How to Change your IP Address in Windows 10

Changing the Internet Protocol Address of your computer is an easy task. Though the technical jargons used may sound scary, the process is quite simple as it involves opening the right settings window and punching in a bunch of numbers, replacing the existing data. If you know what IP address is then you can jump to Steps on how to change IP address in Windows 10 by clicking on the link. If you want to read more about IP Address and what it does, then read on.

What is an Internet Protocol Address (IP Address)?

To understand more about IP addresses, think about your vehicle’s registration number. Each new car purchased gets a unique registration number from the traffic control to identify every vehicle. There could be a lot of identical cars on the street having the same make, model and color but the only factor that can distinguish between those cars is the unique license plate it carries on the front and the rear. Keep the above mentioned concept in mind, let us now come back to the IP address.

An IP address is a set of unique numbers assigned to your computer by your Internet Service Provider, which creates an exclusive identity of your machine on the World Wide Web. Although, you receive one IP address from your ISP, however, every device connected to your network has a different IP address. Two devices with the same IP cannot connect to each other or to the internet. However, there are different types of IP addresses, and we will discuss them in brief.

What are the Different Types of IP Addresses?

Public IP address. This type of IP address is assigned by your ISPs to your router and is visible to any devices connected to the internet.

Private IP address. When you connect a device to your router, it is automatically assigned a private IP address, and these are only visible to devices connected on the same network.

Dynamic IP address. As the name suggests, these IP addresses are temporary can not stay constant. There are generally used in homes and very small businesses and is a simple process of obtaining a dynamic IP from the router. Whenever a device connects to a network, an IP address by a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol Server, and the next time, the same device connects to the same network, it might be assigned a different IP address.

Static IP address. A static IP in Windows 10 is one which remains constant and does not change. It can be provided by your ISP for a charge. It is used in large organizations as a static IP facilitates, hosting websites, remote access to devices and networks and sharing large files. If you want to set up forwarding on your ports, you will require a static IP in Windows 10 and must specify the IP addresses. If the IP addresses change after a restart, the port forwarding will not work.

IPv4. IPv4 is the current standard that has been used across the globe since 1983. It has four sets of numbers separated by a period. An example of IPv4 address would look like 15.256.358.8

IPv6. IPv6 is the latest protocol which is being deployed around the world to replace the IPv4 mainly due to its chances of exhaustion as the number of devices connected to the internet are increasing exponentially. IPv6 is represented by 8 sets instead of 4 and each set containing a maximum of 4 hexadecimal digits as compared to IPv4’s 3 numerical digits. An example of IPv4 would look like: 2001:0fg8:6145:33t2:0000:0000:71ca:3et4

How can I find out my Internet Protocol Address?

If you want to find out the IP address assigned to you, then you can follow these steps:

Step 1. Type Command Prompt in the search box, located on the left-bottom corner of your taskbar.

Step 2. From the search results displayed in the Start Menu, right-click on the Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.

Step 3. Once the Command Prompt’s black and white window opens, type ipconfig /all in the window and press the enter key on your keyboard.

Step 4. A list of all the parameters of your Windows IP Configuration will be displayed.

The numbers displayed next to IPv4 is your IP address.

Also Read: How to check the IP address on my Smartphone?

Why Should I Change my IP address On Windows 10?

A home user may not need to change his IP address as it is not static and would change every timehe restarts his machine and connects to the Internet. However, it is required when working in a large organization like a college or a company. Your Network Administrator might ask you to change your IP address for the following reasons:

• Change in your organization’s network.
• Updating your company’s IP policies.
• IP address lease time has expired.
• The ISP you are subscribed to, changes their network infrastructure.
• Due to an unexpected failure in the network routing tables.

Also read: How To Setup And Manage An FTP Server On Windows 10?

Steps on How to Change IP Address in Windows 10.

Before you follow these steps to change your IP Address in Windows 10, make sure you have all the information on IPv4 Address along with the Subnet Mask, Default Gateway and DNS Server address. The details will be provided by your network administrator. The steps to change the IP address in Windows 10 are:

Step 1. Press Windows + I on your keyboard to open Windows Settings.

Step 2. From the various options, choose Network and Internet, and click once.

Step 3.  In the new window, click on Change Adapter Options.

Step 4. This will open the Network Connections window on your computer. Choose your connection icon and right-click on it. From the list of options that appear, choose Properties.

Step 5.  The Local Area Connection Properties window will appear. Locate an item in the list labeled as Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and double-click on it.

Step 6. This is the final window that has all the IP address settings. It is quite self-explanatory, and you need to enter the new numbers provided to you by your network administrator in the right boxes.

Step 7. Click OK and close the remaining open windows. These steps will enable you to change the IP address on Windows 10.

Your thoughts on Steps on How to Change IP Address in Windows 10.

As you can see from the above steps, it is very easy to change the IP address in Windows 10, provided you have the complete set of numbers which need to be inserted. When using a home network, all you need to do is to connect your device with the router using the correct credentials of your WIFI network. Your router takes care of assigning an IP address to your device and also takes care that no duplicate address is provided. It is only in a professional environment that you are required to know these settings and enter new static IP in Windows 10.