You click a link. Nothing happens for several seconds. Then the whole page arrives at once, instantly. Your speed test says 900 Mbps and your phone on the same Wi-Fi is fine.
Being handed those two facts together is genuinely confusing, so let me tell you what it means before anything else.
That pause before anything appears is not slow internet. It is a different thing entirely. Worth ten seconds of your attention, because the fixes have nothing in common.
So: the short answer first, then what to do about it.
The short answer: waiting, then fast, means a lookup
Every address you type has to become a number before your computer can ask for a page. The translation is a separate request to a separate server, made before a single byte of the page moves.
⭐ So the shape of your delay tells you which half is broken.
A pause, then the page arrives quickly is a slow lookup. The connection is fine.
The page arrives slowly and steadily, filling in as it goes is a slow connection, and a download that does not match your speed test is the page for that instead.
Ours, and marked as ours: that distinction is the whole point of this page, because a speed test cannot see the first one at all. A speed test connects to a server it already knows. It never does the lookup you are waiting on.
Prove it in one command
Open a terminal. Time a lookup of a site you have never visited.
nslookup example-site-you-never-visit.comA healthy answer comes back almost instantly. Sitting there watching it? Or it times out? Then you have confirmed the diagnosis rather than assumed it.
Reported by an owner in June 2021, whose description is precise: name resolution averaging eleven seconds on Windows, while speed tests showed around 900 Mbps in both directions.
⭐ And the test that made it certain: his iPhone and a Linux machine on the same network did not have the problem. One computer, same network, same router. That is not a connection fault.
The reset commands, and how long they lasted
I have to be careful here, because this thread carries both halves.
Confirmed by the owner, six days after asking, having run these in an administrator prompt:
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /registerdns
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
netsh winsock reset catalog
netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log
netsh int ipv6 reset reset.logHis words at the time: "So far so good!"
⚠️ Then, the next day: "I've noticed speed up after running the above commands; however, the problem–as of today–does persist."
Ours, and marked as ours: so run them, because they are free and they genuinely help. But if the delay comes back within a day, you have learned something real. The cache was a symptom and something upstream is still slow.
Documented by Microsoft in its DNS client cache guidance): `ipconfig /flushdns` discards negative cache entries and other dynamically added entries from the resolver cache. It is the least disruptive thing on this page.
Change which server does the looking up
If the reset wears off, look at the server answering your lookups. It is usually your provider's.
Go to Settings, Network & internet, then your Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection, then Properties, and edit the DNS server assignment.
The two public services people use are Google's, at `8.8.8.8` and `8.8.4.4`, and Cloudflare's, at `1.1.1.1` and `1.0.0.1`.
⚠️ This is adviser guidance rather than a confirmed fix, and the owner above tried Google's and still had the problem. It is worth ten minutes and it is not a promise.
Ours, and marked as ours: change it on one machine first, not on the router. If it helps, you have your answer and you can decide whether to apply it everywhere.
If it does not, you have one setting to put back rather than a household to explain it to.
The things that produce this and are not DNS at all
Three of these are common. None will show up in any lookup test.
A VPN or a proxy, especially one that routes your lookups through another country. Turn it off for five minutes and load a few sites.
Security software inspecting web traffic. Some suites intercept every connection to scan it, which adds a delay to the start of each one. Pause it briefly and test.
A browser extension, particularly ad blockers with large filter lists and privacy tools that rewrite requests. Test in a private window, which runs with extensions off.
Ours, and marked as ours: test these three before changing any network settings. They are quicker to rule out and they are more often the answer than people expect, because none of them feels like a network problem.
If only some sites are slow
Then it is almost certainly not your lookup. Your lookup does not know or care which site you asked for.
Such a pattern means the site itself is slow, or something between you and it. Try that site on your phone using mobile data. Slow there too? Then it is not you.
When it is the router
Worth a look. Your machine probably asks the router, and the router asks somebody else.
Restart it properly: power off, thirty seconds out of the wall, back on. If the delay disappears and returns in a fortnight, the router is running out of memory and struggling, which is a hardware answer rather than a settings one.
A modem and a router are different boxes if you are not sure which of yours is which.
Status: written 22 August 2026. One owner measured eleven second lookups on a 900 Mbps line while other devices were fine. The reset commands helped, then the problem returned.
Why do websites take ages to load on fast internet?
Because the delay is in translating the address, not in downloading the page. That lookup happens before any of the page moves, so you sit waiting and then get everything at once. A speed test never does that lookup, which is why it looks fine.
Does flushing DNS actually help?
Flushing clears remembered addresses, including failed ones your machine is holding onto, and it is the least disruptive thing you can try. One owner ran it with the other reset commands and reported real improvement, then reported the problem back the next day.
Should I change my DNS to 8.8.8.8?
It is worth testing on one machine. Google's servers are 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4, Cloudflare's are 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1. It is adviser guidance rather than a confirmed fix, and the owner above tried Google's without it solving his.
Why is only my PC slow when my phone is fine?
Ruling out your connection and your router's line entirely is genuinely useful. One machine slow on a network where everything else is fine points at that machine's own settings, its security software, a VPN, or a browser extension.
The Short Version
- A pause then a fast page is a slow lookup. A slow steady page is a slow connection.
- A speed test never performs the lookup you are waiting on, so it cannot see this.
- `nslookup` on a site you have never visited confirms it in about ten seconds.
- One owner measured eleven seconds on a 900 Mbps line, with other devices fine.
- The reset commands helped him and the problem came back the next day.
- Test your VPN, your security software and your browser extensions before any setting.
Where to Next
Run `nslookup` on a site you have never visited before you change anything. Ten seconds there tells you whether this page applies to you at all.
If pages download slowly rather than starting slowly, a download that does not match your speed test explains why those two numbers disagree.
And if your Wi-Fi is weak on one machine only, weak Wi-Fi on a single laptop has one command that settles it.
Did changing your DNS server fix this? Say so below with which one you moved to, and I will note it. That is exactly the kind of thing nobody reports back.
Isaac Smith is the founder and editor of PC Glance, a website that covers computers, laptops, and technology. He is a tech enthusiast and a computer geek who loves to share his insights and help his readers make smart choices when buying tech gadgets or laptops. He is always curious and updated about the latest tech trends.