How to Change Your IP Address: 5 Ways, Step by Step

To change the IP address that websites see, send your traffic out through a different network. A VPN does this on any connection and lets you pick the country. Switching to mobile data, restarting your router, a proxy or Tor Browser can also work. To change the local address your router gives a computer, renew it in the Windows or macOS settings.

After any change, check the result with our what is my IP tool. Then test for leaks before you rely on the new address. Each step below follows the official documentation listed under Sources.

Public and local IP addresses

An IP address is the number that identifies a device or a connection on a network. Your devices use two kinds:

• Your public IP address is the one websites see. It belongs to your internet connection. On a home network, your devices usually share it.
• Your local IP address identifies one device inside your own network. Your router hands it out.

RFC 1918, the internet’s official guidance on private networks, sets aside three blocks of addresses for them:

• 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255
• 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255
• 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255

Any network can reuse these addresses, so they have no meaning on the wider internet. RFC 1918 says packets that carry them should not be passed between networks. Your router sits in between. It translates your devices’ traffic to its public address, a method called network address translation, or NAT. RFC 3022 describes how NAT can translate many addresses into a single one.

So in normal browsing, sites see your public address. Changing your local address hides nothing from them. The first five methods below change your public address. The last two change your local address.

Step by step: change your public IP with a VPN

A VPN app sends your traffic through an encrypted tunnel to a server the VPN company runs. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a digital rights group. It explains that “From a website’s point of view, it appears your location is wherever the VPN server is.”

1. Choose a provider and install its app. The provider sees your traffic instead of your internet provider. So pick one whose no-logs claims have been checked. Our VPN reviews record each provider’s audits.
2. Sign in and pick a server location. Choose the country you want to appear in.
3. Connect. Wait until the app says it is connected.
4. Check the new address. Open what is my IP. It should show the server’s address and country, not yours.
5. Change it again when you need to. Disconnect, then connect to a different server or country.

A VPN also hides your browsing from the Wi-Fi network and your internet provider. Our page on what a VPN does explains what it hides and what it does not. The EFF notes that video platforms increasingly block devices that appear to use a VPN. We have not yet tested streaming in our lab.

Step by step: switch to another network

Your public address belongs to the network you use, not to your device. Each internet provider gets its public addresses from an internet registry, as RFC 1918 notes. So a different network gives you a different address.

1. On a phone, turn off Wi-Fi. The phone then uses mobile data, and sites see your mobile carrier’s address.
2. On a laptop, join another network. Use a different Wi-Fi network, or connect to your phone’s hotspot.
3. Check the new address with what is my IP.

This method is free. The new address lasts only while you stay on that network, and you cannot choose its country.

Step by step: restart your router

A restart can only help if your internet provider gives you a dynamic address. DHCP is a standard system that hands out addresses automatically. Its specification, RFC 2131, describes three ways to assign an address:

• Automatic allocation gives a device a permanent address.
• Dynamic allocation lends an address for a limited time, called a lease.
• Manual allocation means an administrator chose the address.

A permanent or manually set address stays the same after a restart. If your plan includes a static IP address, only your provider can change it.

1. Note your current address with what is my IP.
2. Turn the router off. Use its power button, or unplug it.
3. Turn it back on. Wait until your devices are online again.
4. Check the address again.

Even with a dynamic address, nothing may change. RFC 2131 says a DHCP server “attempts to return the same network address each time the client requests an address”. If your old address is still free, the server should give it back. If the address stays the same, ask your provider whether your plan uses a static address. Or use one of the other methods.

Step by step: use a proxy

A proxy is a server that forwards your requests to websites. The HTTP standard, RFC 9110, describes a proxy as a forwarding agent that you choose, usually through local settings. Microsoft describes the same idea: a proxy server routes your internet traffic through an intermediary. Only the traffic you send to the proxy gets its address.

1. Get the proxy’s address and port from the service you use. A port is a numbered entry point on a server.
2. On Windows, open Settings, select Network & internet, then Proxy. Under Manual proxy setup, next to Use a proxy server, select Set up. Turn on Use a proxy server, enter the Proxy IP address and Port, then select Save.
3. On a Mac, choose Apple menu, then System Settings, then Network. Click your network service, click Details, then click Proxies. Turn on the proxy type you were given, such as Web proxy (HTTP), Secure web proxy (HTTPS) or SOCKS proxy. Enter the server address and port number.
4. Check the new address. Open what is my IP in the browser that uses the proxy.

Choose a proxy you trust. RFC 9110 notes that some proxies are designed to change content while they forward it. Our page on VPN vs proxy explains what else differs.

Step by step: use Tor Browser

Tor Browser sends your traffic through a chain of relays called a circuit. The Tor Project says that using the Tor network stops observers from discovering your exact location and IP address. Your connection often appears to come from an entirely different part of the world.

1. Download Tor Browser from torproject.org, the Tor Project’s own site, and install it.
2. Open it and connect to the Tor network.
3. Check the new address. Open what is my IP in Tor Browser.
4. Get another address for the site you are on. Open the main menu, the button with three lines, and choose New Tor Circuit for this Site. The Tor Project says this reloads the current tab over a new circuit.
5. Start fresh if you need to. Choose New Identity in the same menu. The Tor Project says it closes all your tabs and windows, clears cookies and browsing history, and uses new circuits for all connections.

Only Tor Browser’s traffic goes through Tor. Other apps and browsers keep your normal address, the Tor Project notes. It also strongly discourages changing how Tor picks its route, for example to choose a country. If you only need services from one country, it suggests a VPN instead. Our VPN vs Tor page compares the two.

Step by step: renew or change your local IP on Windows

These steps change only the address your router gives your PC. Websites will see no difference.

Renew the address

1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator. Search for Command Prompt in the Start menu, then select Run as administrator.
2. Type ipconfig /release and press Enter. Microsoft’s documentation says this releases the current address and discards it. Your connection drops until the next step.
3. Type ipconfig /renew and press Enter. Windows asks for an address again.
4. Type ipconfig and press Enter to see the result. Your local address is listed as the IPv4 address.

You may get the same address back. RFC 2131 tells a DHCP server to prefer the address a device had before.

Choose the address yourself

1. Open Settings, then Network & internet. For Wi-Fi, select Wi-Fi, then Manage known networks, then your network. For a wired connection, select Ethernet, then your network.
2. Next to IP assignment, select Edit. Choose Manual, then turn on IPv4.
3. Enter the IP address, Subnet mask and Gateway, then select Save. Use an address in your router’s range that no other device uses. Copy the subnet mask and gateway from the output of ipconfig.

Microsoft recommends Automatic (DHCP), which lets your router set the address for you. To undo the change, choose Automatic (DHCP) again.

Step by step: renew or change your local IP on a Mac

Renew the address

1. Choose Apple menu, then System Settings, then click Network in the sidebar.
2. Click the network service you use, such as Wi-Fi, then click Details.
3. Click TCP/IP, then click Renew DHCP Lease. Click OK to confirm.

Apple notes that Renew DHCP Lease is available only when the service uses DHCP. As on Windows, you may get the same address back.

Choose the address yourself

1. Open the same TCP/IP settings for your network service.
2. Open the Configure IPv4 menu. Choose Using DHCP with manual address and type the address you want. Or choose Manually and enter the IP address, subnet mask and router address.

To undo the change, set Configure IPv4 back to Using DHCP.

Expected result

After a public IP method, our what is my IP tool shows a new address:

• With a VPN, the address and country match the server you chose.
• On mobile data or another Wi-Fi network, it shows that network’s provider.
• In Tor Browser, it often shows another part of the world.
• After a router restart, it shows a new address only if your provider issued one.

The location shown is an estimate. The EFF describes an IP address as an indication of your general location, so a nearby city is normal.

After a local IP change, the public address stays the same. That is expected. On Windows, Microsoft says you can see your local address next to IPv4 address in your network’s settings.

Check for leaks

A new public address helps only if nothing reveals your old one. Two kinds of leak can do that:

• WebRTC is a browser feature for voice and video calls. RFC 8828 sets out how it should handle IP addresses. It warns that with a split-tunnel VPN, WebRTC can discover your internet provider’s public address as well as the VPN’s. Split tunneling sends some traffic outside the VPN. The RFC adds that when direct connections are allowed, WebRTC’s checks can bypass a proxy and reveal your public address. Run our WebRTC leak test.
• IPv6 is the newer format of IP address. If your VPN neither carries IPv6 traffic nor blocks it, that traffic leaves over your normal connection. Run our IPv6 leak test.

Our VPN check runs both tests and the address check on one page.

Troubleshooting

• The address did not change after a router restart. Your provider may have given you a static address, or its DHCP server handed back the one you had. RFC 2131 tells the server to return a device’s previous address while it is still free. Ask your provider, or use a VPN or another network.
• Your router’s own internet address is between 100.64.0.0 and 100.127.255.255. RFC 6598 reserves this block for providers that share public addresses through carrier-grade NAT. Your provider then translates your traffic to a public address on its own equipment. Restarting your router may not change the address that sites see.
• The VPN says it is connected, but the tool shows your real address. Check that your browser is not excluded by split tunneling. Then reconnect and turn on the app’s kill switch, which blocks traffic if the VPN connection drops.
• The WebRTC test shows your real address. Turn on the VPN app’s leak protection if it has one, and make sure split tunneling does not exclude your browser. The WebRTC leak test page lists browser settings that stop the leak.
• The IPv6 test shows a leak. Turn on IPv6 leak protection in your VPN app if it offers it. On a Mac, Apple’s TCP/IP settings let you set Configure IPv6 to Link-local only, which limits IPv6 traffic to the local network. The IPv6 leak test page covers other systems.
• ipconfig /renew fails. Microsoft notes that the command works only on adapters set to get an address automatically. If you entered a manual address, set IP assignment back to Automatic (DHCP) first.
• You have no internet after you set a manual address. The address may be outside your router’s range or already taken. Switch back to Automatic (DHCP) on Windows, or to Using DHCP on a Mac.
• A site blocks you or locks your account. The EFF notes that video platforms increasingly block VPN users. The Tor Project warns that banks and email providers might lock you out when you suddenly appear from another part of the world. For those sites, use a VPN server in your own country, or switch the VPN off while you use them.

Related

• What does a VPN do?
• VPN vs proxy
• VPN vs Tor
• What is a dedicated IP?
• Split tunneling explained
• How to change your Netflix region
• Is my VPN working? Leak check
• All VPN guides