How To Change Your IP Address in 2024

If you have an internet connected device, it has a series of numbers associated with it. These numbers are collectively called an IP (internet protocol) address and are unique for every device. Your IP address, whether it’s in the older IPv4 format (e.g., 69.63.176.13) or the newer IPv6 format (e.g., 2001:0000:3238:DFE1:0063:0000:0000:FEFB), identifies you on a network.

For reasons like privacy, increased security, or access to content, you may ask “how to change my IP address?” This article covers how to go about doing it using four methods. The easiest is to use a VPN to change your IP address because VPN providers make apps that are incredibly easy to use; you’ll get a new IP address with a press of a button. Other options include going through a proxy server, refreshing your address from the router, and editing some settings on your device.

Don’t worry! It’s completely legal and worth your while.

Why Change Your IP address?

Changing your IP address offers a number of security and convenience related advantages over using your previous IP address. These include:

• Privacy: Your public IP address is the closest your device has to a unique ID on the internet. So hackers, web trackers, and spies can access your IP to view your online activity. Changing your IP address helps to stop this from happening.
• Access: Streaming services like Netflix change their content library from country to country based on market needs and local laws. This is also true of sports broadcasts, news organizations, and more. Changing your IP address can give you access to a much wider range of content and is especially useful if you frequently travel to georestricted areas.
• Internet Freedom: Governments are increasingly blocking citizens from accessing the free internet. If you’re in Canada and want to view Singaporean internet, you can change your IP address with a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to get past government firewalls.
• Troubleshooting: In some instances, gamers can improve their ping time and avoid being banned from a gaming server. Changing your IP address can also fix a common problem of new routers giving devices the wrong IP address the first time.

While it feels like a “hacker” tip, getting a new IP address is legal in most jurisdictions, including Canada and the United States.

Change Your IP Address Using a VPN

The best way to change your IP address is by encrypting and routing it through a different country using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). It’s like a tunnel for your data that hides your IP address to everyone including your ISP. Each packet of data is wrapped with an outer packet, which is then encrypted.

The key to getting great VPN protection is to opt for a paid service. The free ones usually shouldn’t be trusted, whereas the best VPNs take great care to keep your data safe from not only the provider itself, but also hackers.

Popular paid VPNs don’t have to be expensive. Some of the best cheap VPNs have the same great feature as the more expensive options. Just be aware of the downsides. Using a VPN can make your internet connection slower (tip: always pick a server closest to you), some companies block them, so a VPN could prevent you from accessing financial institutions and streaming services like Netflix.

Also, be acutely aware of how the VPN works on the business side. Some providers, especially the free ones, only make money when they deliver ads to you or when they sell your browsing data. Do some digging into the VPN provider’s privacy policy and terms so you can get a very clear picture as to how they handle your data. 

If you’re not sure which VPN to pick to change your IP address, we’ve done the heavy lifting already; check out our reviews of Surfshark and NordVPN. Others like ExpressVPN are also great client-side consumer VPNs.

Change Your IP Address Using a Proxy Server

Usually you connect to a website directly from your router. However, proxy servers act as intermediaries by giving you a fake IP address. They are similar to VPNs as they can bypass firewalls and increase security. VPNs are better as they encrypt your data, making your web experience slower but even safer.

Proxy servers come in different varieties like HTTP/S proxies, SOCKS proxies, and SSH proxies, each with their own use case.

If you’re interested in this IP-changing technique, head over to our full review of Smartproxy.

Reset Your Router to Change Your IP Address

The cheapest and fastest way to change your IP address is by restarting your router. If you unplug your router for at least 5 minutes and plug it back in, your IP address will likely change.

There are actually two kinds of IP addresses that can change using this method: your public-facing, external IP address (the one websites see) and your local, private IP addresses used by your computers, phones, etc.

If rebooting your router didn’t change your IP address, there’s one more thing you can try before heading into the next method below. Log in to your router’s administrator dashboard and look for a Release or Renew button. Pressing this should get you a new public IP address unless your ISP has assigned you with a static IP address (then, the only way to change it is to contact your ISP).

Change Your IP Address Manually

When you reboot your router to change your IP address, it works because you have a dynamic IP address (i.e., one that changes). If your devices are set up to use static IP addresses, you can change them manually right from your device. Here’s how:

On a Windows 11 device

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Select Network & internet from the menu.
3. Select Wi-Fi (or Ethernet if you’re using that connection type).
4. Click Hardware properties.
5. Choose Edit next to More adapter options.
6. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4).
7. Choose Properties.
8. Select use the following IP address.
9. Enter the new IP address you want to use.
10. Press Save.

On a Windows 10 device

1. Log in to an administrator account.
2. Go to Start and click on Settings.
3. Click Network & Internet.
4. If you have a Wi-Fi connection, click Manage known networks.
5. Pick your network and click Properties.
6. Under IP assignment, click Edit.
7. Under Edit IP Settings, select Manual.
8. If you want to edit your IPv4 address, turn on IPv4. If you want to edit your IPv6 address, turn on IPv6.
9. Change your preferred IP address and click Save.

On a MacOS device

1. Go to System Preferences. Click the Network icon.
2. Click Advanced on the bottom right.
3. Click the TCP/ IP tab.
4. If you want to change your IPv4 address, select the drop-down box for Configure IPv4 and select “Manually.”
5. If you want to change your IPv4 address, select the drop-down box for Configure IPv4 and select “Manually.”
6. Enter the new IP address. Click OK.

On an iPhone

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Select Wi-Fi.
3. Tap the “i” icon next to the Wi-Fi network you’re using.
4. Choose Configure IP.
5. Select Manual.
6. Enter a new IP address.
7. Tap Save.

On an Android

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Network & internet.
3. Select Internet.
4. Tap the gear/settings next to the Wi-Fi network.
5. Tap the pencil/edit button at the top.
6. Choose Advanced options.
7. Tap DHCP and select Static.
8. Change the IP address and tap Save.

Use Tor to Change Your IP Address

Tor Browser is an ultra secure web browser that encrypts your data three times and sends it randomly through different nodes before it reaches its destination. Tor also hides your IP address in addition to preventing tracking through cookies and targeted advertisements.

Unfortunately, all that encryption and decryption also means that Tor is significantly slower than a more mainstream browser like Chrome. Also, the security of the network depends on the security of the middle nodes.

Conclusion

Personal privacy and security is becoming ever more perilous with each passing day. It is important for you to know what informed steps you can take to maintain your autonomy. Changing your IP address is necessary but not sufficient to stay safe online.

A paid VPN is still the best option to dissuade your boss, your ISP, hackers etc. from hijacking your computer. Choose wisely.