First and foremost, a Smart DNS is a great way to gain access to websites that are otherwise censored or geographically blocked. This is something people straight away connect with using a VPN on a PC, but there are some reasons you want to consider having a Smart DNS – and particularly on your mobile phone.
Our mobiles are the predominant way we browse the internet, and in most cases, watch media such as Youtube. Even if you’re not one of these people, the reasons why you’re looking to circumnavigate a region block is likely because you’re travelling abroad. In that case, you’ll be even more dependent on using your phone.
Without going into too much detail, a Smart DNS is a legal service that allows you to overcome censorship or restricted websites — so you can still get access. For your mobile, it will constantly run in the background (if you want it to), and is very easy to set up. It’s cheap too, often being cheaper than a VPN at around $5 per month.
Safer than proxy servers
Finding a proxy server website may have been the norm to navigate your way to Miniclip on the school computer, but that’s about the extent of their usage. Anyone that claims these are safe or reliable is lying – they’re not. Connection is slow and frequently compromises. Furthermore, you leave behind a digital footprint logged on these proxy servers. This is what makes Smart DNS servers the safer alternative. VPNs are also a great option, and often offer more encryption, but either will accomplish the same goal. In fact, Smart DNS services are sometimes better at tricking streaming sites.
Who is Smart DNS for?
Mostly, expats and holiday makers who use their phones heavily. If you’re working or visiting abroad, a Smart DNS is your best shot at accessing that terrestrial TV or online websites that you get back home. A raspberry VPN may be even more reliable, but they’re not as flexible, and they take a lot more effort in setting up and using. Furthermore, some countries such as China censor social media. Many locals use VPNs or Smart DNS in order to access Facebook, and thus this is a great option for you to visit.
How to use a Smart DNS on mobile
A Smart DNS may act similarly to a VPN, but how it operates is actually completely different. This is evident in the setting up process.
To set a Smart DNS on Android, you must:
- Go to settings and click on WiFi
- Press and hold your preferred network until the dialog pops up
- Select modify network
- Select “show advanced options”
- Switch your IP settings to Static
- Keep your IP address, gateway and network prefix the same
- Change your DNS 1 and DNS 2 to the what’s provided by your Smart DNS provider
The process on iPhone is very similar, with a few caveats of course. For example, instead of holding the network, simply press the blue arrow. Then, configureDNS can be found towards the bottom, to which you should select “manual” and add the 2 servers from there.
