Changing DNS Server?

[Phil_Harmonic]

Hi, I'd like to try and switch my DNS server to 1.1.1.1 to see if it's any faster than the one from my ISP.

I have a modem/router combo (TP Link TD-9980) which is connected to my desktop PC via ethernet. I don't use wifi to connect to the internet.

I went into the modem's web management page and changed the settings. Then I rebooted the modem. Plus I changed the settings in Windows 7 network adapter.

However, in my modem's status page, it's now still showing 8.8.8.8 for my DNS.  I don't get it.

Is there anything else I need to do?

[Nighthawk]

That is not a Telus device. You'll either need to get assistance from your ISP or TP link.

Normally if you set the DNS on your computer specifially, you don't need to touch the modem/router. The PC will pull the DNS data from whichever server you put in the IPv4 and v6 settings. You only need to change the router, if it actually supports it, if you want all devices in the house to use one specific DNS server and not have to change the settings on each device.

[Phil_Harmonic]

I did a bunch of research before I changed the settings and none of the websites or youtube channels  I looked at said anything about going through your ISP.  It's my understanding that this is supposed to be something you can just change on your own. They just gave simple instructions for changing the settings. I only changed the IPv4 settings on my PC. I don't think my connection uses IPv6.

[Nighthawk]

When I say go through your ISP, I mean if you are having trouble configuring the modem you got from them, you should contact your ISPs technical support for assistance. Telus doesn't use those modems. Changing DNS settings in most cases is something you can do on your own but some modems/routers will not let you change the settings.

[Phil_Harmonic]

I didn't have any problem configuring my modem, it was very easy. And I didn't get my modem from my ISP. My modem allowed me to change the DNS settings, as nothing was greyed out or blocked me from changing them. It's just when I did change them (or rather, simply filled in the DNS server number), the status still showed 8.8.8.8

[Nighthawk]

Then you'll need to contact the modem manufacturer for support if it's not working correctly.

[linuxgeek]

 After rebooting the modem  check it again if the DNS is the cloudflares DNS 1.1.1.1 and not google 8.8.8.8?

[Phil_Harmonic]

I rebooted it, but it still showed 8.8.8.8

So after some more research, I realized I was actually connected to and using the 1.1.1.1 DNS server, it just wasn't showing up on my modem's basic status page for some reason. Then I went back into my WAN settings page and discovered deep in the advanced menu an option to "Set DNS server manually". Since it was unpopulated (just with zeros) I filled in 1.1.1.1. When I did that, and checked my basic status page again, it finally showed 1.1.1.1 as my DNS server.

Even though I was using the 1.1.1.1 DNS server when I did the initial change, there was nothing indicating this on my basic status page. At least I have some verification from the modem that I'm using it now.

[linuxgeek]

😁Nice.

[Phil_Harmonic]

UPDATE:  After using 1.1.1.1 for over a week, I didn't notice any difference in speed. My ping speed was the same, and web pages didn't load any faster. I also used DNS over https (DoH) and didn't notice any increase in security or decrease in ads, in fact there seemed to be more ads.

So I reverted back to my IPS server and https.

Hope this info might be of use to others.

[Nighthawk]

DNS is not going to affect ping. Nor will it really have any noticeable affect on how fast pages load, especially if your PC/device already has the DNS info cached. If it's not cached there may be a few millisecond delay but not something you'll notice.

[Phil_Harmonic]

So why the hype around 1.1.1.1? Is it just a scam?

[linuxgeek]

No, it is not a scam, it is a DNS of Clouflare. Cloudflare have many datacenters around the world. If google has 8.8.8.8 for their DNS, cloudflare has 1.1.1.1. They are pretty much well known to people who maintain webservers, and wanted to have their sites easy/fast accessibility from around the world. Most iptv providers use their services.

[Phil_Harmonic]

But 1.1.1.1 is promoted as being faster than Google's 8.8.8.8 . Since it isn't, that's what I meant by being a scam.

[linuxgeek]

For a home user like us we  will not notice the difference in resolving the url to ip addresses when we browse the internet, that's what the DNS does. However for the datacenters where the webservers are, for them "seconds" makes a difference. So you can use the 1.1.1.1 for Cloudflare or 8.8.8.8 with google. However you will not notice the difference though.

[linuxgeek]

For me I just use the DNS of TELUS. Unless if the DNS servers of TELUS goes down, then I am force to manually enter any public DNS servers, like google, cloudflare. There is actually a new Canadian DNS server that you might want to try it has other features aside from just resolving the url name. CIRA. just go to their website cira.ca or google cira dns server. It is the Canadian entity that manages the .ca domain. I would say we should promote this to help out as this is a canadian entity that promotes open internet policy, and also they help in protecting canadian internet users like us.