When opening the settings for their current Wi-Fi network in Windows 11, some users may notice the text highlighted in red: “DNS settings are set for all Wi-Fi networks. The settings below will not be used.”
This guide explains in detail why this text appears, how to remove it, and how to set custom DNS server addresses for specific wireless networks.
DNS server addresses for all wireless networks and for specific Wi-Fi access points
In Windows 11, you can change the DNS server address both for the network interface (i.e., for the Wi-Fi adapter as a whole) and for individual access points.
If you set a DNS server in the “Wi-Fi” settings section — “Device Properties” or in the classic “Network Connections” window (Win+R — ncpa.cpl), that server will be used for all wireless networks.
In this case, the following message will appear in the properties of a specific Wi-Fi network: “DNS settings are configured for all Wi-Fi networks. The settings below will not be used,” which means that the “Assign DNS server” option for this specific network will not be used, regardless of the settings specified there.
Options
This situation is not a problem or error in Windows 11; it is simply a notification about your current settings. Depending on your goals, you can choose one of the following options:
- Do nothing if you are satisfied that the DNS server addresses you manually specified will be used when connecting to any Wi-Fi network. Most users do not need to configure individual DNS addresses for different access points. You can view the current (in-use) DNS addresses on the same wireless network settings screen, at the bottom:
- Disable the use of DNS servers for all Wi-Fi networks. To do this, tap the corresponding link in “Settings,” then tap the ‘Change’ button in the “DNS Server Assignment” section, select “Automatic (DHCP)” in the top field, and save the settings.
After that, you can set your own DNS server for each Wi-Fi network in its settings by clicking the “Change” button under “DNS Server Settings.”
- Press the Win+R keys on your keyboard, type ncpa.cpl and press Enter, right-click on “Wireless Network” and open “Properties,” select the “IP version 4 (TCP/IPv4)” protocol and click “Properties,” then set DNS servers to be automatically detected. Repeat the same steps for the IPv6 protocol and save the settings.
- Go to Settings (Settings, keys Win+I) — Network & Internet — Wi-Fi — Device Properties, click the “Change” button in the “DNS server assignment” section, and set the value to “Automatically (DHCP)”.
