Changing your IP address: router, device or proxy

In plain English: an IP address is the number a network uses to find your device, and you actually have two of them. Your local IP is handed out by your router and only matters inside your home or office network. It usually starts with 192.168 or 10. Your public IP comes from your internet provider, and it's the one every website sees. Changing one leaves the other exactly as it was, so the right method depends on which one you mean. This guide covers both, from a quick router restart to using a proxy when you want to pick the address and the country yourself.

Quick start in 3 steps

1. Write down your current public and local addresses (see the next section).
2. Pick a method: restart the router for a new public IP, renew or set the local IP on your device, or use a proxy to choose a public address and location.
3. Check again afterwards and compare with what you wrote down.

First, note your current addresses

Before you change anything, record what you have now so you can prove later that it changed. Our my IP lookup tool is the quickest way to see your public IP, along with its rough location and the network it belongs to. Your local IP lives in your computer's or phone's network settings, covered in the sections below. Note both down. That's your baseline.

A new public IP from your router

Most home broadband has a dynamic public IP: the address isn't fixed to you, and your provider can swap it whenever it likes. A proper modem restart is the traditional way to nudge it into doing so:

1. Unplug your modem or router from the power.
2. Wait at least 5 minutes, which gives your provider time to release the old address.
3. Plug it back in and let it reconnect fully.
4. Check our my IP tool again to see whether the public address has changed.

Results vary. Some providers keep you on the same address for days, and some give you a fixed one (called static), in which case a restart changes nothing. The release-and-renew trick you'll see further down works on the local address only, so it can't get you a new public one.

A new local IP on Windows

To renew your local address, or set one yourself, on Windows 11:

1. Open Settings > Network & internet.
2. Choose the connection you're using (Wi-Fi or Ethernet), then Hardware properties.
3. Beside IP assignment, click Edit. Choose Automatic (DHCP) to let the router decide, or Manual to type in a fixed local address.

DHCP is the system your router uses to hand out local addresses. To ask it for a fresh one from the command line, open Command Prompt and type these two commands:

ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew

A new local IP on a Mac

1. Open System Settings > Network.
2. Choose your connection and click Details.
3. Open the tab labelled TCP/IP.
4. Click Renew DHCP Lease, or set Configure IPv4 to Manually if you want a fixed local address.

Phones: Android and iPhone

On Android, go to Settings > Network & internet > Internet, tap the gear next to your Wi-Fi network, then open IP settings and choose Static to set a different local address. On an iPhone, open Settings > Wi-Fi, tap the info (i) icon beside your network, then Configure IP. When you're on mobile data rather than Wi-Fi, switching aeroplane mode (airplane mode on some phones) on and off again often makes the phone network hand you a new public address.

When a proxy is the better tool

A router restart is a bit of a lottery, and you get whatever address your provider feels like giving you. If you want to choose your public IP, change it whenever you like, or appear to be in a particular city or country, a proxy is the steadier tool. It sits between you and the website, so the site sees the proxy's address instead of yours.

With our service you get a host:port address plus a username and password. Many residential and mobile endpoints rotate by themselves, which means they hand you a different exit address on each request or after a set time. Choose the type that suits what you're doing:

• Datacenter proxies for speed and bulk work, where it matters less where the address comes from.
• Residential proxies when you want an address that belongs to an ordinary home connection.
• Mobile proxies for addresses from phone networks, which change on their own from time to time.
• Residential premium for the few sites that keep refusing standard residential addresses.

Setting up the proxy

On Windows, open Settings > Network & internet > Proxy, find Manual proxy setup, click Set up next to Use a proxy server, switch it on and enter the host and port. On a Mac, the route is System Settings > Network > Details > Proxies. Firefox keeps proxy settings of its own under Settings > Network Settings. After you save, you'll be asked for the username and password the first time you connect.

Want to see it working from code? This short Python script sends one request through the proxy and prints the address the website sees:

import requests

proxies = {
    "http": "http://USER:PASS@HOST:PORT",
    "https": "http://USER:PASS@HOST:PORT",
}

r = requests.get("https://api.ipify.org?format=json", proxies=proxies, timeout=20)
print(r.json())  # shows the proxy exit IP, not yours

Try it twice with a rotating endpoint and you should get two different addresses. You can also compare with our my IP tool, opened in a browser that uses the same proxy.

Check that the change really happened

Whatever method you used, check rather than assume. Open my IP to confirm the public address. If privacy is part of the reason and a VPN or proxy is involved, also run our DNS leak test to make sure your DNS look-ups (the step that turns website names into numbers) aren't quietly going to your own provider. An address that changed while DNS still leaks is only half a change.

Which method should I use?

For a one-off fix, such as a connection that's playing up, renewing the local address or restarting the router is usually enough. For anything you'll repeat, need to control precisely, or want to run across many requests, a proxy is steadier and far less frustrating. Our proxy line-up lists every type, and pricing shows what each costs.

Is this allowed?

Changing your own IP address is perfectly normal. Providers change them all the time, and nobody needs permission to restart a router. One thing to keep in mind: if a website has blocked you, getting a new address to carry on breaks most sites' terms. A new IP doesn't change the rules you agreed to, or the law where you live.

Beginner questions

Will a new IP address change my location?

Not with a router restart. Your new public address comes from the same provider in the same area. To appear somewhere else, you need a proxy or VPN in that place.

Is it bad to change my IP often?

It does no harm to your connection. Some websites may ask you to sign in again or confirm it's you when your address changes, which is normal.

Why didn't restarting my router change anything?

Either your provider gave you the same address back, or your connection has a static IP that never changes. Try waiting longer before plugging back in, or ask your provider.

Changing your IP is rarely the goal in itself. It's a way to get privacy, access or scale. Know your current address, choose the method that fits, and check the result before you rely on it.