Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Change a public IP address
• Method 2 of 3: Changing a private IP address in Windows
• Method 3 of 3: Changing a private IP address on a Mac
• Tips
• Warnings

This article teaches you how to change your computer's public IP address by restarting your router. If you want to change your private IP address (the one assigned to your computer when connected to a local network), enter a command in Windows Command Prompt, or adjust your connection settings on your Mac.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Change a public IP address

1. Find the current IP address of your device. To know if the change was successful, you first need to know the current IP address of your device.
2. Turn off your device. This is the computer, telephone or tablet whose IP address you want to change.
3. Disconnect your modem and router from the internet and the power. This basically resets your Wi-Fi connection.
   • If your modem and router are together in one device, unplug the entire device.
4. Wait five minutes. This is usually enough time for your ISP to give your network a new public IP address.
5. Reconnect the modem. The lights will now turn on one by one. Wait until all lights are on or blinking before continuing.
6. Reconnect the router. After a while, the light of the router will flash first, then stay on.
7. Turn on your device. When it boots up, your device should immediately connect to the internet, but you may have to select a network to connect to.
8. Open an internet browser. You can use the browser to see your new IP address.
9. Type "What is my IP address" in the browser. If this IP address is different from the one you saw before, you have successfully changed the IP address of your device.
   • If you don't see another IP address, you can try leaving your router off for more than 5 minutes. For example, try leaving the router off all night and restarting it the next morning.

Method 2 of 3: Changing a private IP address in Windows

1. Open the Start menu Type "Command Prompt" in Start. You will now see a list of search results in the Start window.
2. Right-click on the Command Prompt icon click on Run as administrator. This is somewhere at the bottom of the menu.
3. click on Yes in the dialog box. This confirms that you want to open Command Prompt.
4. Type ipconfig and press ↵ Enter. You will now see information about your current IP.
5. View your current IP address. This is to the right of "IPv4". This number belongs to your specific device on the local network.
6. Type ipconfig / release and press ↵ Enter. This will release your IP address.
7. Type ipconfig / renew and press ↵ Enter. This will give your device a new IP address.
8. View your new IP address. This is again to the right of "IPv4". If this number is different than before, you have successfully changed your private IP address (also called local IP address).
   • This process only works if your device is connected to other devices via an ethernet connection. You cannot change your public IP address using this method.

Method 3 of 3: Changing a private IP address on a Mac

1. Click on the Apple menu click on System Preferences. This option is in the drop-down menu.
2. click on Network. This will open the network options screen.
3. Select your current connection. You can do this in the left panel of the screen.
4. click on Advanced. It's in the bottom right corner of the window.
5. Click on the tab TCP / IP This tab is at the top of the window.
6. View the value at "IPv4 Address". This is your Mac's current IP address.
7. click on Renew DHCP lease. This is to the right of the IP address. This will renew the IP address of your device.
8. View your new IP address. This is again to the right of "IPv4". If this number is different than before, you have successfully changed your private IP address (also called local IP address).
   • This process only works if your device is connected to other devices via an ethernet connection. You cannot change your public IP address using this method.

Tips

• If you can't change your IP address to something you're happy with, you can also use a VPN.

Warnings

• Changing your IP address to visit private pages can be illegal.