I think I've cracked it. Under the IP4 settings for the adaptor there is a second page to enter alternative settings, I've put the static IP in here. When the original settings fail, it should fall over to these.
Don't know why I didn't think of this before, I knew it was there!
But then it works like:Now it assigns the same static ip address anytime dhcp fails (over wireless adapter). So not only in the WIFI-cafe
- Try to get a free ip address using dhcp... if failure then
- static ip address you defined yourself. (including subnet, default gateway, dns server)
I hate to intrude, but I strongly suggest that you talk to the people at this cafe you refer to. Network settings like DHCP are configured in certain ways for a reason, and the management at the cafe might not like you using static IP addresses to connect to their network without their prior knowledge.
There is also a very legitmate risk of IP address collisions since you are not 100% aware of how DHCP is setup on their cafe network and how IP addresses are allocated. If you inadvertantly knock a piece of cafe hardware or another customer's laptop off the network you'd be responsible for it.
Quote