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How to Ensure the Raspberry Pi Always Has the Same IP Address

How to Ensure the Raspberry Pi Always Has the Same IP Address

tags: [“Raspberry Pi”, “static IP address”, “DHCP”, “MAC address”, “network configuration”]

In this guide, I will walk you through the process of configuring your router to assign a static DHCP IP address to your Raspberry Pi within your local area network (LAN). This will ensure that your Raspberry Pi always has the same IP address, even after restarting.

After installing Raspbian, the Linux version of Debian designed for the Raspberry Pi, I encountered a problem. While connecting the Raspberry Pi to the TV using an HDMI cable and attaching a USB mouse and keyboard to set up the operating system, I realized that the assigned IP address would change whenever I restarted the device.

This issue arises from the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) used by WiFi routers. DHCP does not assign a fixed IP address to each connected device; instead, it dynamically changes the IP address. Having to search for the Raspberry Pi’s IP address every time I restarted it became quite inconvenient.

To resolve this issue, I discovered that it is possible to assign a fixed IP address to a specific device by identifying its Media Access Control (MAC) address. The MAC address serves as a unique identifier for every device.

To begin, I connected to my WiFi router, which operates on the IP 192.168.1.1 within my local network, and accessed the DHCP Server menu. Within this menu, I selected “Static DHCP” and assigned a specific IP address to the MAC address of my Raspberry Pi.

Here’s what the process looks like:

  1. Access your router’s admin panel by entering its IP address (192.168.1.1) in your web browser.
  2. Navigate to the DHCP Server menu.
  3. Look for the option to enable “Static DHCP,” which allows you to assign specific IPs to MAC addresses.
  4. Locate the MAC address of your Raspberry Pi. You can find this information within the VNC Server panel on the Raspberry Pi or by using tools like ifconfig, grep broadcast, and arp -a on another device connected to the network.

By assigning a fixed IP address to your Raspberry Pi’s MAC address, you can ensure that it always remains the same, regardless of reboots or restarts. This way, you won’t need to constantly search for the Raspberry Pi’s IP address, saving you time and hassle.

Now you can continue building your projects on the Raspberry Pi with the peace of mind that it will always have a consistent IP address within your LAN. Happy tinkering!