Fixing Slow DNS Resolution in Windows When Using Speedify

This article explains how to fix slow DNS resolution on Windows when Speedify's DNS leak protection feature is enabled. If webpages feel sluggish to start loading even though your connection is otherwise fast, this is likely the cause.

What Causes Slow DNS Resolution

When Speedify's DNS leak protection is on, all DNS requests should route through Speedify. However, Windows sometimes assigns a lower interface metric to one of your other network adapters, causing Windows to try resolving DNS through that adapter first, before reaching Speedify. Since Speedify is now the only path to the internet (thanks to DNS leak protection), those DNS requests stall and slow everything down.

You could turn off DNS leak protection to work around this, but that's not recommended. The better fix is to lower the interface metric on the Speedify Virtual Adapter so Windows sends DNS requests through Speedify first.

Let's Get Started

Step 1

Open Network Connections in Control Panel. The quickest way is to open the Windows Start menu and search for Network Connections, then click the result.

Step 2

Find the Speedify Virtual Adapter in the list, right-click it, and select Properties.

Step 3

In the Properties window, select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) from the list, then click Properties.

Step 4

Make sure Obtain IP address automatically is selected, then click Advanced.

Step 5

In the Advanced settings, uncheck Automatic metric and set the Interface metric value to 3. This number should be lower than the metric on any other adapter, which ensures Windows routes DNS through Speedify first. Setting it manually to a lower value than your other adapters is not recommended.

Step 6

Click OK on all open windows to save your changes, then restart your computer for the new metric to take effect.