how to set static ip router

How to Set a Static IP Address

August 2021

There are many reasons that you may need to change and set a static IP address for your IP device, such as a managed switch , wireless router , or outdoor access point . One reason is because an installation scenario doesn’t have an active network with DHCP services. Some other reasons you may need to set a static IP are because you use a dedicated web server, host server, VPN, or VoIP services.

Setting static IP addresses can help to avoid network conflicts which could cause certain devices to stop working correctly. However, in most installation scenarios, users will use a regular network and will not need to use a static IP. Setting a static IP address is an advanced networking function, and a basic, fundamental knowledge of TCP/IP is needed.

In general, statically address devices outside of your DHCP pool range, which in most home networks is your router . For reference, the DHCP pool range for TRENDnet products is usually (but not always) 192.168.10.101 to 199.

1. Access the Control Panel

In the Windows search bar, type in “ncpa.cpl” and then press enter.

If you are not using Windows 10, follow the steps below instead.

On your keyboard, press the “Windows” and “R” keys at the same time.
Enter “ncpa.cpl” in the window that pops up.

Note: Network connections will display the network adapters that are currently connected to your computer.

2. Select the Network Adapter

Right click on the network adapter that is currently connected to the device that you are trying to configure. Usually, it will be the adapter with the word “Ethernet” in the name.

3. Select Properties

Select “Properties” from the drop-down menu.

4. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)

Double-click on “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)”.

5. Manually enter IP address and subnet mask

Select “Use the following IP Address” and then input the following information in the corresponding fields:

IP address: Check the device that you are connected to in order to locate the IP address. The first three sets of digits should match. For this tutorial, we will use IP address 192.168.10.10.

Subnet mask: The subnet mask between the device that you are trying to connect to needs to be the same as your PC. For this tutorial, we will use subnet mask 255.255.255.0

Manually enter IP address and subnet mask

6. Save Settings

Click the OK button on “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties” window, and also click the OK button on “Ethernet Properties” window.

Note: The OK buttons must be clicked in both instances or your settings will not be saved.

7. Revert Back to DHCP

To set your computer back to DHCP, repeat steps 1-4 again. When you get to the “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties” window, click “Obtain an IP address automatically”. This will allow your PC to be assigned a random IP address on your network.

Operating System The operating system (often shortened to OS) is the software your computer or mobile device uses to perform basic functions. Microsoft Windows, Apple macOS, and Linux are the most popular operating systems for computers and laptops, with Android and iOS for mobile devices.

Browser A browser (short for web browser) is a software application that allows you to access the internet. Some of the most popular browsers are Chrome, Safari, Edge, Internet Explorer, and Firefox.

Network Adapter A network adapter allows a device to communicate and connect to a local area network (LAN), the internet, or other computers. Network adapters can be wired or wireless , and they can be visible or hidden from plain sight.

IP Address An IP address is a unique identifier for devices that access the internet or devices on a local area network. It uses a string of numbers and/or letters with periods or colons. To identify your IP address, type “what is my ip” into a search engine, like Google or Bing. You can also visit whatismyipaddress.com or whatismyip.com .

Dynamic IP address A dynamic IP address is an IP address that can change over time. Your IP address may change each time you connect. Most IP address assigned by your ISP will be dynamic IP addresses.

Static IP address A static IP address (also referred to as a manual IP address or static IP configuration) is an IP address that remains unchanged over time. Your IP address remains the same (or static) each time you connect (from the same location). Your IP address may change if you connect to a different network in a different location.

How-To Geek

How to set static ip addresses on your router.

Routers both modern and antiquated allow users to set static IP addresses for devices on the network, but what's the practical use of static IP addresses for a home user? Read on as we explore when you should, and shouldn't, assign a static IP.

Quick Links

Dhcp versus static ip assignment, when to use static ip addresses, assigning static ip addresses the smart way.

Dear How-To Geek, After reading over your five things to do with a new router article , I was poking around in the control panel of my router. One of the things I found among all the settings is a table to set static IP addresses. I'm pretty sure that section is self explanatory in as much as I get that it allows you to give a computer a permanent IP address, but I don't really understand why? I've never used that section before and everything on my home network seems to work fine. Should I be using it? It's obviously there for some reason, even if I'm not sure what that reason is! Sincerely, IP Curious

To help you understand the application of static IP addresses, let's start with the setup you (and most readers for that matter) have. The vasty majority of modern computer networks, including the little network in your home controlled by your router, use DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). DHCP is a protocol that automatically assigns a new device an IP address from the pool of available IP addresses without any interaction from the user or a system administrator. Let's use an example to illustrate just how wonderful DHCP is and how easy it makes all of our lives.

Related: How to Set Up Static DHCP So Your Computer's IP Address Doesn't Change

Imagine that a friend visits with their iPad. They want to get on your network and update some apps on the iPad. Without DHCP, you would need to hop on a computer, log into your router's admin panel, and manually assign an available address to your friend's device, say 10.0.0.99. That address would be permanently assigned to your friend's iPad unless you went in later and manually released the address.

With DHCP, however, life is so much easier. Your friend visits, they want to jump on your network, so you give them the Wi-Fi password to login and you're done. As soon as the iPad connected to the router, the router's DHCP server checks the available list of IP addresses, and assigns an address with an expiration date built in. Your friend's iPad is given an address, connected to the network, and then when your friend leaves and is no longer using the network that address will return to the pool for available addresses ready to be assigned to another device.

All that happens behind the scenes and, assuming there isn't a critical error in the router's software, you'll never even need to pay attention to the DHCP process as it will be completely invisible to you. For most applications, like adding mobile devices to your network, general computer use, video game consoles, etc., this is a more than satisfactory arrangement and we should all be happy to have DHCP and not be burdened with the hassle of manually managing our IP assignment tables.

Although DHCP is really great and makes our lives easier, there are situations where using a manually assigned static IP address is quite handy. Let's look at a few situations where you would want to assign a static IP address in order to illustrate the benefits of doing so.

You need reliable name resolution on your network for computers that need to be consistently and accurately found. Although networking protocols have advanced over the years, and the majority of the time using a more abstract protocol like SMB (Server Message Block) to visit computers and shared folders on your network using the familiar //officecomputer/shared_music/ style address works just fine, for some applications it falls apart. For example, when setting up media syncing on XBMC it's necessary to use the IP address of your media source instead of the SMB name.

Any time you rely on a computer or a piece of software to accurately and immediately locate another computer on your network (as is the case with our XBMC example - the client devices need to find the media server hosting the material) with the least chance of error, assigning a static IP address is the way to go. Direct IP-based resolution remains the most stable and error free method of communicating on a network.

You want to impose a human-friendly numbering scheme onto your network devices. For network assignments like giving an address to your friend's iPad or your laptop, you probably don't care where in the available address block the IP comes from because you don't really need to know (or care). If you have devices on your network that you regularly access using command line tools or other IP-oriented applications, it can be really useful to assignment permanent addresses to those devices in a scheme that is friendly to the human memory.

For example, if left to its own devices our router would assign any available address to our three Raspberry Pi XBMC units. Because we frequently tinker with those units and access them by their IP addresses, it made sense to permanently assign addresses to them that would be logical and easy to remember:

The .90 unit is in the basement, the .91 unit is on the first floor, and the .92 unit is on the second floor.

You have an application the expressly relies on IP addresses. Some applications will only allow you to supple an IP address to refer to other computers on the network. In such cases it would be extremely annoying to have to change the IP address in the application every time the IP address of the remote computer was changed in the DHCP table. Assigning a permanent address to the remote computer prevents you from the hassle of frequently updating your applications. This is why it's quite useful to assign any computer that functions as a server of any sort to a permanent address.

Before you just start assigning static IP addresses left and right, let's go over some basic network hygiene tips that will save you from a headache down the road.

First, check what the IP pool available on your router is. Your router will have a total pool and a pool specifically reserved for DHCP assignments. The total pool available to home routers is typically 10.0.0.0 through 10.255.255.255 or 192.168.0.0 through 192.168.255.255 . Then, within those ranges a smaller pool is reserved for the DHCP server, typically around 252 addresses in a range like 10.0.0.2 through 10.0.0.254. Once you know the general pool, you should use the following rules to assign static IP addresses:

Never assign an address that ends in .0 or .255 as these addresses are typically reserved for network protocols. This is the reason the example IP address pool above ends at .254.
Never assign an address to the very start of the IP pool, e.g. 10.0.0.1 as the start address is always reserved for the router. Even if you've changed the IP address of your router for security purposes , we'd still suggest against assigning a computer.
Never assign an address outside of the total available pool of private IP addresses. This means if your router's pool is 10.0.0.0 through 10.255.255.255 every IP you assign (keeping in mind the prior two rules) should fall within that range. Given that there are nearly 17 million addresses in that pool, we're sure you can find one you like.

Some people prefer to only use addresses outside of the DHCP range (e.g. they leave the 10.0.0.2 through 10.0.0.254 block completely untouched) but we don't feel strongly enough about that to consider it an outright rule. Given the improbability of a home user needing 252 device addresses simultaneously, it's perfectly fine to assign a device to one of those addresses if you'd prefer to keep everything in, say, the 10.0.0.x block.

Related: How and Why All Devices in Your Home Share One IP Address

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How do I manually assign a static IP address to my NETGEAR router?

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Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) automatically assign an IP address to your router when it connects to the Internet. However, some ISPs require you to manually assign a static IP address to your router in order to connect to the Internet.

If you want to reserve an IP address for a device connected to your router, see How do I reserve an IP address on my NETGEAR router?

To manually assign a static IP address to your NETGEAR router:

Launch a web browser from a computer or mobile device that is connected to your router’s network.
Enter http://www.routerlogin.net . A login window displays.
Enter the router user name and password. The user name is admin . The password is the one that you specified the first time that you logged in. The user name and password are case-sensitive. The BASIC Home or Dashboard page displays.
Select Internet (most NETGEAR routers) or Settings (Pro Gaming routers). The Internet Setup page displays.
In the Internet Address section, select Use Static IP Addresses .
Enter the IP address , IP subnet mask , and the Gateway IP address that your ISP assigned to you.
Click or tap Apply . Your settings are saved.

For more information:

What is an IP address?

Last Updated:03/14/2023 | Article ID: 20486

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Computers and Electronics

How to Configure a Static Internet Protocol (IP) Address on a Computer

Last Updated: June 21, 2023 Tested

Finding Your Addresses on Windows

Finding your addresses on mac, setting a static ip address, expert q&a.

This article was written by Stan Kats and by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd . Stan Kats is a Professional Technologist and the COO and Chief Technologist for The STG IT Consulting Group in West Hollywood, California. Stan provides comprehensive technology solutions to businesses through managed IT services, and for individuals through his consumer service business, Stan's Tech Garage. Stan holds a BA in International Relations from The University of Southern California. He began his career working in the Fortune 500 IT world. Stan founded his companies to offer an enterprise-level of expertise for small businesses and individuals. The wikiHow Tech Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work. This article has been viewed 459,955 times.

This wikiHow teaches you how to set a static IP address for your computer within your Wi-Fi network. A static IP address won't change when your router or computer reboots, making it useful for remote operation and website hosting. Static IP addresses can also prevent connection issues on routers to which several items are connected.

Things You Should Know

Begin by finding your addresses on Windows or Mac. You are looking for the "Default gateway" address on Windows, and the "Router" number on a Mac.
Enter the number into a web browser, and log in if necessary. Then, find your computer in the list of connected devices and click on it. Then, click Reserve .

If you don't see this link, scroll down. You may also need to click the About tab in the upper-left corner of the window.

You can also right-click the Start icon in the lower-left corner of the screen.

Close the Advanced window.
Click ⋮⋮⋮⋮ in the upper-left side of System Preferences.
Click Sharing .
Note the "Computer Name" entry at the top of the window.

If you didn't set a username and/or password, you'll probably need to use the factory credentials found either in the router's manual or on the router itself.

Step 4 Find the list of connected Internet items.

For example, some routers place the Connected Devices button on the main page, while other router pages require you to click Settings or Advanced to see the list of connected items.

Again, your router's page may show a different option here.
If prompted to confirm your choice or specify an unused IP address, do so before proceeding.

You may need to restart your computer for the changes to take place, and the router may reboot as well.

You shouldn't have to set a static IP address unless you're hosting a website, setting up a computer for remote access, or using an FTP server. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Attempting to use the IP address of another connected item will either result in an error or kick the item off of the network. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

↑ Stan Kats. Cybersecurity Expert. Expert Interview. 16 July 2021.

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How to configure Static Routing on your modem

Static Routing allows you to add routers manually to the routing table.

Important note: If a change or a failure occurs between two nodes, traffic will not be rerouted until the problem is resolved by the administrator.

1. Connect a device to your network over WiFi or using an Ethernet cable connected to your modem. This works best on a tablet or computer.

2. Open a web browser and type http://192.168.0.1 into the web address field.

Screenshot of URL for modem settings site

3. Sign in to the modem settings (GUI) using your Admin Username and Admin Password , printed on the sticker.

Find the Admin Username & Password on the modem sticker

modem label - admin username and password

You can find the Admin Username and Password printed on the sticker attached to the side, back or bottom of the modem.

CAUTION! Do not remove your modem sticker. It includes your default Admin Username and Admin Password , which cannot be retrieved if lost. Your modem could become unusable without them.