IP ADDRESS FOR FREE: If you plan to travel outside the United Kingdom for a short period of time, say, on a business trip or on vacation, you can grab a U.K. IP address for no cost. By taking advantage of NordVPN’s 30-day money-back guarantee, you can use their comprehensive VPN service and then get a no-questions-asked refund. To open it, simply click on it once. Open a Finder window and click on Applications on the left-side panel. Here, scroll until you see Terminal. After opening the Terminal, type in the following command and hit enter: ipconfig getifaddr en0. The command will display your IP address.
See the “Another device is using your IP address” message on your Mac? Or you want a new online identity from an IP standpoint to protect your privacy when surfing the Internet? Or you just need to access a online service that is currently unvailable in your country or region? Whatever the reason may be, you want to know how to change IP address on your Mac. If it’s the case, this article is for you!
In this article, you’ll learn:
- What is an IP address
- How to find the current IP address on your Mac
- How to change the IP address of your Mac
What is an IP address
An Internet Protocol (IP) address is the unique number assigned to a network device (e.g. a computer or a smartphone, etc.) connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. It’s like an identity on the Internet. The IP address identifies each device across the Internet or a network.
Most IP addresses are IPv4 addresses, which looks like a series of numbers separated by three periods. If you see an IP address that contains a longer series of numbers and letter, and it’s divided by seven columns, it’s a different type of IP address called IPv6.
Here are some examples of IPv4 and IPv6 address:
Private IP address & public address
IP addresses are divided into public IP addresses and private IP addresses.
The private IP address is used to communitcate within the same (local) network. In constrast, the public IP address is used to communicate outside the local network. In other words, the public IP address is global.
If all of your devices are connected to the same wireless router in your home, they will share the same public IP address when they go online. However, their private IP addresses are slightly different, and are usually automatically assigned by your wireless router when they connect to your Home’s Wi-Fi.
Briefly speaking, The public IP address is basically provided by your ISP (Internet Serivce Provider), while the private IP address for each device in the same network is often assigned by a router. And the range of the private IP addresses sharing the same public IP address is divided by the subnet mask.
Private IP address range
According to standards set forth in Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) document RFC-1918, the Internet Assigned Numbers Autority (IANA) has reserved the following IPv4 address ranges for private internets, so they are not publicly routable on the global Internet:
How to find the current IP address on your Mac
To view the current IP address of your Mac, you can either go to System Preferences or open the Terminal app. And both methods are quite simple.
To find the current IP address of your Mac via System Preferences:
- On your Mac, click Apple menu and select Syetem Preferences….
- Click Network.
- Select the network connection you want to view (such as Ethernet or Wi-Fi), then you can view the IP address of that network connection on the right.
To find the current IP address of your Mac through the Terminal app:
If you prefer to use the Ternimal app, follow the steps below to find the current IP address of your Mac:
- On your keyboard, press the Command key and Space to invoke Spotlight Search (if you’re connecting a PC keyboard to your Mac, use the keyboard combination the Windows logo key – Space instead), then type terminal and press Enter to open the Terminal app.
- To show the current IP address on a Ethernet connection, use the command
ipconfig getifaddr en0. - If you want to show the IP address on a Wi-Fi connection, use the command
ipconfig getifaddr en1.
How to change the IP address of your Mac
Depending on the goal you want to achieve, you can change either the private address or the public IP address of your Mac.
In short, changing the private IP address of your Mac only changes the its IP address on your home network. However, after changing the public IP address of your Mac, you let others on the Internet see a different IP address on your Mac, which means you hide the original public IP address from others.
So, there are generally two Methods for you to try:
Method 1: Using DHCP
If you just need to change the privata IP address of your Mac on your home / local network only, for example, you need to give your Mac a new local IP address in order to fix the IP conflict issue on your home network, you can use DHCP in System Preferences.
With DHCP on your home network, normally you don’t have to manually configure the IP address of your devices on your home network, because DHCP has automated the process of configuring devices on IP network, so you can avoid the “Another device is using your IP address” message (IP conflict).
To use DHCP on your Mac, follow the steps below:
- On your Mac, go to System Preferences > Nework.
- Select the network connection you want to use DPCH.
- For Ethernet connection, click the Configure IPv4 pop-up menu, choose Using DHCP and click Apply.
- For Wi-Fi connection, click Wi-Fi on the left, then click Advanced….
- Navigate to the TCP/IP tab, click the Configure IPv4 pop-up menu, choose Using DHCP and click OK and Apply.
Now, you’ve changed the private IP address of your Mac on your local network!
Mehtod 2: Using a proxy server or a VPN
Some websites and online services such as games, music services or video services will block devices that have IP addresses from certain regions. If you want to access those region-blocked services, you have to change your public IP address to the one that appears to be from another region. After changing your IP address, you’re wearing a disguise when visiting those region-blocked services, and the system would grant you access.
You may also want to protect your online privacy when surfing the Internet. If so, changing your public IP address is a good choice because it can help protect your identity.
To change your public IP address, a simple solution is to use a proxy server or a VPN. If you don’t have any proxy server, then we recommend that you use a VPN.
A VPN, or a virtual private network, extends a private network across a public network, which enables you to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if your devices were directly connected to the private netwrok. VPN services are widely used to establish encrypted and secure netowork connections. With VPN, you can
- Encrypt your online data
- Secure your persional infoamtion when using public Wi-Fi
- Avoid ISP tracking
- Unblock geo-restricted websites and online services
Hopefully, after reading this article, you’ve learned how to change the IP address on your Mac! If you have any questions or suggestions on this topic, feel free to leave us a comment below. Thanks for reading!
You may also like…
When you write any valid URL address in your browser bar, instantly, you land on the exact landing page that you requested.
Have you ever thought about how the internet comes to know that you want that exact website and, more importantly, how the website comes to know that you are the person who requested that specific URL to open in your system browser?
Here the concept of the IP emerges. Today, millions of websites on the internet are hosted and managed on web servers. Each machine is connected to the internet and has a unique numeric string identifier, known as an IP address.
Free Uk Ip Address For Macbook
We usually do not care much about the importance of IP address. However, if we understand a bit more, we know that the internet can not work without an IP address.
When you visit any website, how these websites come to know that you are the person that is requesting a specific URL. You cannot check your email, your social media updates, even cannot perform any internet activity without an IP address.
What is an IP address?
You cannot ignore the importance of the IP address. 'What is my IP address' was searched millions of times on Google.
So the real question arises, what is the IP address?
Ip Address In Uk
IP stands for internet protocol. The protocol means the guidelines or the rules and regulations to govern the connectivity on the internet. Moreover, address refers to the unique numeric string identifier that links all your internet activities.
Therefore, the Internet Protocol (IP) address is defined as a unique numeric string identifier separated by the periods and is allocated to each device on the internet. The device can be a computer, mobile, tablet, or any other machine that is part of the TCP/IP-based network. The IP addresses are assigned to devices, not to humans.
The most likely format of the IP address has four numbers, separated with periods. Each with one to three digits and falling between 0 to 255.
Every time you connect to the internet, your Internet service provider (ISP) assigns you the IP address. Through which you are recognized and identified on the internet.
Versions of the IP address.
There are two versions of IP address that exist on the global internet.
- IP version 4 (IPv4)
- IP version 6 (IPv6)
IP version 4 (IPv4) is old and was the first to assign. It is the most common version of the IP address. IPv4 addresses are 32 bits long and have five classes, ranging from A to E. When IPv4 was introduced, at that time, computers were big and rare. The IPv4 had space for 4 billion IP addresses. However, due to rapid internet growth, the IP addresses are not used constructively. That is why the 4 billion number seemed to be large initially but became smaller in 2014.
IP version 6 (IPv6) is the latest version of the IP. IPv6 addresses are 128 bits long and will eventually replace IPv4 in the years to come.
You can use IPv4 and IPv6 for the foreseeable future and convert your IPv4 address to IPv6 by using IPv4 to IPv6 Online Conversion Tool.
Types of the IP address
There are two types of IP addresses.
- Public IP address
- Private IP address
A public IP address scope is global and is used to communicate outside the network. It is assigned to the computer devices for direct access to the internet. Any web server, email server, or any other server directly accessible on the internet has the public IP address. It is unique and can only be assigned to individual devices. The public IP address is not free of cost. You can find your public IP address by searching 'what is my IP' on Google.
A private IP address can be assigned to your computers, mobiles, tablets, or any other machine within your private network without exposing them to the internet world. Its scope is local and is used to communicate within the local network. A private IP address can be found by typing 'ipconfig' command on your command prompt.
The public IP or private IP can be dynamic or static. However, it depends upon how you configured your router.
What is the importance of IP address, and why to check the IP location?
You can conclude this in the following points.
- The IP address is a unique identifier on the network that serves you to send and receive information on the network. Without IP, you cannot access the internet.
- People sometimes ask, does it matter if someone knows your IP address? From the IP address, you can get the information about the user's country, city, state, ISP, the operating system, and browser that the user is using.
- The IP address provides information about the location of the user sending an Email. Email headers can be analyzed to extract IP of sender and check the location of IP.
- Many companies need your IP address to display content restricted to specific location. Streaming services such as Netflix restrict content based upon IP location. Thus, VPN plays an essential role in masking your IP and enjoying the benefits not available while your original IP is exposed.
- The e-commerce websites usually depend upon the IP address to serve their customers based on their geographic locations. Because customers in different countries have different products' taste and needs; therefore, the IP address is used to identify the customer's place and serve them with custom website interface and products.
- Sometimes, hackers try to hack your website. You can stop those hacking attempts by identifying the IP and blocking it in your firewall.
Can your IP remain unchanged?
Whenever your computer, mobile, or any other device is connected with the internet, your ISP assigned it an IP—your internet activity routes through your ISP.
However, when you are at home, you have a different IP address, and when you are at the library or any other place, you have a different IP address. That means you cannot carry your IP with you.
These IP addresses are temporary and are assigned to you by the ISP, whatever its location.
About IPLocation.io
IPLocation.io offers free IP Related online services. Our tools include checking your public IP as well as checking the physical location of IP owner. This service is 100% free and provided by third-party sites in the form of Geo-Location databases and APIs. This tool shows your IP by default. However, you can type any IP Address to see its location and other geodata.
Free Uk Ip
Note: The IP location uses several geolocation databases to locate your public IP address. But that does not mean that the location is exact; that location is approximate. Moreover, it is based on the information provided by geolocation databases. Your ISP knows about your precise location and personal information, but it is liable not to disclose your data and location to anyone.