Someone else is using my IP address? HELP!

Hi,


My wifi keeps turning on and off several times a day. When I hit "open network preferences" it says another device is using my IP address. I've turned the router on and off again many times but it's still happening. How do I make this stop?!

MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2013), iOS 9.2

Posted on Dec 18, 2015 2:27 AM

Reply
3 replies

Dec 18, 2015 8:30 AM in response to elocin8786

A

Most likely, the computer is getting a network address from a router. The address assignment ("lease") expires, and has to be renewed, after a certain amount of time, which might be one hour or one day. The lease expired without being renewed because the device was offline at the time. Meanwhile, the address was leased to another device on the network, or maybe the router hasn't updated its list of address leases. When the offline device comes back online, a conflict results. Depending on what kind of router you have, the conflict may resolve itself automatically. If not, then from the menu bar, select

System Preferences Network

If the preference pane is locked, click the lock icon in the lower left corner and enter your password to unlock it. Then click the Advanced button and select the TCP/IP tab. Now look at the menu labeled Configure IPv4. If the selection in that menu is Using DHCP, click the button labeled Renew DHCP Lease. Test.

Make sure you don't have more than one DHCP server on the network. That could happen if you have more than one Wi-Fi access point, or if you have both a router and a separate broadband device in connection-sharing mode.

B

Less likely, you have a network address that you assigned yourself, and another device is assigning itself the same address. In that case, the selection in the Configure IPv4 menu will be either Manually or Using DHCP with manual address. This kind of conflict won't be resolved automatically. You have the following options to resolve it:

  1. Change the menu selection to Using DHCP.
  2. Change the manually-assigned address to one that isn't being used by another device.
  3. Change the address of the other device.

Which of these options you should choose depends on the details of why you're using a static IP address. Any change you make to the network settings must be applied before it takes effect. To do that, click OK and then Apply.

If the router is also your broadband device, then it may be operating in bridge mode. In that case, only one client at a time will be able to connect to the Internet. Refer to the manufacturer's or ISP's documentation to find out how to reconfigure the device in connection-sharing mode.

C

According to a report a "DirectTV" receiver can cause the problem. If applicable, disconnect the device from the network, or power it off, and test. Refer to the service provider for support.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Someone else is using my IP address? HELP!

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