Giving a home device a fixed IP address

The system your router uses to hand out addresses is DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). Apple's router guidance explains that addresses are leased: the lease time is how long an address is kept for a device, and routers only have a limited number to give out. ASUS puts the consequence plainly: an address from the router's DHCP server may not be the same each time.

The DHCP standard (RFC 2131) also allows manual allocation, where the network's administrator chooses a device's address and DHCP just hands it over. That's what home routers call a reservation, and at home the administrator is you.

The router recognises the device by its MAC address, the identifier its network adapter uses on your network. ASUS, FRITZ! and eero all tie a reservation to it, which is why changing MAC addresses cause the problems covered later in this guide.

What it isn't

• Not a public static IP. Google's Nest help says these local addresses are only seen by your router and the outside world won't find them. A static IP from your provider is a fixed public address for your whole connection, usually a separate product; eero keeps its own "Static IP" setting under ISP settings for that reason. Our guide to CGNAT, static IP and IPv6 covers that side.
• Not what websites see. Sites see your connection's public address, never a device's local one, so a reservation won't change anything if websites keep blocking or challenging your home connection.

A reservation matters when something on your network has to find a device by its number. The cases the makers' help pages give:

• Printers. Google's example is the commonest one: your computer and wireless printer find each other by IP address, so if the printer's address keeps changing the computer may not always find it.
• A NAS or home server. ASUS gives a NAS as its example, because you usually reach one by typing its IP address. eero adds that some NAS devices need ports forwarded and that UPnP should be switched on before you set one up.
• Port forwarding. A port forward is a router rule that sends incoming traffic to one device, so the device has to stay at the same address. Google says you need a DHCP reservation or static IP for a device before forwarding ports to it, and on eero a port forward is added to the device's reservation. If the device is a camera you want to view while you're out, read viewing home cameras and files remotely, safely first: it compares port forwarding with the other routes and their risks.
• Games consoles, sometimes. eero says UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) lets consoles and media streamers open the ports they need without manual port forwarding, and has it on by default. If UPnP doesn't do the job and you forward ports by hand, or put the console in the DMZ (a router setting that places one device outside its firewall), the console needs a fixed address: Xbox calls a static address critical for the DMZ and says to use the router's DHCP reservation where it has one. See broadband for online gaming for NAT types.

Where it usually isn't needed:

• Parental controls and blocking. The tools we checked work by device rather than by address. Vodafone's 5G Hub uses a device's MAC address to block it or set time limits, eero's Profiles group devices by household member, and Android's help suggests including both of a phone's MAC addresses when you set up parental controls. See broadband parental controls for the options.
• Prioritising a device. Giving the console or work laptop priority is a separate router feature, covered in prioritising devices with QoS, work mode and game mode.

1. Get into the router's settings or app. Our guide to logging in to your router's settings has the addresses and passwords for the main UK hubs and app-only routers.
2. Find the device in the list of connected devices and note its name, current address and MAC address. On a Vodafone 5G Hub, for example, the MAC address is in the portal under Devices, then Device List. Our guide to seeing what's using your broadband explains how to read these lists.
3. Make sure the device gets its address automatically. FRITZ! says the option to fix an address won't even appear for a device that isn't getting its settings from the router.
4. Check which box hands out addresses. Apple recommends one DHCP server per network and NAT (network address translation, the router job of sharing one internet connection between your devices) on only one device. Two can cause address conflicts or double-NAT problems. If you have a mesh system or second router behind your provider's hub, the reservation belongs on whichever one is giving out addresses.
5. Check phones and laptops for a private Wi-Fi address before reserving anything for them (see the section on private addresses below).

eero's help gives these steps in the eero app (checked 25 October 2026):

1. Tap Settings in the bottom-right corner.
2. Tap Advanced networking, then Reservations & port forwarding.
3. Add an IP reservation under IPv4 Reservations & Port Forwards.
4. Choose a connected device, or add a new one, giving its nickname, MAC address and the IP address you want it to have.
5. If you need a port forward, add it to that reservation with Open a port, choose the port or range and the protocol (TCP, UDP or both), then tap Save.

To see which addresses eero hands out, go to Advanced networking, then DHCP & NAT, where you can review or change the network's DHCP range.

Bridge mode removes reservations

In bridge mode, where your provider's hub carries on doing the routing, eero says you lose IP reservations and port forwarding, along with Profiles, device blocking, UPnP and custom DNS. Reservations then have to be made on the main router instead. eero says it generally doesn't recommend bridge mode.

eero with UK providers' hubs

• Virgin Media: eero says Virgin Media hubs can be set to modem-only mode (it also calls this bridge mode), which lets the eero manage the network, reservations included. See Virgin Media broadband deals.
• Vodafone: eero says none of Vodafone's devices support bridge or modem-only mode, so you either run the eero behind the Vodafone hub (double NAT) or put the eeros in bridge mode, which loses eero's reservations. See Vodafone broadband deals.
• EE: eero describes the same two choices, double NAT or bridge mode, and says to turn off the EE hub's own Wi-Fi.

Printers on eero have one extra catch: eero says wireless printers must support WPA2 with AES (CCMP) security, eero doesn't support WPS, and a printer that remembers an old router's settings may need those cleared and its network set up again.

We looked for each provider's own instructions on reserving a device's address on 25 October 2026, and checked BT's Business help again on 27 October. Only BT documents a per-device option, and only for business customers, so we don't give full steps for these hubs. This is what their help pages do say:

Virgin Media's help pages load by script and we couldn't open one on hub settings, so we can't say what the Hub offers. The one thing we could confirm comes from eero: Virgin Media hubs can be set to modem-only mode, which hands the network, reservations included, to your own router.

If you use your own router or mesh system, the makers below publish step-by-step guides (all checked 25 October 2026).

Follow your own router's rule: ASUS wants the address inside the DHCP pool, FRITZ! allows inside or outside, and on eero you can check the range under DHCP & NAT first. Two things hold everywhere:

• Stay in your router's own network. FRITZ! is explicit about this. Your router's settings show its own address and the range it hands out.
• Don't pick an address another device is already using. FRITZ! makes this a rule, and Apple warns that address conflicts cause problems.

The easiest choice is often the address the device has right now, as long as it's in the range your router allows: you know it's valid and nothing else is using it. As an example, if your printer shows as 192.168.1.70 in the device list, reserving 192.168.1.70 means nothing changes for computers that already print to it. Keep a note of each device's name, MAC address and reserved address.

Many phones and laptops no longer show your router their hardware MAC address. eero says that when a device changes its MAC address the network may not recognise it, and that IP reservations, port forwarding, device nicknames, pausing and blocking, and profile schedules can all be affected.

• iPhone, iPad and Mac: Apple's Private Wi-Fi Address has three settings from iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia 15: Off, Fixed (a private address that doesn't change) and Rotating (changes every two weeks). On an iPhone it's in Settings, Wi-Fi, then More Info next to your network; on a Mac, System Settings, Wi-Fi, then Details.
• Android 10 and later: Android's help says these phones have a second, "Randomised MAC address" in your Wi-Fi network's settings; the hardware address is under About phone.

So reserve against the address the device actually uses on your network, and set it to Fixed or Off for your home Wi-Fi if it rotates. Apple says erasing the device or resetting its network settings gives it a new private address, and forgetting the network usually does too, so the reservation would no longer match. Our guide to a phone that keeps dropping off Wi-Fi explains these settings, and when to change them, in more detail.

• Reconnect or restart the device. Google says a device may need to disconnect and reconnect before it gets its reserved address.
• Compare MAC addresses. If the address in the device list no longer matches the one you reserved, a private or randomised address is the likely reason (see above).
• Check the basics. The device must be set to get its address automatically, and the address must be in your router's network, free, and inside the pool if your router (like ASUS) asks for that.
• Check only one box hands out addresses. Two DHCP servers can conflict, and an eero in bridge mode has no reservations at all.
• Check the cable if it's wired. A wired device that gets no address at all has a different problem; see Ethernet connection not working.

A reservation is a setting on the router that hands out addresses, so a new hub starts with none of yours. If you switch provider and the new one sends its own hub, you'll need to redo each reservation and any port forwarding that depended on it, which is where your note pays off. Printers can need more than that: eero says some remember the old router's details and need their network settings reconfiguring.

If you keep your own router or mesh system and put the new hub in modem-only mode where the provider allows it, your reservations stay where they are. Our guide to keeping your Wi-Fi devices connected when you switch covers the rest of the move. When you're ready to look, see the broadband providers we cover.