Acquire a New IP Address

An Internet Protocol address (known simply as an IP address) is a series of numbers assigned to any device connected to the Internet. Usually appearing as a period-delimited series of 4 numbers with up to 3 digits each, your IP address serves as a marker regarding your computer's communication over a network. To this end, an IP address leaves a kind of "paper trail" that allows your Internet activity to be tracked. To avoid this, you can acquire a new IP address by following a few steps.

Steps

Acquire a New IP Address in Windows

  1. Open the command prompt window. Do this by clicking the "Start" button, and then selecting "Run." In the window that appears, type "cmd" into the text box and click the "OK" button.
  2. Release the computer's current IP address. To do this, type "ipconfig /release" into the command prompt window and press Enter.
  3. Acquire a new IP address. Do this by typing "ipconfig /renew" into the command prompt window and pressing Enter. This should assign the computer a new IP address, which will be different from the previous address.
  4. Cycle your modem's power. If the above steps don't work, you can try renewing your IP address by cycling your modem's power. Turn off both your computer and your modem (and your router, if you have one). Wait at least 5 minutes, then turn everything back on. If your computer is set to receive an IP address dynamically (the most likely configuration), you should be assigned a new IP address automatically.
  5. Check to make sure your IP address has changed. To do this, you can log on to a number of different websites that tell you your IP address.

Acquire a New IP Address in Mac

  1. Open the System Preferences menu. Do this by either clicking on the "System Preferences" icon in the dock, or by clicking on the Apple logo in the task bar and selecting "System Preferences."
  2. Open the Network menu. Click the "Network" icon in the System Preferences menu, and then select your connection type in the left panel.
  3. Open the Advanced menu. After selecting your connection type, click the button that reads "Advanced." In the menu that appears, click on the tab that reads "TCP / IP."
  4. Renew your IP address. Do this by clicking the button that reads "Renew DHCP Lease." You should see your IP address (listed to the left of the button) change. Once it has changed, click the "OK" button and close the System Preferences menu.

Tips

  • Generally speaking, using the method above can only change your IP to a new one in the same network segment. So, If you need a real new IP address to bypass a firewall, you can try accessing the web through a proxy server instead of getting a new IP address.
  • You may need to contact your service provider.
  • If you access the Internet through a wireless router, you may be able to renew your IP address through the router's login screen.

Things You'll Need

  • Computer
  • Modem

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Sources and Citations

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