Specify global DNS

Policy ID: NCSI_GlobalDns
Scope: Computer Configuration
Supported on: At least Windows Server 2016, Windows 10 Version 1709
Source: Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 11 2026 Update (26H2) (version 1.0)
Category: Network › Network Connectivity Status Indicator

Description

This policy setting enables you to specify DNS binding behavior. NCSI by default will restrict DNS lookups to the interface it is currently probing on. If you enable this setting, NCSI will allow the DNS lookups to happen on any interface.

Options

The empty box and the checked box tell the checkbox items of the Group Policy editor apart (a checked box is an item that is selected by default).

The following checkbox disables interface binding when doing DNS lookups in NCSI. This can enable NCSI to work better with special network configurations, like a DNS server running on localhost.
Use global DNS

Registry

ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\NetworkConnectivityStatusIndicator View registry values

UseGlobalDnsREG_DWORD

Other policies in the same category

View all policies in this category (7)