Changing IP address - how does it work?

Hey all,

Forgive me here, I am a novice when it comes to the topic of IP addresses, networking, etc.

What I am looking to do is change my IP address. I have Time Warner as my ISP and it's my understanding they assign a static IP address. I tried the suggestion of powering off the modem and router for at least 8 hours but that did not change the IP address.

I tried an experiment I saw online where I connected a laptop directly to the cable modem. The IP address was different and so I reconnected the wireless router but had no internet until I restarted the modem and at that point the old IP address was back.

I tried a different router and that did change the IP address.

So am I correct that it's the router that the IP address belongs to?

From what I read, there doesn't seem to be an easy way to change your IP address on demand, but what does it take to be able to do such a thing?

Thanks

If you have a router you will have 2 IP addresses:

1. A public IP address assigned to you by your ISP. This is the IP address that is seen by websites. You have no direct control over this address. It belongs to your ISP, not you. If it is a dynamic IP (the typical case) turning off the modem for a time may give you a different IP, or maybe not. It is all up to your ISP. If it is a static IP address you have no control at all.

2. A private IP address assigned to attached devices by the router. You have full control over this, limited only by the options provided by the router. Nobody outside your local network has any knowledge of this IP and doesn't care. They see only the public IP address.

What do you hope to accomplish by changing your IP address?

Well, since the IP address changed when I changed routers and also when I connected a laptop to the modem, is it safe to assume it's a dynamic IP address?

Long story but there is a specific website that has blocked my IP address for signing in and using one of their features too often.

RichO said:

Long story but there is a specific website that has blocked my IP address for signing in and using one of their features too often.

LOL I seen that one coming, Your next topic is going to be about

"I changed my IP how did they know it was me"

In that case the answer will be browser fingerprinting, Your best bet is to say sorry to the admin of the site and follow their rules no matter how stupid you think they are.

There is a lot more to it than that. The website belongs to a designer clothing manufacturer and I do authentications for this particular brand for a third party authentication company. In order to do a proper authentication sometimes one must check the authenticity code from the clothing on the website, but when you do it regularly apparently they track your IP address and block it.

RichO said:

There is a lot more to it than that. The website belongs to a designer clothing manufacturer and I do authentications for this particular brand for a third party authentication company. In order to do a proper authentication sometimes one must check the authenticity code from the clothing on the website, but when you do it regularly apparently they track your IP address and block it.

Cool so your a corporate spy. You might be able to phone your ISP and get them to change it for you but they will probably get tired of doing it after a few times. You should get your Borg overseer to supply you with IP's

Anything you do with the router or computers will effect only your private IP address which is irrelevant to the situation.

I doubt that changing your Public IP would do any good. Most likely other things are checked to enforce the ban. I will not discuss this further.

Corporate spy? LOL! The reason the company wants to limit access is because of counterfeiters so they understandably only want their end consumers to be able to check authenticity for that reason, but on the other hand, when you are selling one you want to be certain that what you are selling is genuine, hence the reason for so many visits to the website. I explained this to them and they said that the end buyer can always check, but once you've sold something that is then discovered to be fake, you are in hot water so this is purely preventive.

When I changed routers the IP address changed and I was able to access the site so apparently all they are checking is whatever IP address appears when you google "what is my IP"

Is the router that you refer to a modem/router combo? Is it the first piece of networking equipment that is between your home and the Time Warner (TW) connection? If so, then it is understandable that changing that router (modem?) would get you an new IP address assigned. The computer handing out IP addresses probably saw the different MAC address and gave out a different IP address.

I don't know if TW uses a static or a dynamically assigned IP address. Your test of changing out the router (modem?) does not tell us if TW uses static or a dynamic IPs. It is possible that the TW computer noticed the different MAC address and assigned a new static IP address. One that is associated with the current MAC address. [Technically, if the IP address changes when the MAC address changes, then that is not a true static IP address. But a true dynamic one would probably change if the router (modem?) were left off overnight.]

Maybe, over time, the old banned IP address that you had will be assigned to someone else. If that happens, then you can change out the router (modem?) each time that you need a new IP address. However, the next IP ban will probably block the entire range of IP addresses that TW could assign to you.

You are going to have to work this out with those overseeing the website or writeup a blurb to inform your customers why you cannot verify stuff for them.

The equipment I have is a cable modem and a separate wireless router. I did replace the cable modem a couple weeks ago for the purpose of not having to pay a rental fee on the TWC modem and the IP address was the same after changing out the modem. Changing the router did change the IP address though.