Your DNS is not something I can see from here, but you can quickly find it yourself on your device.

What “my DNS” means

DNS (Domain Name System) is like a phonebook for the internet: it turns website names (like example.com) into IP addresses that computers use.

When you ask “what is my DNS,” you’re usually asking which DNS server (IP address and provider) your device is using right now.

How to check your DNS on different devices

Windows 10 / 11

You can see your DNS with either Settings or Command Prompt.

Method 1 – via Settings

  1. Open Start → Settings.
  1. Click Network & Internet.
  1. Click your active network (Wi‑Fi or Ethernet), then click Properties.
  1. Scroll down: the DNS server addresses are shown under DNS.

Method 2 – via Command Prompt (shows more detail)

  1. Press Windows key, type cmd, press Enter.
  1. Type ipconfig /all and press Enter.
  1. Look under your active adapter (Wi‑Fi or Ethernet) for the line called DNS Servers – the IPs listed there are your DNS servers.

You can also run nslookup google.com; the “Server” line shows which DNS server answered.

macOS

  1. Click the Apple menu → System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS).
  1. Go to Network.
  1. Select your active connection (Wi‑Fi or Ethernet), then click Details or Advanced.
  1. Open the DNS tab: you’ll see the DNS server IPs listed there.

Android

  1. Open Settings.
  1. Tap Network & internet (or Wireless & networks) → Wi‑Fi.
  1. Tap and hold your connected Wi‑Fi network, then choose Advanced or similar.
  1. Look for DNS server entries in the network details.

iPhone / iPad (iOS)

  1. Open Settings → Wi‑Fi.
  1. Tap the “i” icon next to your connected Wi‑Fi network.
  1. Scroll down to find DNS settings; the IPs shown there are the DNS servers.

On your router (network‑wide DNS)

Often, your devices just use whatever DNS your router is configured with.

  1. Find your router’s IP (commonly 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1).
  1. Type that IP into a browser’s address bar.
  1. Log in to the admin panel (often “admin” / “admin” if unchanged).
  1. Look under Status, Internet, WAN, or Network for DNS or DNS Server – this shows which DNS the router uses for everyone on the network.

How to know who your DNS provider is

Even if you see only IP addresses, you can still figure out the provider.

Common public DNS values:

  • Google DNS: 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4
  • Cloudflare DNS: 1.1.1.1, 1.0.0.1
  • Quad9: 9.9.9.9

If the DNS address looks private (like 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x), your router is doing DNS, usually forwarding to your ISP’s servers.

There are also websites and tools (for example, DNS leak tests) that, when you visit them, show which DNS server and provider your connection is using at that moment.

Tiny example story

Imagine you type example.com into your browser. Your device asks your configured DNS server (maybe 1.1.1.1 from Cloudflare) “What’s the IP for example.com?” and that DNS server replies with the IP address so your browser can connect.

When you change or inspect “my DNS,” you’re choosing which helper answers that question: your ISP’s DNS, your router, or a public one like Google or Cloudflare.

SEO‑style meta note

The key idea behind “what is my DNS” is learning which DNS server IP and provider your device or router is using, usually found in your network settings or via simple commands like ipconfig /all or nslookup.