Skip to main content
Use this page when a device on your school network is not receiving the DNS filtering behavior you expect. DNS Networks in GoGuardian Admin

​
Gather the Exact Details First

  • The network name, subnet, or IP range involved
  • Whether the device is district-managed, guest, BYOD, or otherwise unmanaged
  • The device platform and approximate location on campus
  • The exact URL or domain you used to test filtering
  • The time of the test and, if available, any related DNS log entry
Start by confirming whether the device is expected to be covered by DNS filtering at all. On some networks, managed devices may be intentionally handled through a different filtering context.

​
Check the Filtering Path

  1. Verify that the device is connected to the expected campus or guest network, not a cellular hotspot, VPN, or another path outside your filtered network design.
  2. Check that the relevant subnet, IP range, or network segment is part of the DNS filtering configuration your district intended to protect.
  3. Verify that the traffic is being evaluated as the correct user category, such as student, staff, or guest, and that the expected filtering behavior exists for that target.
  4. If the device is managed, verify whether agent awareness or another Admin filtering path is changing the expected DNS result.
  5. Look for the request in the DNS logs and review the user-level, IP-level, subnet, category, or alias-domain details available in Admin.
  6. Test the device again with a known validation URL from the same network path so you can separate configuration issues from one-off site behavior.

​
Identify Common Causes

Do not assume a DNS problem and loosen network filtering broadly if the issue only affects one site or one policy target.

​
Know When to Escalate

  • The network and IP-range setup appears correct, but requests still do not show in DNS logs
  • The device behavior changes unpredictably between managed and unmanaged devices
  • DNS logs do not explain why the site is being allowed or bypassed
  • You need help validating how DNS filtering should interact with your existing Admin deployment

​
Resources

Understand DNS Filtering

Review the feature model and configuration assumptions behind school-network filtering.

Understand Filtering Contexts

Use this concept page to identify which filtering path is actually active for the device.

A Site Is Blocked Unexpectedly

Use this troubleshooting page when traffic is filtered, but the specific site result is wrong.
Last modified on July 9, 2026