The ipconfig (short for IP Configuration) is a basic, yet popular, Windows network command-line utility used to display the TCP/IP network configuration of a computer. If you are familiar with Linux, this tool is similiar to ifconfig. This tool is often used for troubleshooting network connectivity issues. With ipconfig, you can identify the types of network adapaters on your computer, the computer’s IP address, the IP addresses of the DNS (Domain Name System) servers being used, and much more.
These commands shown here are tested on a comptuer with Windows 10 but most will work in other versions of Windows as well.
Table of Content
To use this utility, you will need to launch the Command Prompt window. The three common ways to launch the Command Prompt window are:
- Search for cmd using the built-in Windows search tool.
- Right-click on the Start icon and select Command Prompt.
- Press the keyboard combination WinKey + R, then type cmd at the Run window that appears.
Ipconfig Syntax
There are a variety of switches (sub commands) available with the ipconfig utility that will either display certain information or perform certain network functions. At the most basic, the ipconfig displays a computer’s IP address, subnet mask and the default gateway (which is typically the IP address of your router or network firewall).
Ipconfig – Retrieve Basic TCP/IP Network Information
- IPv4 address: 192.168.0.98
- Network subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
- Default Gateway: 192.168.0.1
Please note that unless your computer is connected directly to the Internet (this is rare), the IP address reported by ipconfig will be your local network IP, not your public external IP address.
While other network details can be retrieved by the ipconfig utility, for most network troubleshooting, this is what is typically needed.
Ipconfig /all – Retrieve All TCP/IP Network Information
This will show a detailed report of various network details for the computer. Again, your report will differ depending on your network setup and the network adapters installed on your computer. This report includes information such as:
- Make and model of your network adapter(s)
- Physical address (also known as the MAC address or hardware address) of your adapter(s)
- Whether your IP address is leased (i.e., DHCP issued or statically assigned)
- If IP address is leased, what the lease expiration and the DHCP that leased it
- DNS servers
As you can see, ipconfig /all provides you with a plethora of details about your computer network setup.
Ipconfig /release – Releases the IPv4 Address of All Network Adapters
Note, if you have a statically assigned (manually assigned) IP address, this command will not release it. See example ipconfig /renew for related information.
Ipconfig /release6 – Releases the IPv6 Address of All Network Adapters
The command is similar to ipconfig /release except it renews the IPv6 address on the adapters.
Ipconfig /release – Releases the IPv4 Address for a Specific Network Adapters
Note, if you have a statically assigned (manually assigned) IP address, this command will not release it. See example for ipconfig /renew for related information.
Ipconfig /renew – Get a New IPv4 Address for All Network Adapters
The ipconfig /renew will cause your computer to reach out to your DHCP server for an IPv4 address if it doesn’t already have one or renews an existing one for all network adapters. Depending on how your DHCP server is configured or the pool of available addresses, the IP address you will receive can be one you had previously or it can be a new IP address. Once you execute this command, it will typically take just seconds for a DHCP to assign your computer with an IP address. In the illustration below, the IP address assigned to this computer is 192.168.226.132.
See example for ipconfig /release for related information.
Ipconfig /renew6 – Get a New IPv6 Address for All Network Adapters
The command is similar to ipconfig /renew except it renews the IPv6 address on the adapters.
Ipconfig /renew – Get a New IPv4 Address For a Specific Network Adapter
Ipconfig /all | findstr /v 00-00-00 | findstr Physical
– Display MAC Address of Only Physical Connected Network Adapters
The ipconfig utility, with the /all switch, is often used to find the MAC address (the 6-byte ‘burned-in’ physical/hardware address) of network adapters. While this does the job, the output shows a plethora of information as mentioned above. If you have multiple adapters, the output can be lengthy making it cumbersome to find what you are looking for.
This command is actually a series of three commands, namely:
- ipconfig /all
- findstr /v 00-00-00
- findstr Physical
As the above command shows, the output of ipconfig /all is funneled into the command findstr /v 00-00-00 as its input. The findstr with the /v switch will look for lines of text in the output of ipconfig /all that does not contain 00-00-00. What this does is exclude any network adapters that are disabled or not connected. These network adapters will have MAC address that starts with 00-00-00.
The result from the first findstr will still contain a lot of information that we can further filter out, such as DHCP lease information. To further reduce clutter to ultimately end up with an output that lists only MAC address of physical adapters, we will need to funneled the output of the first findstr into a second findstr command. This second findster will filter out every line of text except those that has the word Physical.
This series of commands produce an output that is concise to show only the MAC address of connected network adapters. As the illustration below shows, this is a much more easier report to read as oppose to using just using ipconfig /all.
Ipconfig /displaydns – View DNS Cache
When you visit a website using it’s domain name (e.g., www.meridianoutpost.com), your computer will need to know the IP address for that website in order for it to find it the server hosting it on the Internet. The process of identifying the IP address is called DNS lookup (analogous to looking up a number in a phone book). Once your computer learns the associated IP address for the website you want to visit, it will cache it (store it) on your computer. The purpose of caching it is to improve performance by not having your computer perform a DNS lookup each time you access a web page on the website.
This command will list all the currently cached IP addresses on your computer (also referred to as the DNS resolver cache). If you’ve accessed a lot of websites since turning on your computer, this list can be very lengthy. The illustration below shows just a few entries out of many for a particular computer. If you just turned on our computer and have not access websites or servers on the network on the Internet, then you list will only show a “localhost” setting in your local hosts file.
This command is typically used to troubleshoot specific DNS lookup issues. See example for ipconfig /flushdns for related information.
The information displayed on the list include:
- Record Name: the name of the website or server that a DNS lookup was performed on
- Record Type:
1 = A 2 = NS (indicates the entry is a name server)5 = CNAME (stands for canonical name and is a type of record that maps an alias name to a true domain name)15 = MX (indicates the entry is an email server) - 1 = A
- 2 = NS (indicates the entry is a name server)
- 5 = CNAME (stands for canonical name and is a type of record that maps an alias name to a true domain name)
- 15 = MX (indicates the entry is an email server)
- Time to Live: the time (in seconds) before this cache entry expires (can be as short as a few minutes to a few days)
- Data Length: the length (in bytes)
8 Bytes = IPv4 address16 Bytes = IPv6 address - 8 Bytes = IPv4 address
- 16 Bytes = IPv6 address
Ipconfig /flushdns – Purge DNS Cache
This command will purge the cached DNS entries on your computer. You would typically do this to troubleshoot DNS related problems. An example of this is when you try to access a website but you encounter an error message stating the website is not found. For most people, executing this command does not have adverse effect on your computer. See example for ipconfig /displaydns for related information.
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Summary
ipconfig support different command line options, as discussed below. The ipconfig/? will show you the all available options to use. You can see these example in image as well, we will describe all of them in this article.
Command line options:
/? – Displays help message
/ all – Displays detailed configuration information.
/ release – Release the IPv4 address for the specified adapter.
/ release6 – Release the IPv6 address for the specified adapter.
/ renew – Updates the IPv4 address for the specified adapter.
/ renew6 – Updates the IPv6 address for the specified adapter.
/ flushdns – Flush the DNS resolver cache.
/ registerdns – Update all DHCP leases and re-register DNS names
/ displaydns – Display the contents of the DNS resolver cache.
/ showclassid – Displays all valid DHCP class identifiers for this adapter.
Ipconfig / all
This option displays the same IP addressing information for each adapter as a default option. In addition, it displays the DNS and WINS settings for each adapter.
ipconfig / all
Ipconfig / release
You can release addresses for all connections with the appropriate name, for example, “Wired Ethernet 1” or “Wired Ethernet 2”. For this you can use /release with ipconfig command. This option terminates any active TCP / IP connections in all network adapters and frees these IP addresses for use by other applications. “Ipconfig / release” can be used with specific Windows connection names. In this case, the command will only affect the specified connections and not all. The command accepts either full join names or wildcard names. Examples:
ipconfig / release * local *
– update the network settings received from the DHCP server for all network connections that contain the string “local”
ipconfig / release “Local Area Connection 2”
– release the network settings received from the DHCP server only for a network connection with the name “Local Area Connection 2”.
For getting new IP address from DNS server you can use this parameter. This parameter re-establishes TCP / IP connections on all network adapters. As with the release option, ipconfig /renew accepts an optional qualifier for the connection name.
ipconfig/ renew EL * – Updates addresses for all connections whose name begins with “EL” Both / renew and / release parameters work only on clients configured for dynamic ( DHCP ) addressing.
Ipconfig / showclassid, ipconfig / setclassid
These settings provide access to the local DNS cache that Windows supports. The / displaydns option prints the contents of the cache, and the / flushdns option erases the contents.
This DNS cache contains a list of remote server names and IP addresses (if any) to which they correspond. The entries in this cache come from DNS queries that occur when you try to visit websites called FTP servers and other remote sites. Windows uses this cache to improve the performance of Internet Explorer and other web applications.
On home networks, these DNS settings are sometimes useful for advanced troubleshooting. If the information in your DNS cache becomes corrupted or outdated, you may encounter difficulties accessing certain sites on the Internet. Consider these two scenarios:
- IP address in a website, email server, or other server changes (rare). The name and address of this site usually remain in your cache for 24 hours after your last visit. You may need to clear the cache in order to access the server earlier.
- The website or other server was disconnected the last time you visited it (I hope this is a rare event), but it has since returned to the Internet. The cache will usually keep a record that the server is down for 5 minutes after your last visit. You may need to clear the cache in order to access the server earlier.
Ipconfig / registerdns
Like the settings above, this option updates the DNS settings on a Windows-based computer. However, instead of simply accessing the local DNS cache, this parameter initiates data exchange with the DNS server (and the DHCP server) to re-register with them.
This option is useful for troubleshooting connection to an Internet service provider, such as the inability to obtain a dynamic IP address or the inability to connect to the ISP DNS server
Like the / release and / renew options, / registerdns optionally updates the names of specific adapters. If no name parameter is specified, / registerdns updates all adapters.
Как освободить и обновить IP-адрес в Windows?
Это одна из самых распространенных утилит для устранения проблем с сетевым подключением. в Windows (а также ping, net, netstat, nslookup, tracert, pathping, arp, route).
Пример отображаемой конфигурации сетевого адаптера:
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.72.1(Preferred)
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Обратите внимание, что адрес назначается сервером DHCP 192.168.72.254.
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.72.254
Чтобы сбросить настройки IP всех сетевых адаптеров компьютера, используйте команду:
При выполнении этой команды клиент отправляет пакет DHCPRELEASE на сервер DHCP, указывая, что клиенту больше не нужно использовать свой сетевой адрес.
Если имя адаптера содержит пробелы, его имя должно быть указано в кавычках.
Вы также можете использовать подстановочные знаки * ? Например:
ipconfig /release *Ethernet0*
Как и в случае с опцией release, ipconfig / renew может принимать необязательный атрибут – имя сетевого соединения.
ipconfig /release && ipconfig /renew
This post mainly introduces the ipconfig command. Learn how to use various ipconfig commands, e.g. ipconfig, ipconfig /all, ipconfig /release, ipconfig /renew, ipconfig /flushdns, ipconfig /displaydns, etc. to find your IP address, release or renew IP address, flush DNS, etc. on your Windows 10/11 computer.
On This Page :
What is ipconfig Command?
ipconfig is short for internet protocol configuration. It is a console application in Windows OS that can display all your current TCP/IP network configuration values like your IP address. It can also flush your DNS (Domain Name System) settings, refresh DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) settings, etc. The ipconfig command is also available in macOS and ReactOS.
Main ipconfig Commands Introduction
You can type the ipconfig command without parameters in the Command Prompt window and press Enter. This command displays the Internet Protocol version IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, subnet mask, and default gateway for all adapters.
The ipconfig command displays the basic TCP/IP configuration for all adapters. To display the full TCP/IP configurations for all adapters on your computer, you can type the ipconfig /all command and press Enter. The ipconfig /all command displays more detailed information than ipconfig clone. It displays your IPv4 address, IPv6 address, DNS servers, MAC address, adapter description, DHCP details, etc.
Ipconfig /release command
This ipconfig command releases the IPv4 address of all network adapters. To release the IPv6 address of all adapters, type the command ipconfig /release6 and press Enter.
The ipconfig /release command sends a DHCP release notification to the DHCP server to force release the current DHCP configuration and IP address, and mark the old client’s IP address as available.
Ipconfig /renew command
After you type the ipconfig /release command to release the old IP address, you can type the command ipconfig /renew and press Enter to request a new IP address for the client. This command will renew the DHCP configuration for all adapters.
Ipconfig /displaydns command
Your computer creates a local cache of all DNS records. The DNS Resolver Cache is used to translate domain names to IP addresses. To check the detailed information of all DNS records, you can type the ipconfig /displaydns command in Command Prompt and press Enter. It will display the DNS record name, type, time to live, data length, section, etc.
Ipconfig /flushdns command
This command can flush and reset the DNS Resolver Cache. When troubleshooting DNS problems, you can use this ipconfig command to clear problematic DNS cache entries and make sure future requests use the fresh DNS information.
Ipconfig /registerdns command
This command refreshes all DHCP leases and registers the DNS names again.
Ipconfig /showclassid command
This ipconfig command displays all the DHCP class IDs for all adapters. Type the ipconfig /showclassid6 command to display all the IPv6 DHCP class IDs. For a specific adapter, add the adapter name at the end of the command.
Ipconfig /setclassid command
Type this command to configure the DHCP class IDs for adapters. For a specific adapter, add the adapter name at the end of the command.
Ipconfig /? command
Display help of the ipconfig commands.
Verdict
In this post, you’ve learned the various ipconfig commands. Now you can use the ipconfig command to check your IP address, use the ipconfig /release and ipconfig /renew commands to release and renew your IP address, use ipconfig /displaydns and ipconfig /flushdns commands to display or reset/flush DNS, etc.
If you have other computer problems, please visit MiniTool Software official website.
- MiniTool
- MiniTool News Center
Usually, you can let your computer get an IP address automatically. But sometimes, you can encounter IP conflicts issues due to some reason. To get rid of the issue, you will need to renew IP address for your computer. MiniTool Software will show you how to reset IP address on both Windows and Mac in this post.
When You Need to Renew the IP Address on Your Computer?
You can set your computer to automatically obtain an IP address. You can refer to this post to see your IP address: How to Find Your IP Address on Windows 10 S/10? (Four Ways).
However, if you have changed the IP address of your network gateway like router after that, there can be some IP issues like IP conflicts. In a situation like this, you will need to renew IP address on your computer.
How to Reset IP on Windows 10/8. 1/8?
1. Click Win+R to open Run.
2. Type cmd and press Enter to open the Command Prompt interface.
3. Type ipconfig /release in Command Prompt and press Enter. This ipconfig release command will release the current IP configuration for you.
4. Type ipconfig /renew in Command Prompt window and press Enter. Then, the DHCP server will assign a new IP address for your PC.
How to Renew IP Address on Windows 7/Vista?
If you are still using Windows 7 or Windows Vista, this guide will lead you to reset the IP address for your computer:
- Click Start.
- Type cmd into the search box and then press Enter to open the Command Prompt window.
- Type ipconfig /release into the Command Prompt window and press Enter. This ipconfig release command can release the current IP configuration.
- Type ipconfig /renew at the prompt window and press Enter. Then, this ipconfig renew will make DHCP server assign a new IP address for the device.
How to Renew IP Address on Windows XP?
If you are using Windows XP, this guide will be helpful for you to reset the IP address:
- Type cmd and press Enter to open the Command Prompt window.
- Type ipconfig /release and press Enter to release the current IP configuration.
- Type ipconfig /renew and press Enter to make the DHCP server assign a new IP address for your device.
How to Reset IP Address on macOS?
- Select Network.
- Click Wi-Fi or Ethernet you are currently using from the left list.
- Click Advanced that is on the bottom-right side of the interface to continue.
- Select TCP/IP from the top menu. By default, the Configure IPv4 is Using DHCP.
- Click the Renew DHCP Lease button to renew the IP address for your Mac computer.
Bottom Line
After reading this post, you should know how to reset or renew IP address on Windows and Mac. Should you have any related issues, you can let us know in the comment.
