How to Change Your IP Address (2026 Guide)

Most home internet connections get a new IP address every 24 to 72 hours whether you ask for it or not — ISPs commonly renumber dynamic addresses on a 24-hour cycle, according to RIPE Labs’ analysis of address reassignment patterns. So why does changing your IP on demand feel so hard? Because the automatic reassignment usually lands you right back in the same city, on the same ISP, on the same network — which doesn’t help if a checkout page keeps showing the wrong currency, a game lobby won’t let you back in, or you just want a cleaner, more private connection on hotel Wi-Fi.

Why your IP address matters

Your public IP address tells any site or service your approximate city, your internet provider, and whether you’re on a home, business, or mobile network. Advertisers use it to build a profile across sessions, some services rate-limit or throttle by IP, and public networks expose it to everyone else on the same router.

Quick fact: because IPv4 addresses ran out years ago — all five regional registries have exhausted their free pools, and the secondary market now trades roughly 30 million addresses a year at an average of about $25 each (ipregistry.co, 2026) — most ISPs share a single public IP across many customers through carrier-grade NAT. Your “own” IP may already be a shared one.

Quick fixes: router and DHCP methods

These change your IP within your ISP’s existing pool. They’re free and fast, but the new address still comes from the same city and network.

1. Power-cycle your router or modem. Unplug it for 30–60 seconds. Many ISPs release the old lease and assign a new one on reconnect.
2. Release and renew your DHCP lease. On Windows, run ipconfig /release then ipconfig /renew in Command Prompt. On macOS, toggle Wi-Fi off and back on, or renew the DHCP lease in Network settings.
3. Ask your ISP for a fresh assignment. Some providers only rotate addresses when you request it or when their lease timer expires — call support if the above doesn’t work.

Switching networks: mobile data, public Wi-Fi, proxies

• Mobile data / hotspot: switches you to your carrier’s IP range entirely — different provider, often a different city.
• Public Wi-Fi: gives you a new IP instantly, but you’re now sharing an unencrypted network with strangers.
• A proxy server: reroutes just one app or browser through another address — usually unencrypted and not built for full-device privacy.

Note: none of these encrypt your traffic. On a coffee-shop or airport network, anyone else on that Wi-Fi can potentially see unencrypted activity even after your IP changes.

Using a VPN to change your IP address

A VPN routes your connection through a remote server, so every site you visit sees the server’s IP address instead of yours — no router reset or new SIM required.

Method	Changes your IP	Encrypts traffic	Works away from home
Router/modem restart	Yes (same ISP)	No	No
Mobile hotspot	Yes	No	Yes
Public Wi-Fi	Yes	No	Yes
VPN	Yes	Yes	Yes

With RunVPN specifically, the process is just sign-in and connect: download the Android app, sign in with Google, email, or Telegram, and tap connect — the app fetches its server configuration automatically, so there’s no manual setup step. Under the hood it uses AmneziaWG by default, with VLESS-Reality (XTLS-Vision) as an alternative, both tuned for a fast, stable connection. The service follows a no-logs policy and supports up to 5 devices per account. iOS and desktop support is coming soon; Android is live today.

How your IP looks to a website, with and without a VPN

With VPN Your Device VPN Server New IP Website

Confirm your new IP address

1. Check your current IP before making any change — search “what is my IP” or use any IP-lookup site and note the result.
2. Apply your chosen method — restart your router, switch networks, or connect a VPN.
3. Check again. A genuinely new address (and, with a VPN, a different city or country) confirms it worked.

FAQ

Does restarting my router give me a completely new IP? Usually just a new address from your ISP’s existing pool in the same region — not a new city or country, and your traffic still isn’t encrypted.

Is changing my IP address legal? Yes. Rotating your own IP through your router, a different network, or a VPN is a normal, legal way to manage your own connection and privacy.

Will a VPN slow down my connection? Modern protocols like AmneziaWG and VLESS-Reality are built for speed, so any difference is usually small — much smaller than what you’d get from an unstable public Wi-Fi network.

Why does my IP keep changing even when I don’t do anything? Most home IPs are dynamic. Your ISP reassigns them periodically — commonly every 24 hours or on router reconnect, per RIPE Labs — as part of normal network management, not anything you triggered.

Ready for a faster, more private connection? Get RunVPN for Android.