How to change your IP address

The easiest way to change your IP address is to turn your router off, wait at least 10 seconds, and then turn it back on. If that doesn’t fix your problem, you might want to set a static IP address instead.

Changing your IP address is a simple solution to a number of network problems. However, there is more than one way to cook that particular egg. So, let’s go over your options for getting a new IP address, and why you’d choose one over the other.

Why would you want to change your IP address?

Your IP address is a set of numbers that works both as a way to locate you in the real world and to serve as your digital address. When you connect to the Internet, for example, your Internet Service Provider or ISP will assign you an IP that will reveal to the sites you visit where you are connecting from; that is why the sites will usually change languages ​​when you access them from abroad.

Changing your network’s IP will make it seem like you’re somewhere else, great for bypassing censorship blocks or even switching your Netflix library to another country’s. However, that is not possible without using outside help, so to speak. Usually, you’ll have to use a third-party program to modify your IP that way, and it only works while that program is active.

There are a few ways to temporarily change your IP like this, we discuss them extensively in our article on how to hide your IP address. In most cases, your best bet is to use a virtual private network (VPN) to spoof your IP to make it look like you’re somewhere else. It is very good and easy to do.

However, it’s not just your internet connection that broadcasts an IP address: every device you own also has its own unique IP. This is so that each device can communicate correctly both with the network and with each other.

If there is a problem with the IP of your network or that of a specific device, they may not connect correctly or have other problems. A VPN won’t fix these problems, at least not in the long run; the only way to get rid of these problems is to permanently change your IP address. Luckily, this is not that difficult to do.

How to change your IP address

The first way to fix any problem is to change the IP of your network. This is much easier than you might think thanks to something called Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. DHCP is a protocol, a set of rules that govern how machines “talk” to each other, that can change the associated IP address on the fly, hence “dynamic”.

To do so, all you need to do is turn off your router, wait 10 seconds, and turn it back on. (Simple reboot usually doesn’t work, but it depends a lot on the router.) Once the router is fully up and running again, you should have a new IP address.

Of course, you can check it to make sure. To do this, before turning off the router, find your IP address by asking your favorite search engine for it or using a tool like IPleak.net. Make a note of the IP, power cycle your router, and then check again.

static vs dynamic ips – should i get a static address instead?

However, the above solution is short term and mostly only works if you have a simple problem, like your router suddenly starts crashing. If you have permanent network problems with your devices, you may need to ditch DHCP altogether and instead set up a static IP address, one that doesn’t change.

Hopefully, setting up a static IP address will eliminate any network problems, or at least narrow down the list of possible causes for why your devices aren’t communicating with each other. With that being said, there are a few different ways to approach this problem.

First, you can contact your ISP and simply ask them to change your IP address. You’ll probably have to explain what the problem is and go through a few steps with them (this really depends on your ISP), but if the technology is worth it, they’ll take care of it for you.

Manually set a static IP address

However, that may not be necessary – there are plenty of ways you can track down and fix any problems yourself, starting with changing your router’s IP to static. We have a full tutorial on how to set up a static IP on your router and hopefully this should change any issues you’re having at the network level.

That being said, it could be your laptop or desktop computer that is causing the problems. In that case, you can try setting up a static IP on your Windows computer, or if you prefer, use Windows Command Prompt. Team Penguin members can refer to this tutorial on how to set up a static IP in Ubuntu. It’s also worth noting that iPhones have a built-in feature to change IP addresses and set static ones as well.

Whichever route you end up taking, with a few minutes of work, your network problems should be a thing of the past.