Unwanted IP address change

The IP address assigned by Verizon to my PC seems to change every year or two. When this happens, I get blocked from admin access to several blogs and other site I manage, and have to spend an hour or so whitelisting the new address everytwhere.

Anybody know why they do this? Server changes, or something like that? More importantly, is there either a way to prevent my IPA from changing, or to get a warning (preferably in advance) when it happens?

Thanks for any help here.

Accepted answers

gs0b

Residential Internet services like FiOS use dynamic IP address assignment. That means IP addresses can change at any time. Often, they don't change for years, as you've found, but they can change.

If you leave your router on all the time that should help reduce the potential for changes. If you turn it off for a few hours or more, it may not get the same IP when you turn it back on. If you're turning your router off, that may explain why you see changes.

If you really need a fixed IP then you need to purchase a static IP from Verizon. I've no idea how much that costs or if it's even available on a residential plan. You'll have to contact them to find out.

Good Luck.

All comments

gs0b

Residential Internet services like FiOS use dynamic IP address assignment. That means IP addresses can change at any time. Often, they don't change for years, as you've found, but they can change.

Good Luck.

eljefe2

I assume you're referring to the WAN IP address assigned to your router, rather than a LAN IP address assigned directly to your PC.

If my assumption is correct, the only way you can obtain a static WAN IP address is with a business account. While IP addresses assigned to residential accounts typically stay the same for months, or even years, there's no guarantee that your IP won't change due to server maintenance FiOS is doing behind the scenes.

C102

Thanks for that clarification, gs0b. I wondered about the dynamic IP thing, since it has only changed (I think) twice or three times here in several years. BTW, I never turn my router off - is that something people do? So I guess it just happens when it happens. Now I'll know to look for that first when I get locked out of blogs etc.

C102

Revealing my ignorance, eljefe: what I assume is "my" IP is the one that shows on on blog/webstats lists when I log in, or on "what's my IPA?-type sites. Is that the WAN IP address?

Thanks-

eljefe2

@C10 wrote:
Revealing my ignorance, @eljefe: what I assume is "my" IP is the one that shows on on blog/webstats lists when I log in, or on "what's my IPA?-type sites. Is that the WAN IP address?
Thanks-

Yes, that's your WAN, or Wide Area Network, IP address, vs. a LAN, or Local Area Network IP address, those assigned to each device on the local side of your router.

Sorry if those references were confusing.

Anti-Phish1

Yes, that's your WAN IP address. Your PC gets a private IP address in the 192.168.1.x range. You can see your PC's LAN IP address by typing IPCONFIG in a CMD window. All devices on your LAN share the same public WAN address. Your router takes care of translating from one IP address to the other through a process called Network Address Translation (NAT).

gs0b

@C10 wrote:
BTW, I never turn my router off - is that something people do?

Yes, some people turn of all sorts of equipment when they aren't using it in order to reduce power usage.

Personally, I leave my router on all the time. It's just too much of a pain to power it down and the cost to leave it running is minimal.

Enjoy.

viafax

@gs0b wrote:
Residential Internet services like FiOS use dynamic IP address assignment. That means IP addresses can change at any time. Often, they don't change for years, as you've found, but they can change.
If you leave your router on all the time that should help reduce the potential for changes. If you turn it off for a few hours or more, it may not get the same IP when you turn it back on. If you're turning your router off, that may explain why you see changes.
If you really need a fixed IP then you need to purchase a static IP from Verizon. I've no idea how much that costs or if it's even available on a residential plan. You'll have to contact them to find out.
Good Luck.

You could just use a service like dyndns and use the dnas name rather than the ip address.

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