How to Release and Renew Your IP Address on Any Device

“Release and renew your IP address” is one of the oldest network fixes, and it still works for a few specific problems: a device stuck with no internet after the router restarted, a 169.254 address, or an IP address conflict. It takes under a minute on any device. Here is how to do it, and what it can and cannot change.

What Renewing Your IP Address Does

On your home network, the router hands out private IP addresses (like 192.168.1.23) through DHCP — see what is DHCP. Each address is a lease with an expiry time; devices renew it automatically.

• Release tells the router you are giving the address back and clears it on the device.
• Renew asks the router for an address again — usually the same one, sometimes a different one — along with the gateway and DNS settings.

This only works when the device is set to obtain an IP address automatically. Microsoft notes that ipconfig /renew is available only on adapters configured that way. It changes your private address on the local network; it does not change the public IP address that websites see. That one comes from your provider — more on it at the end.

Windows

1. Open Command Prompt: press Windows + X and choose Terminal or Command Prompt.
2. Type ipconfig /release and press Enter. The connection drops for a moment.
3. Type ipconfig /renew and press Enter. Wait while the router assigns an address.
4. Check the result with ipconfig — look for IPv4 Address and Default Gateway.

Microsoft describes /release as sending a DHCPRELEASE message to the DHCP server to give up the current configuration, and /renew as renewing the DHCP configuration. Without an adapter name, both act on all adapters. If DNS also misbehaves, follow up with ipconfig /flushdns; see how to flush DNS.

Mac

1. Open System Settings → Network.
2. Select Wi-Fi or Ethernet, then click Details next to the connected network.
3. Open TCP/IP and click Renew DHCP Lease.

Apple’s Mac guide lists Renew DHCP Lease in the TCP/IP settings when the connection uses DHCP. On older macOS versions with System Preferences, the path is Network → Advanced → TCP/IP, as TP-Link’s guide describes.

iPhone, Android and Consoles

iPhone and iPad: Settings → Wi-Fi → tap the i next to your network. On iOS versions that show it, tap Renew Lease. If the option is missing, turn Wi-Fi off and on, or tap Forget This Network and join again — both make the phone request a new lease.

Android: there is no Renew button. Turn Wi-Fi off and on, or forget the network and reconnect. On many phones, turning airplane mode on and off does the same.

Game consoles, smart TVs, printers: restart the device, or disconnect and reconnect it to Wi-Fi in its network settings. See PS5 Wi-Fi and Nintendo Switch not connecting to Wi-Fi.

Every device at once: restarting the router makes all devices request new leases when they reconnect.

When Renewing Helps

It helps when:

• the device shows an address starting with 169.254 — it did not get an answer from the router and assigned itself one;
• the router was restarted or replaced and one device still has no internet;
• Windows reports an IP address conflict;
• you changed the router’s LAN or DHCP settings and want devices to pick up the new ones.

It does not help when the router itself has no internet, Wi-Fi is weak, or the problem is DNS or the provider. For those, see Wi-Fi connected but no internet and DNS server not responding.

If ipconfig /renew returns an error or hangs, the device cannot reach the router’s DHCP server: check the Wi-Fi connection or cable, restart the router, and make sure the adapter is not set to a static IP.

Getting a New Public IP Address

Renewing on your computer does not change your public IP — that is assigned to your router or modem by the provider. To see it, check what is my IP. Ways to get a new one:

• Restart the modem and leave it off for a while. Many providers keep the same address for a returning modem, so a quick restart often gives the same IP; a longer power-off sometimes yields a new one. Results vary by provider.
• Use your own router instead of the provider’s, or change its WAN MAC address, if your router supports MAC cloning — some providers tie the address to the device’s MAC.
• Ask the provider. They can change it, or offer a static IP for a fee.

If your public IP is in the 100.64–100.127 range, you are behind your provider’s shared NAT; see what is CGNAT.