How to change the IP address on your Mac
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See “Another device is using your IP address” message on your Mac? Or you want a new online identity from an IP point of view to protect your privacy when surfing the Internet? Or you just need to access an online service that is not currently available in your country or region? Whatever the reason, you’ll want to know how to do it Change the IP address on your Mac. If so, then this article is for you!
In this article you will learn:
What is an IP address?
Internet Protocol (IP) address It is the unique number assigned to a network device (for example, a computer, smartphone, etc.) that is connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol to communicate. It’s like online identity. It identifies the IP address of every device across the Internet or network.
Most IP addresses are IPv4 addresses, which looks like a series of numbers separated by three dots. If you see an IP address that has a longer string of numbers and letters, and it’s divided by seven columns, it’s a different type of IP address called IPv6.
Here are some examples of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses:
Examples of IPv4 addresses: 192.168.0.254 31.13.69.169 27.148.139.136 Examples of IPv6 addresses: 2001: db8: 3333: 4444: 6666: 7777: 8888 2001: db8: 3333: 4444: CCCC: DDDD: EEEE: FFFF
Private IP address and public address
IP addresses are divided into public IP addresses and private IP addresses.
The private IP address is used for communication within the same (local) network. In limitations, the public IP address is used to communicate outside the local network. In other words, the public IP address is global.
If all of your devices are connected to the same wireless router in your home, they will share the same public IP address when you go online. However, their IP addresses are slightly different, and are usually assigned automatically by your wireless router when they connect to your home Wi-Fi.
In short, the public IP address is mainly provided by the ISP (Internet Service Provider), while the private IP address of every device in the same network is often assigned by a router. The range of private IP addresses that share the same public IP address is divided by the subnet mask.
Private IP address range
In accordance with the criteria set out in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) document RFC-1918, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) has reserved the following IPv4 address ranges for private networks, so they are not generally routable on the global Internet:
10.0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255 172.16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255 192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255
How to find the current IP address on your Mac
To view the current IP address of your Mac, you can go to System Preferences or open a file hall Implementation. And both methods are very simple.
To find your Mac’s current IP address via System Preferences:
The IP address you see in System Preferences is the Private IP address, which is only used on your local network. Most home networks use the same address range (starting with 192.168.xx). In contrast, your public IP is what the Internet Reset sees when any device on your home network connects to the Internet.
To find your Mac’s current public IP address, simply search Google “what’s my IP address”.
- On your Mac, click Apple قائمة menu and choose Syetem Preferences….
- click network.
- Select the network connection you want to view (such as Ethernet or Wi-Fi), then you can view the IP address of that network connection on the right.
To find your Mac’s current IP address through the Terminal app:
If you prefer to use the Ternimal app, follow the steps below to find your Mac’s current IP address:
The IP addresses you see in the Terminal app relate to private IP addresses. If you need to know your current public IP address, just Google “what’s my ip address”.
- On the keyboard, press command key And Void call up Highlighted search (If you are connecting a PC keyboard to a Mac, use the keyboard combination Windows logo key – Void instead), then type terminal and press Enters To open the Terminal app.
- To show the current IP address on the Ethernet connection, use the command ipconfig getifaddr en0.
- If you want to show the IP address on a Wi-Fi connection, use the command ipconfig getifaddr en1.
How to change your Mac’s IP address
Depending on what goal you want to achieve, you can change either the private address or the public IP address of your Mac.
In short, changing your Mac’s IP address only changes its IP address on your home network. However, after you change your Mac’s public IP address, you allow others on the Internet to see a different IP address on your Mac, which means you hide the original public IP address from others.
So, there are generally two methods that you can try:
Method 1: Use DHCP
If you only need to change the IP address of your Mac on your home/local network only, for example, you need to give your Mac a new local IP address to fix the IP conflict issue on your home network, you can use DHCP in System Preferences.
With DHCP on your home network, you usually don’t have to manually configure the IP address of your devices on your home network, because DHCP automates the process of configuring devices on an IP network, so you can avoid the phrase “Another device is using your IP address” (IP conflict).
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a network management protocol used on Internet Protocol networks in which a DHCP server automatically (dynamically) assigns IP addresses and other network configuration parameters to devices on IP networks. With DHCP, network devices can communicate with other IP networks.
To use DHCP on your Mac, follow these steps:
- On your Mac, go to System Preferences > New York.
- Select the network connection you want to use DPCH.
- for ethernet connection, tap on IPv4 Configuration Popup menu, choose using DHCP and click Progressing.
- for a Wi-Fi connection, click WIFI on the left, then tap advanced….
- Go to TCP / IP tab, click IPv4 Configuration Popup menu, choose using DHCP and click OK And Progressing.
Now, you have changed your Mac’s IP address on your local network!
Understood 2: Use a proxy server or VPN
Some websites and online services, such as games, music services, or video services, will block devices with IP addresses from certain regions. If you want to access those region-blocked services, you must change your public IP address to the one that appears to be from another region. After changing your IP address, you wear a mask when you visit those services that are blocked in the region, and the system will give you access.
You may also want to protect your online privacy when browsing the Internet. If so, changing your public IP address is a good choice because it can help protect your identity.
To change your public IP address, the simple solution is to use a proxy server or VPN. If you don’t have any proxy server, we recommend you to use VPN.
A VPN, or virtual private network, extends a private network across a public network, which enables you to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if your devices were connected directly to a private netwrok. VPN services are widely used to create encrypted and secure network connections. With a VPN, you can
- Encrypt your data on the Internet
- Securing your personal information when using public Wi-Fi
- Avoid tracking your ISP
- Unblock geo-restricted websites and online services
We don’t recommend these “free” VPNs, because free stuff always comes with a price. If you don’t know which VPN to use, we recommend NordVPN. NordVPN Client on macOS
Tips: If you have tried NordVPN and decided to sign up for the service, you can always find and get the latest NordVPN coupons and deals on the DE coupon website first before placing an order.
Hopefully, after reading this article, you have learned how to change the IP address on your Mac! If you have any questions or suggestions about it, feel free to leave us a comment below. Thanks for reading!
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Written by Justin Zeng
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