How to Change Your IP Address (Windows)

This wikiHow teaches you how to change both your public IP address and your private IP address on a Windows computer. Your public IP address is the address that your computer broadcasts to other networks, while your public IP address is your computer's specific address within your own wireless network. Changing either of these addresses may fix connection issues.

Method1

Public IP

1. 
   1
   Unplug your router and modem. Most service providers assign dynamic IPs, which change from time to time. By disconnecting your modem for a long period of time, you are likely to get a new address assigned to you when you turn it back on.

   • You may want to check your current IP address before doing this.
   • Simply unplugging the router and modem from the wall will work.
2. 
   2
   Disable your computer's Wi-Fi. This will prevent it from reconnecting to the router when you plug it back in. To disable Wi-Fi:

   • Click 
      
       in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
   • Click Wi-Fi in the pop-up window.
3. 
   3
   Wait for five minutes. Some ISPs will assign a new IP address in as little as five minutes; if doing this doesn't work, however, you may need to leave your router unplugged overnight (or for around eight hours).
4. 
   4
   Plug your router back in. As long as you have a different device (e.g., a phone, a gaming console, or another computer) connected to Wi-Fi, the router and the second device will claim the old IP address.
5. 
   5
   Re-enable Wi-Fi on your computer. Doing so after the other devices have had a chance to establish their connections will most likely change your computer's public IP address.

   • You may want to check your IP address again to make sure it has changed.
6. 
   6
   Contact your ISP. In some rare cases, you may have a static IP address assigned by your internet service provider. In order to get this changed, you will need to contact their technical support directly. Oftentimes, this can only be changed once.^[1]
7. 
   7
   Use a proxy network. This will display a different IP address for your connection; often, it will be an address from a different part of the country or world. Reliable proxies and VPNs often require monthly subscriptions.

Method2

Private IP

Renewing the Address

1. 
   1
   Open Start 

    

     . It's in the bottom-right corner of the screen. If you're trying to change your IP address in order to fix a connection issue, renewing it is an easier process than manually changing the address.
2. 
   2
   Type command prompt into Start. This will search your computer for the Command Prompt app.
3. 
   3
   Right-click 

    

     Command Prompt. It should be at the top of the Start window.
4. 
   4
   Click Run as administrator. This option is at the bottom of the drop-down menu.

   • If you aren't an administrator on your current computer, you won't have this option and thus won't be able to renew your computer's IP address.
5. 
   5
   Click Yes when prompted. Doing so opens Command Prompt.
6. 
   6
   Type in ipconfig /release and press ↵ Enter. This command "forgets" your current IP address.
7. 
   7
   Type in ipconfig /renew and press ↵ Enter. This refreshes your IP address. Doing this in and of itself will likely solve some connection issues, though it won't always change your computer's actual IP address.

Changing the Address

1. 
   1
   Open Start 

    

     . Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen, or press ⊞ Win.
2. 
   2
   Click Settings 

    

     . It's in the lower-left corner of the Start window.
3. 
   3
   Click 

    

     Network & Internet. This globe-shaped icon should be in the top row of Settings icons.
4. 
   4
   Click the Wi-Fi tab. It's on the left side of the Network & Internet window.
5. 
   5
   Click Change adapter options. Depending on your latest Windows update, it's either in the top-right side of the page, or near the bottom of the page.
6. 
   6
   Click your network's name. Your current network's icon resembles a computer monitor with a green series of bars on it.
7. 
   7
   Click Change settings of this connection. It's in the upper-right side of the window.

   • If the window isn't in full-screen view, you may have to click >> in the upper-right side of the window to view this option.
8. 
   8
   Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4). It's in the window in the middle of the page. Click the text--not the checkbox to the left of the text--to select this option.
9. 
   9
   Click Properties. This option is below the window with the list of network types.
10. 
    10
    Check the "Use the following IP address" radio button. Click the circular button next to this line of text.
11. 
    11
    Enter your new IP address' information. Do so in the fields below the radio button:

    • IP address - Usually, your device's IP address will be "192.168.1.X" (or a similar set of numbers), wherein "X" is specific to your device. Change the "X" value to a number between 1 and 100. Make sure you don't use the same IP address as another device on your network (e.g., your phone).
    • Subnet mask - This depends on your IP address, but will usually be "255.255.255.X".
    • Default gateway - This is your router's IP address.
12. 
    12
    Check the "Use the following DNS server addresses" radio button. It's below the "Default gateway" field.
13. 
    13
    Enter your DNS server addresses. Do so in the provided fields:

    • Preferred DNS server - Your preferred DNS address (for example: "208.67.222.222" for the OpenDNS server, or "8.8.8.8" for Google's server).
    • Alternate DNS server - A secondary DNS address (for example: "208.67.220.220" for the OpenDNS server, or "8.8.4.4" for Google's server).
14. 
    14
    Check the "Validate settings upon exit" box. It's in the lower-left corner of the page.

    • If this box is already checked, skip this step.
15. 
    15
    Click OK. This will save your changes and apply the new private IP address to your computer.

16. Tips

    • You'd change your public IP address in the event that you were kicked out of a gaming service (e.g., Steam), while you'd change your private IP address to fix website loading errors.
    • Using a proxy server will not change your IP address in the traditional sense, but it will alter the IP address that others can see.
    • You can also use a browser like Tor to hide your IP address, though such browsers can be dangerous and are often slower than average.

Warnings

Warnings

• If you choose an in-use IP address for your computer when changing its private IP address, the device that is currently using that address will get kicked off of the network.

More Information