How to assign a static IP address in Windows 10 or 11

Sometimes it’s better to give a PC its own IP address rather than let your router assign one automatically. Join us as we take a look at assigning a static IP address in Windows.

What is a static IP address?

A static IP address is manually set to a permanent fixed address instead of being automatically assigned by your router using a protocol known as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). DHCP is a convenient way for devices to connect to your network more easily, because you don’t have to configure IP addressing for each new device yourself. The downside of automatic addressing is that a device’s IP address may change from time to time, which is why people choose static IP addresses for certain types of devices. For example:

• You have a device like a home media server that you want to be able to find using the same IP address or hostname every time.
• You have certain apps that can only connect to network devices using your IP address. In particular, many older networking applications suffer from this limitation.
• You forward ports through your router to devices on your network. Some routers work fine with port forwarding and dynamic IP addresses; Others don’t.

Whatever the reason, assigning static IP addresses to devices is not difficult, but you have to choose whether to do it from the router or on the device itself.

RELATED: How to set a static IP address in Ubuntu

Assign static IP addresses through your router

While this article covers assigning static IP addresses to PCs within Windows, there is another way to do it. Many routers allow you to assign a set of IP addresses that are given out to specific devices (based on the physical or MAC address of the device). This method offers a couple of significant advantages:

• IP addresses are still managed by the router, which means you won’t have to make (and keep up with) changes to each individual device.
• It is easier to assign addresses within the same pool of IP addresses that your router uses.

This article is about assigning static IP addresses directly to Windows PCs. We already have a great guide on how to set up static IP addresses on your router, so if that’s the way you want to go, be sure to give it a read.

However, with all of that in mind, let’s take a look at how to assign static IP addresses within any version of Windows.

RELATED: How to find your router’s IP address on any computer, smartphone or tablet

How to set a static IP address in Windows 11

To set a static IP address in Windows 11, you’ll want to open Settings, go to Network & Internet, and then find your network’s Properties. Inside, you will be able to click the Edit button for IP Assignment and then fill in the manual network details.

First, open the Settings app and then find Network & Internet on the left side. You will be presented with a panel showing your current network connection. You can click where it says “Properties” just below the network, or if you have multiple network connections, you can drill down to the specific network to see the IP address details for each one. In this case it is called “Ethernet”, but you will most likely see “Wi-Fi” as the option to choose.

Once you’ve drilled down to the network connection you want to set a manual IP for, scroll down until you see “IP Assignment” and then click the Edit button to the right.

Once there, you’ll change the dropdown to “Manual” and toggle the IPv4 switch to “On.” At this point, you can fill in your network details and click Save to finish.

You can also use the old-school Network Connections panel in Windows 11, so if you’d rather use that method, read on.

If you are interested in more advanced networking, you may need to configure a static TCP/IP route, reset the entire TCP/IP stack in Windows, check for open TCP/IP ports, find your MAC address in Windows, or find your IP address. from the command prompt. We’ve got you covered there too.

How to set a static IP address in Windows 10

To set a static IP address in Windows 10, you’ll need to open the Settings app and go to Network & Internet. From there you will select Properties for your network and then the Edit button next to IP Assignment where you can enter a manual IP address.

First, open the Settings app and find the Network & Internet button.

On the next screen, you will see your network status, which should show you your active network. Here you’ll want to click the Properties button. If you have several different networks, you can select them from the menu on the left; in our case, you’ll notice that we have Wi-Fi and Ethernet networks, so you’ll want to choose the one you’re trying to set up. a manual IP address for. You’ll notice that this is the same method we used when trying to find an IP address in Windows 10.

On the network properties screen, scroll down until you see “IP Settings” and click the Edit button under “IP Assignment”.

In the resulting popup, change the Edit IP Settings dropdown to Manual, and then toggle the IPv4 switch to “On.” Fill in the details, click Save, and you should be good to go.

You may need to reboot for all your apps to work properly, just because it’s Windows.

It’s worth noting that you can use the old Network Connections method to set an IP address on any version of Windows, so if you prefer that method, read on.

How to set a static IP address in Windows 7 or 8 using “Network Connections”

To change the IP address of the computer in Windows 7, you will need to open the “Network Connections” window. Press Windows + R, type “ncpa.cpl” in the Run box, and then press Enter.

In the “Network Connections” window, right-click the adapter for which you want to set a static IP address, and then select the “Properties” command.

In the adapter properties window, select “Internet Protocol version 4 (TCP/IPv4)” and then click the “Properties” button.

Select the “Use the following IP address” option, and then type the IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway that correspond to your network configuration. Next, enter your preferred and alternate DNS server addresses. Finally, select the “Validate settings on exit” option to have Windows immediately verify your new IP address and related information to make sure it’s working. When you are ready, click the “OK” button.

And then close the network adapter properties window.

Windows automatically runs network diagnostics to verify that the connection is good. If there are problems, Windows will give you the option to run the network troubleshooter. However, if you’re having trouble, the wizard probably won’t do you much good. It is better to check that the configuration is valid and try again.

Set a static IP address in Windows Vista

Changing your IP from DHCP to a static address in Vista is similar to other versions of Windows, but getting to the correct location is a bit different. Open the Start menu, right-click Network, and select Properties.

The Network and Sharing Center opens… click Manage network connections.

Right-click the network adapter you want to assign an IP address to and click Properties.

Reflexes Internet Protocol version 4 (TCP/IPv4) then click the Properties button.

Now change the IP, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway and DNS Server addresses. When you’re done, click OK.

You will need to close the Local Area Connection Properties for the settings to take effect.

Open the command prompt and use the ipconfig Command to verify that the changes were successful.

Set a static IP address in Windows XP

To set a static IP in Windows XP, right-click the “My Network Places” icon, and then select “Properties.”

Right-click on the adapter for which you want to configure the IP, and then select “Properties” from the context menu.

Select the “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)” entry and then click the “Properties” button.

Select the “Use the following IP address” option. Enter the IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS server addresses you want to use. When you are done, click the “OK” button.

You will need to close the adapter properties window before the changes will take effect.

And you can verify your new configuration using the ipconfig command at the command prompt.

In general, it’s best to let most of your devices have their IP addresses assigned automatically by your router. However, from time to time, you may want to set a static IP address for a particular device. While you can set static IP addresses directly on your devices (and this article has shown you how to do it on Windows PCs), we still recommend setting static IP addresses on your router if possible. It will just make life easier.

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