diff --git a/common/hardware/tici/modem.py b/common/hardware/tici/modem.py
index 39266be122..78f4e2a492 100755
--- a/common/hardware/tici/modem.py
+++ b/common/hardware/tici/modem.py
@@ -505,7 +505,11 @@ class Modem:
       except (AddressValueError, ValueError):
         pass
     if not dns_servers:
-      logging.warning(f"no cellular DNS servers reported by modem: {v!r}")
+      dns_servers = [
+        "8.8.8.8",  # Google
+        "1.1.1.1",  # Cloudflare
+      ]
+      logging.warning(f"no cellular DNS servers reported by modem: {v!r}; using fallback {dns_servers}")
     return dns_servers
 
   def _poll_byte_counters(self) -> dict: