Error messages

ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED in Chrome on Mac

Chromium describes this error as: “The host name could not be resolved.” Chrome could not get an address for the site's name.

Applies to: Google Chrome and other Chromium browsers on all current macOS versions.Checked: 29 October 2026

Symptoms

  • Chrome shows “This site can’t be reached” and ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED.
  • Chrome says that the server IP address could not be found.
  • Other sites open, or no site opens.

Likely causes

  • No internet connection. If no site opens, the connection is the problem, not DNS.
  • A DNS server that does not answer. Custom DNS servers or the router's DNS can fail.
  • A VPN that changes DNS. The VPN's DNS server can fail, or it does not know the name.
  • A stale cache. The Mac keeps an old failed answer.
  • A name that does not exist. A typing error, or a removed domain.

How to check

  1. Open a different website. If no site opens, the problem is the connection, not this site.

  2. Look up the name through the macOS resolver. No address lines means that the lookup failed.

    dscacheutil -q host -a name example.com

  3. Ask a public DNS server directly. An answer here, but not above, points to your DNS settings.

    dig +short example.com @1.1.1.1

  4. Show the DNS servers that the Mac uses now.

    scutil --dns

How to fix it

  1. If no site opens, fix the connection. See Mac connected to Wi-Fi but no internet.

  2. If public DNS answers and your DNS does not, change the DNS servers. See DNS not resolving on a Mac.

  3. Flush the DNS cache. See Flush the DNS cache on a Mac.

  4. If a VPN, proxy or security app is on, turn it off for a short test. Turn it on again after the test.

With Kilobat

  1. Kilobat's connection doctor tests the name layer by layer: network, proxy, DNS, rules, IPv4, IPv6, TLS and the server. It names the layer that failed.

    kilobat why example.com

  2. Compare the speed and answers of DNS servers from this Mac.

    kilobat dns-benchmark

  3. These Kilobat checks are free. AI agents run them through MCP with diagnose_connection and diagnose_network. See Find why one site or API won't connect.

Questions

Is ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED the same as DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN?

Both are failed lookups. NXDOMAIN means that Chrome's check says the name does not exist. See DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN in Chrome on Mac.

Sources

Sources checked on 29 October 2026. Man pages are the ones installed with macOS; open one with man <name> in Terminal.