169.254 IP Address: What It Means and How to Fix It on Any Device

You’ll usually see it as Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address in Windows’ ipconfig, as Self-assigned IP on a Mac, or on a printer’s network page, along with no internet. The cause sits between the device and the router: the connection, the router’s DHCP server, or a device setting. Find it in the table below, then follow the fixes for your device or router; the last sections cover when 169.254 is expected.

What a 169.254 IP address means (APIPA)

The block 169.254.0.0/16 is reserved for IPv4 link-local addresses, defined in RFC 3927. Windows calls the feature Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA); Apple calls the result a self-assigned IP. Other addresses that start with 169 are ordinary public addresses.

How a device ends up with one:

1. When it joins Wi-Fi or gets a cable link, the device broadcasts a DHCP request.
2. Normally the router answers within seconds with an address such as 192.168.1.23, the default gateway and DNS servers.
3. If nothing answers, the device picks a random address. RFC 3927 sets the range, 169.254.1.0 to 169.254.254.255, and has the device seed the choice with its MAC address, so it tends to get the same address again.
4. ARP probes check that no other device on the network uses that address; if one does, the device picks another.
5. The device uses it with subnet mask 255.255.0.0 and no gateway, and keeps asking for a DHCP address in the background.

Routers never forward 169.254 addresses, so the device can reach other devices on the same cable or Wi-Fi at best, never the internet. It’s neither your public IP nor a private address, such as 192.168.x.x, from your router.

Why is my IP address 169.254? Find the cause

Two questions narrow it down: one device or all of them, and Wi-Fi or cable?

How to fix Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address 169.254 on Windows 11 and 10

In ipconfig, the affected adapter looks like this:

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::5c1a:9b3e:2f4d:81a7%12
   Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address. . : 169.254.83.107
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

Test the connection after each step. The steps match Windows 11 (26H2, 25H2, 24H2) and Windows 10 22H2; finding your IP address on Windows explains the full ipconfig output.

1. Turn Wi-Fi off and on, or unplug the cable and plug it back in.

2. Restart the modem and router: unplug both, wait at least 30 seconds, plug in the modem, then the router, and wait until both are back.

3. Select Start, type cmd, select Run as administrator, and run:

   Command PromptCopy

   ipconfig /release
   ipconfig /renew

   If /renew ends with this error, the request isn’t reaching the router, or the router isn’t answering:

   TextCopy

   An error occurred while renewing interface Ethernet : unable to contact your DHCP server. Request has timed out.

4. Open Settings > Network & internet, then Wi-Fi > Manage known networks > your network, or Ethernet for a cable (Windows 10: select the network, then Properties).

5. Select Edit next to IP assignment, choose Automatic (DHCP) and select Save. In Control Panel, the setting is Obtain an IP address automatically under Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) > Properties.

6. Press Windows key + R, type ncpa.cpl, right-click Wi-Fi or Ethernet, select Disable, then right-click it again and select Enable.

7. On Windows 11, run the Network and Internet troubleshooter in the Get Help app.

8. Update the network adapter driver through Windows Update or the PC maker’s website. After a bad update, uninstall the adapter in Device Manager and restart, so Windows reinstalls it.

9. In an administrator Command Prompt, run these commands, then restart the PC:

   Command PromptCopy

   netsh winsock reset
   netsh int ip reset
   ipconfig /release
   ipconfig /renew
   ipconfig /flushdns

10. As a last step, select Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings > Network reset > Reset now (Windows 10: Status > Network reset). It reinstalls all network adapters with default settings and restarts the PC.

How to fix a self-assigned IP address on a Mac

In System Settings > Network, the affected service shows a yellow indicator and the status Self-assigned IP, as Apple’s guide to troubleshooting network connections on Mac describes. On macOS 27 Golden Gate:

1. Turn Wi-Fi off and on in the Wi-Fi menu, or replug the cable or adapter.
2. Restart the router.
3. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Network, click the active service, then click Details and TCP/IP.
4. Check that Configure IPv4 is set to Using DHCP.
5. Click Renew DHCP Lease next to DHCP lease, review the message and click Apply.
6. If the status doesn’t change, Control-click the service in the Network list and choose Make Service Inactive, then Make Service Active.
7. For Wi-Fi, click Forget This Network in the network’s Details and join again with the password.
8. If the router admits only known devices, set Private Wi-Fi address to Fixed or Off for that network.

A self-assigned IP on Thunderbolt Bridge alone is normal. Finding your IP address on a Mac covers the other network settings.

How to fix a 169.254 address on iPhone, Android and Linux

iPhone and iPad

Open Settings > Wi-Fi, tap the More Info button (i) next to the network, tap Renew Lease and confirm. If not, tap Forget This Network and join again, or set Private Wi-Fi Address to Fixed or Off if the router admits only known devices. As a last resort, Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings erases saved Wi-Fi networks and passwords. Finding your IP address on iPhone shows where the address appears.

Android

Android phones usually don’t show a 169.254 address. Instead, the network shows an error such as “Failed to obtain IP address” or “IP configuration failure”, depending on the maker. Turn Wi-Fi off and on, restart the router, or forget the network and join again: on a Pixel, open Settings > Network & internet > Internet, touch and hold the network and tap Forget. If the router filters MAC addresses, tap the gear icon next to the network and set Privacy to Use device MAC.

Linux

ip -4 addr shows a 169.254 address or no inet line on the interface. With NetworkManager, bring the connection up again to request a new lease:

nmcli connection show                          # lists the connection names
sudo nmcli connection up "Wired connection 1"  # use your connection's name

With systemd-networkd, as on Ubuntu Server, run sudo networkctl renew enp3s0 with your interface name.

How to fix a 169.254 IP address on Ethernet

Check these in order:

• Port lights: no lights on the computer’s or the router’s port point to a bad cable, port or adapter. Try another cable and another router port.
• Modem or fiber box (ONT): a computer plugged straight into one often gets no address, because the connection expects a router. Connect the computer to the router instead.
• Switches and powerline adapters: plug the computer straight into the router once to rule them out.
• USB-C adapters and docks: replug them and install the maker’s driver or firmware updates.

Printers and cameras with a 169.254 address

The device has lost its connection to the router, often after a Wi-Fi password change or a new router. Run its Wi-Fi setup again from the control panel or the maker’s app, or check its cable. Restart the router, then the device, and check the new address on its network page or configuration report. Finding a printer’s IP address shows where each brand lists it and how to reserve it.

Fix it on the router: DHCP server, address pool, blocked devices

If several devices get 169.254 addresses, open the router’s admin page or app (find your router’s IP address on a device that still works) and check:

• DHCP server: it must be on, usually under LAN or DHCP settings. With a mesh system or a second router in access point mode, the main router’s DHCP server must stay on.
• Address pool and lease time: the pool needs more addresses than you have devices. Phones with a rotating private Wi-Fi address look new each time and take extra addresses until old leases expire; a larger pool or shorter lease time helps.
• Blocked devices: MAC filtering, access control or parental controls can stop the router from answering a device.
• Firmware: install updates. If DHCP keeps failing, contact your provider if you rent the router, or replace it.

When a 169.254 address is normal

• A direct cable between two computers: with no router, both use 169.254 addresses and can reach each other. On Windows, the Alternate Configuration tab of the IPv4 properties can set a fixed fallback instead (User configured).
• Adapters you don’t use for the internet, such as a Mac’s Thunderbolt Bridge or a PC’s virtual machine and VPN adapters.
• Device setup: printers, cameras and other devices with link-local support answer at their 169.254 address when you wire them straight to a computer.
• IPv6: every IPv6 interface has an address that starts with fe80, listed as Link-local IPv6 Address in ipconfig. That’s normal.

169.254.169.254: the cloud metadata address

On cloud virtual machines, 169.254.169.254 is the instance metadata service. It answers HTTP requests from inside the VM only, with details such as the instance ID, network settings and, on AWS, temporary credentials. From a home network, it leads nowhere.

Apps that fetch URLs for users can be tricked into calling this address (server-side request forgery, SSRF), so AWS’s IMDSv2 requires a session token from a PUT request first:

TOKEN=$(curl -sX PUT "http://169.254.169.254/latest/api/token" -H "X-aws-ec2-metadata-token-ttl-seconds: 21600")
curl -s -H "X-aws-ec2-metadata-token: $TOKEN" http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/

To accept only IMDSv2, set HttpTokens to required (AWS Instance Metadata Service guide), and block the address for containers that don’t need it.

How to check that the 169.254 problem is fixed

Run ipconfig again, or open the network’s details on a Mac or iPhone. The IPv4 address should now be in your router’s range, such as 192.168.1.23 or 10.0.0.15, with the router, such as 192.168.1.1, as Default Gateway or Router. Then open a website. Local IP addresses explained lists the ranges, static vs. dynamic IP addresses shows how to reserve an address for a printer, and finding the IP address on any device covers other devices.