If you are experiencing trouble with your network connection and have it configured to DHCP then, figuring out your IP address can be quite a task. Using Static IP Address helps avert IP address conflicts between networked devices and enables their easy management. This article will show you how to assign a static IP address on a Windows 10 computer.
Assign a static IP address in Windows 10
In most cases, the IP addresses for PCs or computers is automatically configured to Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) by the respective router. This is useful as the devices connect to your network instantly. You save the trouble of manually configuring the IP address for each new device yourself. However, there’s one shortfall associated with the process – The device’s IP address can change from time to time.
Setting a static IP may be required if you regularly share files, share a printer or when configuring Port forwarding.
We will see three methods to do it:
- Via Control Panel
- Via Windows Settings
- Using PowerShell.
1] Setting a static IP address via Control Panel
Right-click the network (or Wi-Fi) icon visible on Windows 10 Taskbar.
From the list of 2 options displayed, select the latter one – Open Network and Internet settings.
Go to Wi-Fi settings and scroll down a bit to locate ‘Related Settings’ section. When found click on the ‘Change adapter options’ link visible there.
Instantly, a separate window will open and direct you to the Network Connections section of the Control Panel.
Right-click the network connection you need to set a static IP-address for and select ‘Properties‘ option.
After that, select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) seen under ‘Networking’ tab and hit the ‘Properties’ button.
Switch the selector to ‘Use the following IP address’.
Now make the entry for the following fields, corresponding to your network setup.
- IP address (Find it using ipconfig /all command)
- Subnet Mask (On a home network, it is 255.255.255.0)
- Default Gateway (It is your router’s IP address.)
In the end, do not forget to check ‘Validate settings upon exit’ option. It helps Windows to quickly check your new IP address and other relevant information to ensure that it works.
If all looks good, press the ‘OK’ button and close out of the network adapter’s properties window.
2] Assign Static IP Address via Settings
Click Settings icon and choose ‘Network & Internet’ tab.
Select Wi-Fi > Current connection, i.e., network to which you are connected.
Scroll down to IP settings section and hit the Edit button.
Then, when the ‘IP settings’ window pops up, hit the drop-down arrow and select ‘Manual‘ option.
Turn on the IPv4 toggle switch.
Now, set the static IP address. Also, set the Subnet prefix length (subnet mask). If your subnet mask is 255.255.255.0, then the subnet prefix length in bits is 24.
Once done, configure the Default Gateway address, Preferred DNS address and Save the changes.
3] Assigning Static IP Address via PowerShell
Open Powershell as Administrator and enter the following command to view your current network configuration-
Get-NetIPConfiguration
Following this, note down the following information:
- InterfaceIndex
- IPv4Address
- IPv4DefaultGateway
- DNSServer.
After that, enter the following command to set a static IP address and press Enter.
New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceIndex 15 -IPAddress 192.168.29.34 -PrefixLength 24 -DefaultGateway 192.168.29.1.
Now, change DefaultGateway with the default gateway address of your network. Make sure to change the InterfaceIndex number with the one corresponding to your adapter and IPAddress with the IP address you want to assign to your device.
When done, Type the following command to assign a DNS server address and press Enter.
Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceIndex 4 -ServerAddresses 10.1.2.1
Save the changes and exit.
I hope this helps.