The Domain Name System (DNS) functions similarly to an online phone directory. A web page’s IP address, a multi-digit identification code, and its principal name tag on the home server are cataloged by the DNS. IP addresses are often difficult to remember due to their length. While some websites may be accessed simply by entering their IP address, entering (and remembering) a URL is far more convenient. This is where DNS and domain names are useful. In 2025, it will become important to understand what is DNS traffic.
Using encryption methods, encrypted DNS (Domain Name System) communication shields your requests from eavesdropping and DNS manipulation, which might lead you to harmful websites. However, the website can force you to disable the function due to compatibility problems or network limits.
Keep reading and exploring to learn more about DNS traffic meaning and DNS tracking meaning. Moreover, we will also explain important steps to fix the “This network is blocking encrypted DNS traffic” error.
Table of Contents
What is DNS?
Connecting all people, devices, apps, websites, online resources, and other internet services depends on the Domain Name System. Websites and services may be easily remembered by using domain names, such as temok.com, which users can enter into their browser to access a web page. DNS converts domain names to machine-readable IP addresses, which are a series of numbers that let devices connected to the Internet locate the best website, device, or resource.
What is DNS Traffic?
DNS (Domain Name System) inquiries and answers are referred to as DNS traffic in network communication. It happens when a device asks a DNS server for a domain name’s IP address. The device can connect to the requested website or service when the server responds with the relevant IP address. Therefore, knowing what is DNS traffic is necessary.
A DNS query begins when you enter the URL of a site into your browser. This DNS traffic inquiry is necessary for your device to determine which internet server it must connect to to view the specified website. In essence, DNS traffic is created each time you send an email, visit a new website, or connect to a new internet service.
This backbone of procedures in directing the huge amount of daily requests to the right website servers in the World remains a very important thing in how the internet works. Every day, trillions of DNS requests are sent out globally, creating enormous amounts of DNS traffic. Now, we will discuss what leads to issues with DNS traffic in our what is DNS traffic comprehensive guide.
What Leads To Issues With Domain Name System Traffic?
Numerous issues might arise from excessive Domain Name System traffic. DNS servers may slow down or fail if they get too many queries. Multiple servers may respond more slowly when there is a high amount of DNS traffic. Slow answers can also be caused by DNS traffic transmitted to servers located in far-off geographic areas. DNS answers deserve to be as user-friendly as possible. Now, we will discuss what is encrypted DNS traffic in our what is DNS traffic comprehensive guide.
Also Read: DNS Load Balancing: How It Works and Why It Matters
What is Encrypted DNS Traffic?
Using encryption methods during DNS resolution, when domain names (such as temok.com) are converted into IP addresses (such as 192.0.2.1), encrypted DNS traffic safeguards Domain Name System requests. DNS queries are often not encrypted, making them visible to anybody with network access, including hackers and your internet service provider. The DNS requests and answers have a shield from outside parties trying to pry into your online activities by encrypting the DNS communication.
DNS is additionally sometimes referred to as the Internet’s phone book. Your computer initially doesn’t know where you want to go on the Internet when you input a website URL into the web browser. The DNS is useful in this situation. Your browser requests a DNS server for the assigned IP address, which is a series of digits that uniquely identify each internet-connected device, when you input a URL.
How Does Encrypted DNS Traffic Work?
It is possible to use encryption techniques to encrypt DNS queries. An unprotected connection may allow this data to be views by third parties if there is no encryption in DNS communication.
By setting up encryption protocols on your network, you may jumble your data such that only the resolver, who is the intended receiver, can understand it. A hostile actor or your internet service provider (ISP) will only be able to examine or intercept DNS inquiries, which are made up of unintelligible, encrypted sequences of characters.
The resolver has to be interoperable with the encryption protocols that are in use on your network for encrypted DNS traffic to function. For a safe DNS transmission, several protocols are necessary. Moreover, knowing what is DNS traffic and blocking DNS traffic is also important.
Various DNS Encrypted Traffic Techniques
DNS over HTTPS (DoH), DNS over TLS (DoT), and DNSCrypt are the three primary forms of DNS protection. The functions of each in what is DNS traffic are:
DoH (DNS over HTTPS)
To accommodate fast and lightweight queries, DNS over HTTPS (DoH) uses port 443 and the User Datagram Protocol to send DNS data over an HTTPS connection. The protocol that most websites employ is HTTPS. Anyone who intercepts your encrypted DNS traffic will only obtain the encrypted version and not the actual plaintext request if you have HTTPS protection. Additionally, it handles things using the User Datagram Protocol.
Your ISP or malicious actors will find it far more difficult to track the websites you visit or look into your DNS queries as a result. However, it also makes it more difficult for networks to filter or prevent DoH traffic without running the risk of interfering with web browsing.
TLS-based DNS (DoT)
Another technique for encrypting DNS communication is DNS over TLS (DoT). In this instance, you can use port 853 to transport encrypted data using the Transport Layer Security protocol. Private DNS traffic benefits from end-to-end encryption while in transit, much like DoH.
Potential problems are easy to identify, isolate, and troubleshoot thanks to this dedicated port. Because there is less interruption from other kinds of traffic, DoT also has a modest speed advantage over DoH.
On the other hand, because DoT only utilizes port 853, it is simpler for outside parties to identify Domain Name System traffic. Furthermore, DoT is more technically difficult to set up and configure than DoH since it requires DNS servers and clients that expressly support TLS encryption.
DNSCrypt
A technology called DNSCrypt will enable you to make use of encrypted DNS traffic. Like DoH and DoT, it employs end-to-end encryption, but what sets it apart is its ability to stop DNS spoofing attacks. Website traffic is authenticated by the protocol to ensure that it is from the right Domain Name System resolver and hasn’t been altered.
What is Blocking Encrypted DNS Traffic?
The network you are attempting to connect to does not meet the security requirements ready on your Apple device, as is apparent by the warning “This network is blocking encrypted DNS traffic.” Your device reverts to unencrypted DNS transmission as it does not meet the most recent security standards. When attempting to rejoin your usual Wifi network or connect to a new one, the privacy warning may show up. You can use DNS for load balancing, also.
How to Solve “This Network Is Blocking Encrypted DNS Traffic?”
The good news is that you can restore your Domain Name System traffic encryption and get around the privacy notice in some ways. Keep in mind that even if you use the same network as usual, this problem may repeat more than once.
The most popular methods for recovering your encrypted connection in knowing what is DNS traffic are:.
Restart Your Router and iOS Device
Restarting your iOS device is the simplest method to prevent encrypted DNS traffic from being blocked. Every process and program on your phone or tablet starts over when you restart it. Restarting your Router is also a smart idea:
- Switch it off.
- Before turning it back on, wait for a minimum of 15 to 20 seconds.
- Attach your gadget again.
Reconnect to the Wifi Network After Forgetting
Another possibility is that the “This network is blocking encrypted DNS traffic” alert has a cause due to the Wi-Fi connection. You will then need to forget about the network before rejoining. This enables your iPhone to use the proper protocols by resetting your connection and removing any faulty data, conflicts, or misconfigurations. This is a necessary step in our what is DNS traffic blog.
To forget and re-establish:
- Choose Wifi from the Settings menu.
- Next to your Wifi network, tap the “i” icon.
- After choosing Forget This Network, make sure.
- Choose the network to reconnect.
- After entering the password and username, choose Join.
Also Read: How To Fix DNS Server Not Responding: Step by Step Guide To Fix
Update The Software on Your Router And Phone
There may be a software mistake or defect that affects your encrypted DNS traffic. You can get the maintenance of the security and functionality of your connection by keeping your software up-to-date.
Navigate to the settings and do a firmware upgrade on your Router.
To upgrade your iOS device:
- Choose General from the Settings menu.
- To see what updates are available, tap Software Update.
- Click “Update Now.”
- Log in to the admin interface and look for firmware updates underneath Settings or Maintenance to update the software on your Router.
Reset The Network Configuration
Resetting your network settings may also help eliminate issues and allow you to utilize encrypted DNS.
To reset your network settings, take these steps:
- After selecting Settings, select General.
- Choose Transfer or Reset iPhone after scrolling down.
- Click on Reset.
- Press the “Reset Network Settings” button.
- Verify by entering your passcode.
However, keep in mind that all saved network settings will no longer be available if you reset your iPhone. For example, manual DNS setups will be eliminated, and stored networks and passwords will be deleted. This is also the best step if you want to reset the DNS server for gaming. Therefore, remember this thing is necessary in our comprehensive what is DNS traffic blog.
Set up DNS Manually
Try configuring DNS settings if the privacy warning persists. You can achieve this by taking the actions listed below:
- Navigate to “Settings” and choose “Wifi.”
- In the vicinity of your network, tap the I icon.
- In the DNS area, scroll down and choose Configure DNS.
- Change to Manual from Automatic.
- Next to the DNS servers that are currently in place, tap the ⛔
- Press “Add Server.”
- Enter 149.154.159.92 and 162.252.172.57 as DNS addresses.
- Press “Save.”
Set up a VPN
For people who want the utmost privacy and security and are prepared to prevent ISPs from monitoring their network activity, a virtual private network, or VPN, is an option.
Your DNS traffic always routes through VPN servers, which have encryption, whenever you use a VPN server location. Online traffic may pass through a safe, encrypted tunnel that is provided by a decent VPN service; no one can look through it, eavesdrop on the websites you visit, access your online data, or determine your true IP address and location.
Conclusion
DNS traffic relates to the network communication that occurs during domain name resolution into IP addresses. The DNS resolver gets the DNS query by the browser when a user enters a web address. To locate the matching IP address, the resolver makes contact with authoritative name servers. Domain Name System traffic is the result of several inquiries and answers moving over the Internet throughout this procedure. We hope you now understand what is DNS traffic and how you can solve the blocking DNS traffic issue on your iOS device.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
What Does Blocking DNS Traffic Mean?
One internet filtering tactic used to stop people from accessing specific websites that are against corporate regulations is DNS blocking.
What Is DNS Traffic On My Wifi?
The DNS traffic on Wifi is the communication between your devices and Domain Name System servers, which convert human-readable website addresses (such as “temok.com”) into the IP addresses that computers use to connect to the Internet.
Why Does My iPhone Say This Network Is Blocking Encrypted DNS Traffic?
Your iPhone’s “This network is blocking encrypted DNS traffic” alert indicates that the network you’re using is incompatible with the more recent, secure DNS encryption techniques that Apple employs for privacy.
Should I Block DNS Traffic?
We don’t recommend blocking all DNS traffic because doing so would make it impossible for you to access the Internet at all.