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Microsoft Edge Hmm We Can't Reach This Page

This is a message I recently saw on my Microsoft Edge Browser. In theory, if you see this message it means your access to the Internet is not working. However, when I recently saw this message I could access the Internet using other browsers such as Google Chrome, Firefox and Vivaldi. Therefore, the problem was with Microsoft Edge.

How to Fix All IT Problems

it did not worry me because as an IT expert of too many years to mention I know there is a two-step process to fixing any IT problem:

  1. Turn it off and turn it on again
  2. Google it

So rebooting my PC didn't work this time. It was very disappointing because this works for 99% of IT problems. Not to worry, if you have a problem with your PC then chances are that many millions of other people have had the same problem. Therefore typing the nature of the problem into Google always brings up a simple solution you can use straight away. However, this time it was not to be,

I searched site after site and the only common solution I found was to change your PC DNS settings to use Google's DNS servers. I could not believe this was the correct solution. All other browsers were working as was Skype and my email client, Thunderbird. There had to be a simpler solution.

But Microsoft Edge Isn't Worth It

Microsoft Edge is a much better browser than Internet Explorer but is still a poor relation when compared to browsers such as Google Chrome, Opera, Firefox and Vivaldi. So why bother?

I am a web designer and a significant number of people use Microsoft Edge so it is essential for me that I have a working version on which to test the websites that I design.

In reading the solutions people had tried, I found many of them had spent all day on the problem and some had even resorted to reloading Windows! This "Sledgehammer to Crack a Nut" approach was not for me; there had to be something simpler.

So I resolved to continue searching until I found a solution that made sense.

I had started to narrow it down to problems with a service that runs on the PC called "DNS Client". It made sense that this could be the source of the problem as it relates to DNS (the naming service that gives you access to the Internet). Most of the solutions involved people turning on this service. However, it was already running on my PC and this made me despondent thinking I might be barking up the wrong tree.

Turn it Off and Turn it on Again!

Eureka! I had a brainwave. My years of IT training had kicked in again and I went back to the original magic method to fix all IT problems. Instead of turning off the PC and on again, why not switch of the DNS Client and restart it. Hey presto! It worked!

It then occurred to me that the myriads of people who had used the Google DNS server resolution had probably rebooted this service in the background when they changed the DNS settings. So their solution had worked but it truly was a "Sledghehammer to Crack a Nut".

How to Fix the Microsoft Edge "Hmm We Can't Reach This Page" Problem

Here are the steps to solving the problem in Windows 10:

  1. In Cortana (Type here to search) type in services.
  2. Click on the Services App that pops up above
  3. Look down the list for DNS Client
  4. Right click the DNS Client line and then click restart

There you are, that is all you have to do. Nothing complicated and nothing that will cause problems on your PC. My faith is restored that the vast majority of problems can be resolved by turning it off and on again!

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