Renew the DHCP Lease and Get a New IP Address

Force the router to hand out a fresh IP address with ipconfig set en0 DHCP.

macOSnetworkdhcpipconfigMedium risk

Run `sudo ipconfig set en0 DHCP` to request a brand-new DHCP lease on en0.

01Command

Command

$ sudo ipconfig set en0 DHCP

02What it does

A stale DHCP lease is one of the most common reasons a Mac shows Wi-Fi connected but cannot load anything, or self-assigns a 169.254.x.x address. Re-requesting DHCP asks the router for a new lease immediately, without rebooting or forgetting the network. Check the result afterwards with `ipconfig getifaddr en0`.

03Risk

RiskMedium risk

RequirementsAdministrator access (sudo)

!Warning: This briefly disconnects the interface, so save any work on network shares first.

04Undo

✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.

05Sources

ipconfig — view and control IP configuration (macOS man page)
SS64 · technical · 2026-09-17
Evidence: Documents `ipconfig set <interface> DHCP` to initiate DHCP and obtain a new lease.

Last verified: 2026-09-18 · Category: Network