For Vista 1. Click Start 2. Click All Programs expand the Accessories menu 3.

In the Accessories menu, Right Click Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator 4. Type ipconfig /release and hit enter 5. Click Start, Control Panel, and open Network and Sharing Center. Depending on your view, you may have to click Network and Internet before you see the Network and Sharing Center icon 6. From the Tasks menu on the left, choose Manage Network Connections 7. Find and Right click on the active Local Area Connection and choose Properties (If youre hit with a UAC prompt, choose Continue) 8. Double-click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) 9. Click on Use the following IP address 10. Enter a false IP like 123.123.123.123 11. Press Tab and the Subnet Mask section will populate with default numbers 12. Hit OK twice 13. Right click the active Local Area Connection again and choose Properties 14. Double-click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) 15. Choose Obtain an IP address automatically 16. Hit OK twice 17. Go to What Is My IP to see if you have a new IP address Some people have inquired about manually assigning their IP address. This IS possible, but you run a very high risk of your ISP banning you from connecting to the internet. To manually change your IP, follow the steps above for your Operating System. In step 9 or 10, depending on your O/S, enter an IP similar to the one displayed in the command prompt window. For example, if the IP displayed in the command prompt window is 75.1.2.3, change yours to 75.1.2.4. Youll also need to manually enter the Subnet, Gateway and DNS Server IP addresses as well. If the new IP you give your computer doesnt work, chances are someone else on the ISP network has already been assigned that IP. Youll need to move on to the next one and keep trying until you find an open one. However, some ISPs match up your MAC or modem data to the IP thats been assigned. If those 2 things dont match up, you wont be able to connect no matter what. If your router gets the IP and not your computer, youll need to http in to your routers interface and manually assign the IP there. Its pretty much the same method as assigning the IP to your computer. The method that varies is in how you reach your routers interface. You can get the instructions from your manufacturers website. MAC Cloning. What is a MAC address? A MAC address is a physical hardware address assigned to each device that has the capability of connecting to a network. The internet is nothing more than a large network. The MAC address is something that is assigned in the chip on the device and is not something the user can change. MAC cloning can only be done at your router providing it has those capabilities. Most ISPs assign their IPs based on the MAC address in your equipment. If the MAC address of your router is 00-11-22-33-44-55 and you connect to your ISP, the DHCP server records your MAC and assigns an IP. If you disconnect from the ISP, you lose your IP address. The next time you connect, the DHCP server sees your MAC, looks to see if it has assigned an IP address to you before. If it has and the lease time has not expired, it will most likely give you the same IP address you had before disconnecting. Why clone a MAC address? New MAC address most likely equals new IP. How to clone your MAC and if your router has this feature is dependent on the router itself.

Youll need to find the instructions on the manufacturers website. We offer a Quick Reference List on our Router Support page. Please post any questions or comments in the Change My IP Address thread.