Can Android Resolve mDNS *.local Hostnames During Normal DNS Resolution?

[Android Central Question]

Greetings! I'm posting here because I've been Googling this issue for 2 days and haven't found an answer.

Here's my issue: I have a NAS running on my local network at mynas.local. When I visit that URL in any web browser (Firefox, Chrome, IE, Edge) from my Windows PC, iPad, Windows laptop, or Mac laptop, the NAS's login page is displayed as expected.

However, when I attempt to visit the same URL in a web browser on my Pixel 3 (Firefox, Chrome) it does not resolve.

Troubleshooting:
- I made sure my Android device was on the same WiFi network as my other devices.
- I turned off mobile data.
- I disabled Private DNS.
- I am able to cast to Chromecast devices on my network from my phone (which also use mDNS) so it is able to receive/send multicast packets.
- My roommate who also has a Pixel 3 confirmed it does not work for him either.

I have come across the Network Discovery Service for Android, which provides tools for app developers to allow their apps to do exactly this - use mDNS to find *.local hostnames, which begs the question: do normal DNS resolutions in Android not know to do *.local domain lookups via mDNS?

And if not:
- Is there any way to enable it on a non-rooted Android device?
- Is there any plan to support it in upcoming Android OS versions?
- Are there any web browsers that use the NDS Android API to enable this functionality (I've tried Chrome, DuckDuckGo, Firefox, Firefox Beta, and Firefox Nightly with no success?)

Thanks for your time, I know this is a tricky question, but I've been troubleshooting it for several days, and really can't find answers on Google. But with the number of consumer devices that run on *.local addresses I'm sure someone out there must know whether this is possible/supported or not.

Thank you very much for your time!

PS- I've seen some workarounds: setting up a private DNS server, adding a hosts file entry, etc. I may use those as a last resort, but I'm interested in allowing my roommates/friends to access things on my network while they're visiting, and I can't do special configuration on all of their devices if they happen to be Androids.

 

[VidJunky]

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[anon(10614692)]

A web browser unless the device is part of your network will not see any network devices. Your PC has assigned a local IP address to the NAS but this means nothing to the "outside world". You can share your network with your friends and restrict what folders you are happy to share.

Hope I've understood your post!

 

[ManiacJoe]

This works on your PC because the DNS "hosts" file contains an entry for your "mynas.local" server.

My understanding (rightly or wrongly) is that to make this update on Android, you need to root the phone or otherwise have an app running in God mode that can edit the needed file.

The alternative to rooting is to enable the Developer Settings on the phone, install the Android SDK tools on your computer, and use the ADB utility to copy the file from/to your phone.