Set IP my device-

Want to set up IP address on your device? Do you want to see learn how you can change your IP in 4 different ways? Why do we need it to use the internet? See what is the use of a VPN in changing your IP and protecting your privacy.

In this article, we are going to see what is an IP address and how we can check our IP and set IP my device. You can skip the first few sections if you are already aware of the IP address and where you can find it. But if not then we would recommend going through the sections carefully.

What’s an IP address?

In simple words, an IP address works like a mailing address where the IP number is the address of a computer. Just like how we write address (10600 North Tantau Avenue Cupertino, CA) on mails back in the day.

Now a little more technical definition, IP address stands for “Internet Protocol address” and helps identify devices using the internet to share information ‘to and from. Since the IP address is crucial for information sharing, every device has a unique IP address.

There are two types of IP addresses that we use daily:

IPv4: This is the previous version of the IP address and has a length of 32-bits.

IPv6: Whereas, it is the newer version of IP address with the increased length of 128-bit. This means that there are a lot more IPv6 addresses available to use to identify more and more new devices.

What’s IPv4?

This is the most common type of IP address which we use to identify devices and it consists of 4 numbers (192.43.78.64). These 4 numbers have the length of 32-bits, in computers 1-bit means 1 character.

Now we are going to see IPv4 in a more technical sense, so if you don’t want to know how more then you can skip this section.

Here each of the 4 numbers is represented by 8 binary digits, these 8 binary digits together are known as “octet”.

NOTE: Binary language is how computers process data which is in the form of 1s and 0s. Here a 1 means “on” and 0 means “off”. We can take the example of a light bulb if the bulb is off then it’s in a “0” state. And if the bulb is on then it’s in the “1” state.

Now we can use these 1s and 0s, to represent the numbers of the IP address so the computers can understand it. For example,

192 will be represented as “11000000” in binary language.

23 will be represented as “00010111” in binary language.

57 will be represented as “00111001” in binary language.

125 will be represented as “01111101” in binary language.

So if you look at the IP address as a whole, it will look like this:

11000000.00010111.00111001.01111101

What’s IPv6?

As we know that the number of devices is increasing day by day, and which device is connected to the internet needs a unique IP address. Due to this increase, IPv4 addresses were not enough to provide every device with a unique IP.

This is why IPv6 was introduced which consists of numbers and alphabet (alpha-numeric). And is double the length of IPv4, which increases the total IP address from 4,294,967,296 (2³²) to 3.4 x 10³⁸ (340 trillion trillion trillion).

Due to this increased capacity and other advantages, most of the tech companies are adopting IPv6 over IPv4. And you should know that, unlike IPv4, IPv6 is not going to have an IP address shortage anytime soon.

How can I find my computer’s IP address?

It’s very easy to find your IP address, we just need to follow a few simple steps to get it. Here we are going to see different methods you can use to get the IP address. Follow the steps mentioned below to get your IP address:

Google method

This is the easiest and fastest way to find your IP address. Simply open Google Chrome or any other browser and search for “What’s my IP address?”. You can select any website you want, and get your IPv4 as well as IPv6 address.

Windows 10/11 method

If you are using Windows, then you can follow this method for getting your IP address. But we would recommend using the Google method to get your IP address faster. Follow the steps mentioned below to get it:

1. Start your Windows device and press the “Windows” key.
2. Once the menu opens, search for “Command Prompt” or “Windows PowerShell”.
3. Once the terminal opens, type “ipconfig” and hit enter.
4. Now you should be able to the IPv4 and IPv6 addresses along with other network information.

OR

1. Start your Windows device and press the “Windows” key.
2. Once you see the menu, search for “Settings” and open it.
3. From the Settings app, open “Network & Internet”, but if you are not able to see it then search for it.
4. Inside the Network & Internet, select either “WiFi or Ethernet” and then select the network which you are using.
5. Now scroll down and you should be able to see your IP address and the DNS you are connected to.

Why should I consider changing my IP address?

The main reasons for set up IP address of my device are security and browsing privacy, but your reason may be different. Aside from changing the IP address for security, we may need to change it for troubleshooting. The most common example would be reconfiguring networks or routers where we may need to manually set it. Or reset the IP address to remove a glitch from your network which is not allowing you to access the internet.

Another most popular reason for changing the IP address is to stream the content from the different region which is not available in your region. The most common example is using a VPN to change your IP and stream content on Netflix from a different country. Or using an IP that is closer to the game server to reduce the ping. Reduced ping will increase the game performance when playing multiplayer games. Or maybe a certain app or service is not available in your region.

How to Set IP on my device- 4 easy ways?

Now we are going to see how we can set up or change our IP address in different ways on device. Changing IP addresses is easy and completely safe involving only a few simple steps. However, keep in mind not to impersonate anyone since it may be illegal in your country under cyber laws.

NOTE: Changing the IP address will reset your network, which means that your internet will stop for a few seconds. So we would recommend streaming content or doing your work after changing your IP address.

Also, you should keep in mind that VPNs have certain policies for commercial use of their product. So you should read their user policy and other important policies provided by them. These policies are changed frequently and you should stay updated if you are using if for business purposes.

Change IP with a VPN or proxy server

This is perhaps one of the best ways you can change your IP and it will allow you to change your IP multiple times with a button tap.

If you don’t know what is a VPN then don’t worry as we got you covered. VPN stands for “Virtual Private Network” and it allows you to change your IP with the help of proxy servers. These proxy servers act as your butler, you demand a website and it goes fetch it. And the best thing about proxy servers is that the websites will see the server’s IP and your real IP will be hidden.

With the help of VPNs, you can virtually be in any country or region without doing any manual work. Here we are not going to discuss the in-depth working of VPNs, check out our other articles.

If you are new to VPN then we would recommend going with a free version to get familiar with the experience. However, we would not recommend using a free VPN to protect your privacy. Since these free VPNs collect your online activity and sell it to advertisers. Here are some of the VPNs we would recommend using:

• Surfshark: If you want the feature-packed VPN service, then it’s your pick. This VPN provides long-term plans with complementary months for a long commitment. We would suggest you give it a try.
• ExpressVPN: If budget is not a problem and you want the best VPN service which is fast and reliable. Then you should go for the Express VPN.
• NordVPN: It’s reliable and does the work without overwhelming us with too many options. This is suited for casual users who want quick VPN services.
• IPVanish: This is a flexible and beginner-friendly VPN, if you are new to VPNs then we would recommend going for it.

Change your IP address by unplugging the router

This may seem weird but you can change your current IP address by unplugging the router and plugging it back in. However, this depends on your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and how long it takes for them to assign a new IP. We would recommend plugging out the router for 5 minutes first and checking if the IP changed. If it’s not changed then try for 10 minutes and then for 15 minutes.

Here we are trying to perform the “IP-assigning” part from your ISP. Once you disconnect the router for a certain time and reconnect to the internet. Your router will be treated as a new connection and assigned a new IP address. This is not the most efficient way of getting a new IP but it’s the easiest way of doing it. We would recommend not using this way since some IPS will not assign a new IP for 5-15 minutes of disconnection. Depending on your ISP, the time for assigning new IP may vary from 10 minutes to a few hours.

Also Read: Hey Google open assistant settings

Automatically update your IP address on Mac, iOS, Windows, and Android

The steps for each device will be different, so you should skip to the device you are using. Follow the simple steps to set IP on my device to protect your browsing privacy.

For macOS:

1. Start your Mac and click on the “Apple icon” at the top left corner of the screen.
2. After clicking you should see the menu, click on “System Preferences”.
3. From the new page click on “Network” and then clock on “Advanced”.
4. Now click on “TCP/IP” which should be at the top of the screen.
5. After opening it, click on “Renew DHCP Lease” located at the right side of the window.

For iOS:

1. Open your iPhone and open “Settings” and from there tap on “Network”.
2. From here select the network you are currently using. Now tap on “Configure IP” which should be under the IPv4 section.
3. Once done, select “Automatic” you are all done.

For Windows 10:

1. Start your desktop and press the “Win + R” key combination at the same time.
2. After pressing a dialog box should open, type cmd and press Enter.
3. A command prompt should open, type “ipconfig /release” (including space after config).
4. Press enter and some text will be zoomed by, once it stops you are all done.

For Android:

1. Open your Android phone and head over to “Settings”.
2. Once you are in settings, look for “Connections” and tap on it.
3. Now tap on “Wi-Fi” and then select the network you are currently using.
4. Once you pick the network, click on the “gear-shaped” icon beside the name of the network.
5. Your network will be shown now and then tap on “Forget” (trash-icon). Remember to save the WiFi password for later use.
6. Once you disconnect from the network, reconnect and your IP will be changed.

Manually change your IP address

Follow the steps mentioned below to Set IP my device manually:

For macOS:

1. Startup your mac and head over to “System Preferences” and then select “Network”.
2. From there click on “Configure IPv4” and then select “Manually”. After it, type in the IP that you want to use.

For iOS:

1. Open your iPhone and open “Settings” and from there tap on “Wi-Fi”.
2. From here select the network you are currently using. Now tap on “Configure IP” which should be under the IPv4 section.

For Windows:

1. Open your desktop and open the Administrator account and then click on “Start”.
2. Select “Control Panel” and then select “Network Connection”.
3. Now click on your local area connection and then click on “Properties”.
4. Click on “TCP/IP” and now type in your new IP address manually.

For Android:

1. Open your Android phone and head over to “Settings”.
2. Once you are in settings, look for “Connections” and tap on it.
3. Now tap on “Wi-Fi” and then select the network you are currently using. Once you pick the network, click on the “gear-shaped” icon beside the name of the network.
4. Your network will be shown now and then tap on “Advanced”.
5. Now tap on “IP Settings” and then select “Static”.
6. You will be redirected to a new screen where you need to enter your IP address manually.

Summary

In the article, we saw what is an IP address and why we need it to communicate with other devices over the internet. Also, we saw how we can set up our IP address with different methods on your device. Along with this, we also saw what is a VPN and why you should consider using it.