Most users don't notice any real differences vs using their ISP DNS, and seeing it up and configuring it is yet another thing to take time or go wrong.

We had edge delivery issues when I didn't use my ISP's DNS, especially from Apple. Not exactly sure of the mechanism, but downloading Xcode would take 2 hours instead of 10 minutes.

That’s really weird that’s the case. DNS simply resolves “google.com” to an IP address (8.8.8.8 or something). Shouldn’t impact anything download related. I’m pretty sure DNS isn’t used for geolocating either

I wanted to correct you but than I stopped myself because I'm not sure if you meant that sarcastically. Because with a /s at the end your post makes sense.

Nope, not sarcastic. Would love to know where my understanding is incorrect!

DNS servers can take the IP address of the client into account. If you query a record for amazon.com from the USA you will get a different answer than from Europe. (And you don't need anycast for that.)

That the client information doesn't get lost when it goes through different resolvers the DNS extension EDNS Client Subnet (ECS) was invented.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EDNS_Client_Subnet

explains it better than me. The whole point of the extension is to make geo-guessing the original client over DNS more stable.

Now you can have privacy conscious DNS servers that strip the ECS information (or mess with it somehow) and instead of the server closest to you you get the global fallback for example. (controld.com goes as far to say "switch countries without a VPN" by only messing with ECS. No idea how stable that is though.)

Interesting! I always just assumed sites used geoDNS to figure out where the user is. I like the "Controversy over lack of support" section in the wikipage. I've been mainly using NextDNS and learned that they anonymized this information https://medium.com/nextdns/how-we-made-dns-both-fast-and-pri...

Comcast doesn't let you change your DNS unless you run your own router. And they also rate limit you if you do.

I’m on Comcast with a UniFi cloud gateway max with my DNS pointed towards adguard. I have not noticed any rate limiting. I actually don’t know how they would rate limit against DoH.

AT&T doesn't either but they do let you disable DHCP and AdguardHome and Pi-Hole have DHCP servers.

Pretty sure you can do it at the individual device level, in the OS's network settings.

My Xfinity gateway blocks DNS unless it's to Comcast's name servers. DNS over http does work in Firefox.

I could work around that by configuring the gateway as just a modem and provide my own router and wifi, but then there are data caps.

"You relied on a service you pay for to actually work? What are you, stupid?"

Many reasons not do use the provided DNS. First, you don't want to give the ISP more information on your browsing habits than it can already gather otherwise. Second, in some countries, ISPs censor websites at the request of of the movie and music industries. Those are enough reasons to rely on a neutral DNS provider like Quad9 or your own DNS server.

When that service actively spies on you, then yes, that is stupid...

That’s… weirdly a thing.

Do you use your car’s built in navigation function — that you paid for — or do you plug your phone in and use its free Google Maps or Apple Maps to navigate?

Yes actually, I happen to save the built in GPS for occasions when the phone network is inaccessible.

I didn't pay for any navigation for my car, so I'm not sure what your point is? ISPs provide DNS. People shouldn't have to fuck with the internet's phone book when they plug their modem in (and they haven't for a very long time). Maybe we can expect more from the people who provide the services society relies on, instead of just saying "why don't you just..." every time someone has a legitimate complaint about something that ought to Just Work.