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Troubleshooting

This guide will help you diagnose and resolve common issues with Cloudflare's DNS Resolver. Before proceeding with manual troubleshooting steps, you can verify your connection to automatically gather relevant information.

Name resolution issues

Linux/macOS

Terminal window
# Test DNS resolution
dig example.com @1.1.1.1
dig example.com @1.0.0.1
dig example.com @8.8.8.8


# Check connected nameserver
dig +short CHAOS TXT id.server @1.1.1.1
dig +short CHAOS TXT id.server @1.0.0.1


# Optional: Network information
dig @ns3.cloudflare.com whoami.cloudflare.com txt +short

Windows

Terminal window
# Test DNS resolution
nslookup example.com 1.1.1.1
nslookup example.com 1.0.0.1
nslookup example.com 8.8.8.8


# Check connected nameserver
nslookup -class=chaos -type=txt id.server 1.1.1.1
nslookup -class=chaos -type=txt id.server 1.0.0.1


# Optional: Network information
nslookup -type=txt whoami.cloudflare.com ns3.cloudflare.com

Note: The network information command reveals your IP address. Only include this in reports to Cloudflare if you are comfortable sharing this information.

For additional analysis, you can generate a DNSViz ↗ report for the domain in question.

Connectivity and routing issues

Before reporting connectivity issues:

  1. Search for existing reports from your country and ISP.
  2. Run traceroutes to both Cloudflare DNS resolvers.

Linux/macOS

Terminal window
# Basic connectivity tests
traceroute 1.1.1.1
traceroute 1.0.0.1


# If reachable, check nameserver identity
dig +short CHAOS TXT id.server @1.1.1.1
dig +short CHAOS TXT id.server @1.0.0.1


# TCP connection tests
dig +tcp @1.1.1.1 id.server CH TXT
dig +tcp @1.0.0.1 id.server CH TXT

Windows

Terminal window
# Basic connectivity tests
tracert 1.1.1.1
tracert 1.0.0.1


# If reachable, check nameserver identity
nslookup -class=chaos -type=txt id.server 1.1.1.1
nslookup -class=chaos -type=txt id.server 1.0.0.1


# TCP connection tests
nslookup -vc -class=chaos -type=txt id.server 1.1.1.1
nslookup -vc -class=chaos -type=txt id.server 1.0.0.1

DNS-over-TLS (DoT) troubleshooting

Linux/macOS

Terminal window
# Test TLS connectivity
openssl s_client -connect 1.1.1.1:853
openssl s_client -connect 1.0.0.1:853


# Test DNS resolution over TLS
kdig +tls @1.1.1.1 id.server CH TXT
kdig +tls @1.0.0.1 id.server CH TXT

Windows

Windows does not include a standalone DoT client. You can test TLS connectivity using OpenSSL after installing it manually.

DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) troubleshooting

Linux/macOS

Terminal window
curl -H 'accept: application/dns-json' 'https://cloudflare-dns.com/dns-query?name=cloudflare.com&type=AAAA'

Windows

PowerShell
(Invoke-WebRequest -Uri 'https://cloudflare-dns.com/dns-query?name=cloudflare.com&type=AAAA').RawContent

Common issues

First hop failures

If your traceroute fails at the first hop, the issue is likely hardware-related. Your router may have a hardcoded route for 1.1.1.1. When reporting this issue, include:

  • Router make and model
  • ISP name
  • Any relevant router configuration details

Additional resources