How to Fix ERR_NETWORK_CHANGED Google Chrome Error? – WebNots

Google Chrome throws different types of errors when connecting to internet. Most of them are easy to resolve and some of them may take your life out if you don’t understand the root cause. ERR_NETWORK_CHANGED is one of the frequently seen errors in Chrome. If you are struggling to resole this network changed error, here are various solutions to try. We have explained the fixes focusing on Windows and macOS. Since Google Chrome has similar settings on Windows and Mac, browser options will be same on both these platforms.

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ERR_NETWORK_CHANGED Error in Google Chrome

Based on our experience, Chrome throws this error when it detects the IP address of your computer is changed. As you may aware, each computer on the network should be assigned with a unique IP address in order to connect to the internet. Based on this IP address, your ISP or the website owner can apply restriction in accessing the sites.

One of the major reasons for network change is due to routing of the internet connection through different tunnel. It is a common practice to use VPN or proxy servers to change the computer’s IP address for bypassing the restrictions. Use of public DNS will also accelerate the domain resolving process and get the site name equivalent to the server’s IP address.

Let us look at various options for fixing the network changed error.

1. Reload the Webpage

When error message occurs, Google Chrome will show few lines of details to understand the root cause of the error.

ERR_NETWORK_CHANGED Error in Google Chrome

Generally network changed error will have the following three messages:

Your connection was interrupted
A network change was detected
ERR_NETWROK_CHANGED

It is easy to understand that the first line is the reason, second is the impact and the third is Chrome error code. You can click on the “Reload” button or press the refresh icon nearer to the browser’s address bar. Most of the times, the page will reload based on your new IP address (or network).

Refresh Page in Chrome Chrome

2. Restart Your Modem / Router

As the error message is related to your internet connection, check the network cables of your computer. Possibly reset or restart your model and router before trying to load the page in Chrome.

3. Disconnect Ethernet or Wi-Fi

Nowadays, most laptops don’t have an ethernet port for inserting physical network cable. Check whether your laptop has both cable and Wi-Fi options for connecting to internet and you are using both. This could cause problem as the connection may be flickering between wire and wireless. It is a good idea to either remove the cable or switch off the Wi-Fi option. This will ensure that internet is connected through a single source and the network is not changing. Try restarting you laptop and open the pages in Chrome to check the issue occurs.

You can also disable the network adapter which you don’t want to use under “Device Manager” in Windows. On Mac, go to “Apple” icon and then to “System Preferences… > Network” option to change the settings.

4. Change to Google Public DNS

DNS settings can also slowdown your connection and results in resolving host or connection time out error. Though we don’t see it can affect the network to be completely changed, no harm in trying this. DNS server details can be changed under TCP/IP protocol settings of your computer. The process may differ based on the operating system you have. Check out the articles on how to change DNS settings on Windows, macOS and iOS.

Remember to use reliable DNS servers like Google public DNS. If the ERR_NETWORK_CHANGED problem is not resolved, just delete all manual DNS servers so that the default DNS servers from your internet service provider (ISP) is used.

5. Disable Proxy Servers

If you are using proxy server to divert the internet connection through different tunnel then this is the first step you should check when network changed error is displayed.

Follow the below steps in Windows:

Click on the Windows start button and then go to “Settings”.
Click on the “Network & Internet” option.
Under the “Proxy” tab, ensure all options for automatic and manual proxy setup are switched off.

Disable Proxy Servers in Windows 10

You can disable proxy and automatic configuration scripts through the control panel also. go to “Control Panel > Network and Internet > Internet Options” section. You will see the “Internet Properties” window, navigate to “Connections > Lan Settings” and disable all checkboxes.

Follow the below steps on Mac:

Go to the Apple icon on top left corner and then go to “System Preferences… > Network” option.
Choose the active connected Wi-Fi. Click on the lock icon showing “Click the lock to make changes”.
Enter your administrator password to unlock network preferences.
Then click on the “Advanced…” button and go to “Proxies” tab.
Disable all proxy protocols and click on the OK button.

Disabling Proxy in Mac

6. Check Your VPN

VPN connections allow you to connect to internet anonymously by hiding your IP address. Most of the VPN connections are unstable and dropping off frequently. Also it will try to automatically reconnect to the available server based on your settings. This essentially means Google Chrome will think you are in different locations while connected to VPN and in original location when disconnected from VPN.

Remember change in location will result in change in IP address and network. So, Chrome will throw the network changed error whenever the VPN connection is dropping off and when connecting again. If you are using VPN, just disconnect between the browsing section and see Chrome shows this network changed error.

Disable your VPN and check the page can be loaded in Chrome.

Note: Remember when using VPN app, there will be an additional network adapter installed by the VPN app. You can also disable that adapter and check the page is loading successfully.

7. Reset Your IP

Network change indicates that the IP address is changed. You can try to reset your IP address to see whether the issue can be resolved.

On Windows:

Press “Windows Key + X” to open power user menu and open “Command Prompt (Admin)” option.
Enter the following commands in the Command Prompt:

netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew

On Mac:

Go to the Apple icon on top left corner and then go to “System Preferences… > Network” option.
Choose the active connected Wi-Fi. Click on the lock icon showing “Click the lock to make changes”.
Enter your administrator password to unlock network preferences.
Then click on the “Advanced…” button and go to “TCP/IP” tab.
Click on the “Renew DCHP Lease” to release and renew your IP address.

Reset IP in Mac

8. Remove and Enable Wi-Fi Network

Sometimes the network user profiles might have been corrupted and stop the webpage to load. Follow the below steps to remove the network from the list. You can add the network again and check the page loads in Chrome.

Remove Network Name On Windows:

Go to start menu and then to “Settings” option.
Click on “Network & Internet” option and go to “Wi-Fi” tab.
Scroll down on the right pane and click on the “Manage Wi-Fi settings”.
Scroll down to “Manage known networks” section.
Click on the WiFi network you want to remove and click on “Forget” button.

Forget WiFi Network in Windows 10

Remove Network Name On Mac:

Open “System Preferences” from spotlight search or from the Apple icon on the top left corner of the Mac.
Go to “Network” option and click on the lock pad icon.
Enter your admin password to enable editing of network options.
Go to “Advanced” section under connected Wi-Fi network.
Select the Wi-Fi network and click on the minus (-) button to remove from the list.

Remove WiFi Network in Mac

9. Disable and Enable Network Adapter

Network adapters can also cause issue and stop your network connection in Windows based PC. Follow the below steps to disable and enable network adapter.

Press “Win + X” keys to open power user menu and navigate to “Device Manager”.
You will see all available adapters under “Network Adapters” section.
Select the one you are using and right click on it.
You can update driver, disable, uninstall and scan for hardware changes.
Disable the adapter and then enable again.
Now check the webpages are loading properly in Chrome.

Uninstalling Network Adapter in Windows

Note: Remember to have the latest driver files from the provider for reinstalling again.

On Mac, network adapters in general will not create problem. You can still remove and add back with below steps.

Go to Apple icon on top left corner and then go to “System Preferences… > Network”.
Select the adapter listed right side and click on “Click the lock to make changes.”.
You will be prompted to enter the admin password.
Click on the – icon and remove the connection. Later you can click on + icon and then add it back again.
You can also click on the gear icon and click on the “Make Service Inactive” to disable the adapter. You can again make it active by selecting “Make Service Active” option.

Enable or Disable Network Adapter in Mac

10. Clear Browser Cache

The corrupted browser’s cache may also cause problem in loading the webpages. Go to the URL “chrome://settings/clearBrowserData” on your Chrome browser and clear browser history. You can also press “Control + Shift + Delete” in Windows and “Command + Shift + Delete” in Mac to open the clear browsing data popup.

Delete Browser History in Chrome

11. Flush Your DNS Cache

Flush the DNS of you PC or Mac by following the below steps.

Flush DNS in Windows:

Press “Windows Key + X” to power user menu.
Choose “Command Prompt (Admin)” option.
Type “ipconfig /flushdns” and hit enter.

Flush DNS in Mac:

Press “Command + Spacebar” to open spotlight search box.
Enter “Terminal” and open the “Terminal” app.
Type the command “sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder” and hit enter.
You might be prompted to enter you admin password to run the command.

12. Disable Windows Power Management

The power saver mode takes the wireless adapter to sleep mode when enabled. This may disturb the connection and cause network change error. Press “Win + X” keys to open power user menu and then go to “Device Manager”.

Right click on your network adapter and go to “Properties” menu. Disable the option “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” under “Power Management” tab.

Disable Power Management in Windows 10

13. Contact Your ISP

At last, contact your ISP if none of the above mentioned fixes are working for you. Sometimes they may also do some backend changes which might affect your network.

Conclusion

We hope one of the above solution would have helped you to fix the network changed error. If not, reset the Chrome or completely uninstall and reinstall and try loading the pages again.