywhere on the internet.

I hope you found this article supportive in clearing your DNS cache on different devices. You might also want to check out our beginner guide on clearing your WordPress cache.