How to Change Your IP Address on Any Device

How to change your IP address starts with one question: do you mean the public address websites see, or the private address your router hands out inside your home? Switch networks or use a VPN to change the public route. Renew DHCP or set a supplied local address to change a device’s private IP. Check your result on Loqmi’s IP tool in about 30 seconds.

Choose the IP you actually mean

Your public IP address is the internet-facing address your internet service provider (ISP), mobile carrier, or intermediary assigns. Websites see it and use it to estimate your network’s location. Your private IP address identifies one device on a local network. Your router usually hands it out.

Private IPv4 ranges reserved by RFC 1918 include 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, and 192.168.0.0/16. Routers translate between local and public addresses using network address translation (NAT), like a receptionist forwarding calls to different desks. Changing a desk extension does not change the company’s outside number.

How to change your IP address: pick a method

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) leases addresses to devices. A renewal on your laptop or phone normally changes only its private address. Restarting a router may prompt the ISP to assign a new public one, but it cannot force that. DHCP is a polite request system, not an address vending machine.

A proxy may route one app or browser through another server, while a device-wide VPN can cover more traffic depending on its settings. Neither changes the address the ISP assigned to your router. If you only want different DNS servers, see how to change DNS. DNS resolution and IP assignment are separate jobs.

Change the public IP websites see

Home router and ISP

Record the address at Loqmi, disconnect any VPN, then restart your modem/router. Wait for internet service to return and check again. If the address is unchanged, the ISP may have renewed the existing lease, tied it to your modem, or assigned a static address. Ask the ISP whether it can release or change the public lease. Leaving the router off longer is not a guarantee.

If your router’s WAN address differs from Loqmi’s result, another router, VPN, or carrier-grade NAT (CGNAT) may be in the path. CGNAT lets an ISP share public IPv4 addresses using 100.64.0.0/10, the range in RFC 6598. Ask the ISP about a public address if you need inbound connections or a stable endpoint.

Phone network or VPN

For a quick change on mobile, turn off Wi-Fi and use cellular data; the carrier connection has its own public route. Toggling Airplane Mode is basically hanging up and redialing: the phone may reconnect, but the carrier may hand back the same address. A VPN routes traffic through its server, so a site usually sees the VPN exit address while the tunnel is active. A VPN does not make you anonymous, because accounts, cookies, and other browser signals still exist. For a leak check, use our VPN check guide.

Change a private IP on each device

For routine use, leave IP assignment on Automatic (DHCP). Choose a manual address only when you have the subnet, gateway, and DNS details from your router or network administrator. A guess can strand the device off the network. For an always-stable printer or server, a router DHCP reservation is basically a name tag for the device, and usually easier to manage than a static address typed into every device.

Windows 11

To request a fresh local lease, open Terminal or Command Prompt and run ipconfig /release, then ipconfig /renew. To set a local address, open Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi (or Ethernet) > the connected network > IP assignment > Edit. Select Manual, turn on IPv4, enter the supplied IP address, subnet mask, gateway, and DNS, then save. Select Automatic (DHCP) to return to normal assignment. Microsoft recommends DHCP for most networks in its Windows network settings guide.

macOS

Open Apple menu > System Settings > Network, select Wi-Fi or Ethernet, choose Details > TCP/IP, then click Renew DHCP Lease. For a supplied fixed local address, change Configure IPv4 to Manually and enter the values provided by the network. Apple documents both options in its TCP/IP settings guide.

Linux

On Ubuntu Desktop, open the Activities overview, search for Network, then select the gear beside your connection. Open IPv4 and choose Manual to enter the address, netmask, gateway, and DNS. For a fresh lease, reconnect to the network; command-line renewal tools vary. Linux has many strengths, but one universal network-settings menu is not among them. See Ubuntu’s current network guide.

Change IP address on Android

On Pixel-style Android, open Settings > Network & internet > Internet, tap the connected Wi-Fi gear, choose Edit, expand Advanced options, and change IP settings from DHCP to Static. Enter the supplied address, gateway, prefix length, and DNS. Samsung and other makers use different paths, often Connections > Wi-Fi. The labels play hide-and-seek across brands. Google notes that options vary in its Android network settings help. This affects Wi-Fi, not cellular IP.

Change IP address on iPhone

To change IP on iPhone Wi-Fi, open Settings > Wi-Fi, tap the info button beside the connected network, then tap Configure IP. Choose Manual and enter the network-provided IP address, subnet mask, and router, or return to Automatic for DHCP. The Private Wi-Fi Address setting changes the Wi-Fi hardware identifier used on that network. It is not an IP address and does not replace your public IP. Keep it enabled unless the network administrator requires otherwise.

Verify the change and fix common misses

1. Open Loqmi with VPNs and proxies disconnected; note the public IPv4/IPv6 result, ISP, and approximate location.
2. Make one change, wait for the connection to return, and refresh Loqmi. If only the device’s Wi-Fi details changed, you changed its local address, not the public route.
3. Compare the router’s WAN address with Loqmi. If they differ, check for a second router, active VPN, or CGNAT before changing device settings again; that comparison is much like asking the receptionist which building your packet entered.
4. If you also care about performance, use Loqmi’s speed test before and after under similar conditions; a new IP alone does not prove speed improved.

IANA distributes address blocks to regional Internet registries (RIRs), which allocate them to network operators and ISPs. A home user cannot type an arbitrary public IP into a device and expect the internet to route it. IANA explains the allocation chain.