I work online so I cannot have my computer arbitrarily changing IP address and kicking me off the internet. You could at least ask before like you do with updates or let us schedule a time to change that is convenient. I get the security concerns
[Edited by Moderator]
MacBook Air, macOS 15.2
Having re-read your post I think I might understand what you're saying. Are you referring to the Private WiFi address? If you are then the private address chooses a random MAC address per-connection to prevent your device being tracked across different networks. This private address can be set to fixed or rotating. If you set it to fixed it will still use different MAC addresses with different WiFi networks but will always use the same address on each network. If it's rotating then it will change every so often even on the same network. Make sure your private WiFi address is set to fixed or off.
If it is set as fixed or off and you're losing network connections then you've got a different problem and you should come back and describe what you're doing and what happens.
Having re-read your post I think I might understand what you're saying. Are you referring to the Private WiFi address? If you are then the private address chooses a random MAC address per-connection to prevent your device being tracked across different networks. This private address can be set to fixed or rotating. If you set it to fixed it will still use different MAC addresses with different WiFi networks but will always use the same address on each network. If it's rotating then it will change every so often even on the same network. Make sure your private WiFi address is set to fixed or off.
If it is set as fixed or off and you're losing network connections then you've got a different problem and you should come back and describe what you're doing and what happens.
Your Mac does not arbitrarily change its IP address. It is assigned its IP address by the router or other DHCP server that it is connected to. Most routers/DHCP servers only rotate IP address assignments (aka renew the lease) 1x/day and many home routers do not even do that (and even if they do, they often reassign the very same IP address to each connected device that it previously had).
While it is possible in System Settings to 'Renew the DHCP lease' you would have to do that manually and even then your Mac would immediately be given a new IP address, most likely the same one it had before.
If your Mac is being dumped off its internet connection, there is some other reason.
IPs are generally assigned by network’s DHCP server.
If you have a need for a non-changing IP, discuss this with the network’s system administrator; there are a couple of readily-configurable alternatives.
Q: "How can I prevent random IP reassignment on Apple devices for online work?"
A: Add your devices to your router's IP Bind List
Q: Will this fix the problem?
A: Unlikely. If your Mac is dropping connections then you need to find out why and fix that problem.
Re: “… If your Mac is being dumped off its internet connection, there is some other reason …”
+1
A mis-configured IP addressing conflict quickly comes to mind.
How can I prevent random IP reassignment on Apple devices for online work?
