I get a different ipv4 for every connected device. How do i trick it into thinking previously connected device is new?

Question

I use Xfinity wifi and have it installed at my house. However i dont allow other xfinity customers to connect to my router.

There is a neighbor of mine who has xfinity and he did not turn off the ability for other xfinity customers to connect to his router.

If i connect to his router. I am presented with a login screen in the browser for xfinity in order to use the inernet. This is free with my plan.

I noticed everytime i connect a new laptop or phone to this network the ipv4 is different everytime.

Question: Since the ipv4 is different depending on every device i connect. How would i manipulate my device to force an IP change when connecting to this network. So it thinks I am a "new device". Even though the device has been previously connected.

I am using windows 7.

Any help is much appreciated.

Answer 1

Your devices are probably getting their IP dynamically via DHCP, so may get a local random IP every time you connect.

Most routers try to give the same IP to the same device, but I don't know yours well enough to predict what it does.

You can avoid that by manually giving your device a static IP and changing it whenever you like. You need in this case to be in control of the router and be able to change its range of allocated IPs so it does not conflict with the ones you are setting manually.

This is just a general pointer - I don't know neither your router nor your devices well enough to go any further.

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Devices are first identified by their MAC address, which is a property of their network adapter, secondly by their IP address.

The IP address can be easily changed, and the MAC address as well (although less easily). This is also called spoofing and is normally a hacker tool.

If you are going to change the MAC address, record it carefully so you could put it back as it was before. Changing one digit is enough for it to become "new".

The following articles describe how to change the MAC address and may cover most of your devices:

• Change or Spoof a MAC Address in Windows or OS X
• How (and Why) to Change Your MAC Address on Windows, Linux, and Mac