Record the address on the full report before you start, so you can tell whether anything happened.
Decide which address you mean
| Private address | Public address | |
|---|---|---|
| Example | 192.168.1.47 |
the address on this site |
| Assigned by | Your router | Your ISP |
| Change it by | Release and renew on the device | Modem downtime, MAC change, or a VPN |
| Fixes | Address conflicts, a stuck lease | Rate limits, blocked ranges, wrong geolocation |
Most people searching for this want the public one. Commands like ipconfig /renew change the private one and have no effect on what websites see.
Release and renew the private address
Windows. Open Terminal and run both commands:
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
macOS. System Settings, Network, select the interface, Details, TCP/IP, then Renew DHCP Lease. From the terminal:
sudo ipconfig set en0 DHCP
Linux with NetworkManager.
nmcli connection down "Wi-Fi" && nmcli connection up "Wi-Fi"
Or with dhclient directly:
sudo dhclient -r
sudo dhclient
iOS. Settings, Wi-Fi, the info button next to the network, then Renew Lease.
Android. Forget the network and rejoin it, or switch the saved network from DHCP to static and back.
Your router hands back the same address most of the time, for the same reason your ISP does: the DHCP server in RFC 2131 prefers to reissue a lease a client already held. To force a different one, delete the DHCP reservation for that device in the router, or change the device’s MAC address.
Change the public address by waiting out the lease
Your ISP leases you an address for a set period and renews it at the halfway point. As long as the router keeps renewing, the address stays. Break the renewal for long enough and the address returns to the pool.
- Note your current address.
- Unplug the modem or ONT, not just the router. Both if they are separate boxes.
- Leave it off for at least four hours. Overnight is more reliable.
- Power up, wait for the link to establish, and check the address again.
Lease durations vary from a couple of hours to a week, so this succeeds on some networks and not others. It is the only method that gets you a new address from your own ISP without changing anything else.
Change the WAN MAC address
Your ISP’s DHCP server identifies your router by its WAN MAC address. Present a different one and you are a new client, so you get a new lease immediately.
Look for MAC Address Clone, WAN MAC, or Spoof MAC in the router’s internet or WAN settings. Enter a different address, save, and let the WAN link reconnect. If the field offers a “clone from this computer” button, use it, then change it back later if you need the original.
This works on most cable and fibre networks. It does not work where the ISP authenticates the line itself, such as PPPoE with a username, or where the modem is provisioned to a specific hardware identifier on the operator’s side.
Ask the ISP
Support can force a new lease or move you to a different pool. This is the route to take if your current address is on a blocklist, because a new address from the same ISP is the actual fix and no amount of rebooting will produce it on some networks.
If your router’s WAN address starts with 100.64 through 100.127, you are behind carrier-grade NAT. Your public address is shared and may change several times a day on its own, and none of the steps above give you control over it.
Use a VPN when you need a specific address now
A VPN gives you a different public address in seconds and lets you pick the country. It is the only method here that produces a predictable result, and the only one that also encrypts the traffic on the way to the exit point.
Confirm it worked rather than trusting the client’s connected badge. On /vpn-check, four things need to agree: the IPv4 address belongs to the provider, IPv6 is either absent or also on the provider, DNS queries resolve from the provider’s resolver, and WebRTC exposes no address of your own. A tunnel that carries IPv4 while IPv6 goes direct is the most common failure, and it looks like success in the app. How DNS leak tests work explains the resolver half.
We compare VPN providers separately, using tests we ran ourselves rather than vendor claims.
What does not change your IP address
- Restarting the computer. It renews the same private lease.
- Clearing cookies or using private browsing. Neither touches the network layer.
- Changing DNS servers. Different resolver, same address.
- Changing the Wi-Fi password. Same WAN lease.
- A browser extension that says “IP changer”. Most are page-level proxies that cover one tab, or nothing at all. Test with /report in a fresh tab.
Questions people ask
- How long do I need to unplug the modem?
- Long enough for the DHCP lease to expire, which most ISPs set between a few hours and a week. Thirty seconds almost never works. Four hours works on many networks and overnight works on more.
- Why did my IP address not change after a reboot?
- The lease had not expired, so the DHCP server handed back the same address. Some ISPs also bind an address to the modem's hardware identifier and return it regardless of downtime.
- Can I choose which IP address I get?
- Not from your ISP. You can choose a country or a city through a VPN, and you can buy a specific static address on a business plan or from a hosting provider.
- Does changing my IP remove a ban from a website or game?
- Sometimes, and often not. Most services also key bans to an account, a device identifier, or a payment method. Evading a ban usually breaks the service's terms.
Related
Last reviewed 2026-09-04. Reviewed quarterly, or sooner when a vendor changes something.