Self-assigned IP address problem - My solution

I am new to this board and created an ID just to write this post. When I searched for this self-assigned IP problem, I found almost 1 million results on Google so obviously I am not alone.
I have this problem off and on on the wireless network at home with a Netgear router. It has never happened at my office with a D-Link router. Never happened at Starbucks or McDonalds (yes, they all offer WiFi here). But it happened at one Pizza Hut and it also at Christchurch airport about a week ago.
Deleting one of the plist files worked once at home many months ago but this week nothing worked. My Mac usually goes back to normal by itself after I "****" it out at other WiFi networks but not this time. As a last resort, I asked my brother (our family's I.T. guy) to change the router as I had not tried that fix. He didn't do it but a day later, he gave me to oddest solution that worked in a blink of an eye.
The solution? Key in a wrong password!!!
1) Go to Keychain Access, delete the keychain for the problematic network.
2) Connect back to the network
3) Enter a WRONG password that is similar to the right one. For example, if your password is Apple123, try APPLE123. You should still connect to the network and get a self-assigned IP.
4) Repeat Step 1. To be safe, you might want to re-boot now. I did but probably didn't have to!
5) Repeat Step 2
6) Enter the right password
I'm not all that techie so all I understood from what he said was:
1) It's probably a non-Apple router bug
2) It's a hex key problem. The password wasn't being encoded/decoded properly so the router wasn't assigning the computer an IP address. Wasn't even reading the password which is why I could connect with a wrong one.
He deduced that from reading a post from a guy in Spain who thought he had carelessly entered the wrong password and was wasting the community's time with his posting. I had read that post a couple of days ago too! But obviously I thought the Spaniard had just entered the wrong password and there was no fix for me to try out. My brother is a genius!
I guess it then makes sense why fixes like:
1) Disabling the firewall
2) Deleting preference lists
3) Deleting keychains
4) Changing the router
5) Renewing DHCP lease
6) Resetting the router
...have worked for many people and not others. None of them actually fix the cause of the problem. Having searched for 3 days, I could not find the REAL reason why this happened. Personally from all I have read, I think it must be a hex key problem with Netgear and Linksys routers. I see those 2 names mentioned a **** of a lot. Maybe it's another one of those gadgets built more for PCs that don't work perfectly with Macs all the time. We used to have an Apple Airport Extreme base station but that got fried by lightning. It was not cheap.... So technically, it really isn't Apple's problem. I think if we used an Apple router, we wouldn't have a self-assigned IP address. Maybe that's why they haven't "fixed" the problem after so many years.
Anyway, let me know if my brother's fix worked for you.
This is my good deed for the weekend! Goodnight....!

Hello, thanks for the tip/post, & a warm welcome to the forums!

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Can't connect to internet..self assigned ip address problem with DSL Modem

I've run into this before, without resolution, and now again on a friend's iMac. Time to ask around...
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Self-assigned IP address problems

I'm having a problem with my wireless router connection (my Airport card shows the network, but the "fan" is greyed out, and if I choose the network it still doesn't connect - When I check network status I get "AirPort connected to network, but has self-assigned IP address and may not be able to connect...)
I can temporarily fix the problem by going into System Preferences to Network to Airport to Preferred Networks to Assist Me and THEN it will go to my network and turn on the path.
I'm running Tiger 10.4.11 on a G5 iMac with the original AirPort Extreme card, and routing through a Linksys WRT54G attached to a cable modem.
There are a lot of networks in my area, according to my wireless "fan".
If changing channels on my router might fix this, I'd like to give it a try, but I don't know how, AND I don't want to ruin the signal to the other computers in the house, which, by the way, work just fine when the iMac loses the signal.
If there's another way to tell the router to ignore the self-assigned IP address, or to get the AirPort to stop providing this ...
The problem is obviously the self-assigned IP address. The question is what is causing this?
Is it the AirPort Extreme Card?
Is it the Linksys Wireless router?
How do I test to see which it is, without losing the signal from the router to the other computers in the house?
With so many people having the same problem, there must be an answer somewhere.
Can some kind soul please point out the correct path? My tech support (teenager) will be home from college this week, and if I can prove to him that it won't ruin everything I think he'll be up to the challenge.

Hi,
Thank you Linc & dwb, I've had no issues with the router in the 14 months its been installed. But tonight I've turned off the NAS and since then no drop off for wifi/ or assigning itself an IP address.
I will switch on the NAS once again and see what happens, would it be best to assign a static IP to the NAS? One thing I have found when checking the homehub connection details, the mac air connects at the 5Gz Wireless as does the Kindle, which has also suffered from losing the wifi connection, where as my macbook pro only connects at 2.4Gz and like I said has not had any issue. Not sure if this anything to do with the problem or not?
All I do know is that since the NAS was introduced then the problems began, so again not sure if its the NAS impacting on the router or a router setting?
thanks

Airport - Self Assigned IP Address Problems

I moved into a new place recently and having problems with my Airport connection on my MacBook Pro. I get the error
"Airport the self-assigned IP Address 169.254.23.207 and will not be able to connect to the internet" (obviously the IP varies)
It's only happened ever since I moved into this new place. Comcast is our ISP and we're using a Netgear Router my step brother bought a while back. I logged into the Router and all settings seem to be normal as far as I can tell. It only happens if the computer goes to sleep or is shut off, any situation where Airport is disabled. I usually have to keep turning Airport On and Off until it comes back. I logged into the router, none of the settings seem wrong. The ISP setting is set to Dynamic IP. It's using WPA and doesn't seem to have a problem with the key.
Here's a screenie: http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/9797/screenshot20100924at502.jpg
What could be causing this problem. It's extremely frustrating.

Of course a search for "macbook and connection dropouts" results in numerous pleas for help. That is what you searched for. Did you expect your search to find the millions of users who are not having "macbook and dropout" issues?
FWIW there are many reasons why a wifi connection will "fail or dropout", one of which may be a hardware issue. But more likely is interference, configuration, firmware, router, setup, security, not reading the manual, etc.
What would lead you to believe "Apple technicians apparently are mystified."?
I doubt very much that Apple is involved in a conspiracy of silence "Given all the macs with this problem, why is Apple silent on a fix? Is this actually a hardware problem that would require the replacement of every motherboard in every mac notebook with a faulty broadcom wifi chipset? " But then I don't subscribe to many conspiracy theories.
There are many more Macs without the problem you and others here in this help forum describe than there are with the problem.
Message was edited by: BobTheFisherman

Self-assigned IPS address problem

Hi,
I have Airport Extreme on G4 with OSX 10:3.9. On open networks, (such as in a coffee shop) I get on no problem. But in some homes with wireless base stations I can't get on, no matter what we try. I keep getting the message:
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Do you have "ask to join new networks" enabled in System Preferences / Network with the "Airport" option in the left hand pane selected, Dale? If not, try enabling it.
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How are you going about seeking to join the networks? (the process can vary depending on the provider)
Cheers
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Self assigned IP address problem?

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Compare the two-letter Country Code with the ISO code for your country. Does it match? The code X0 means that the country couldn't be determined. The code X3 means South America, not otherwise specified.

Self Assigned IP Address redux

I am getting the "Self Assigned IP Address" in my Airport connection and I can't troubleshoot the problem.
Here's my setup and what I have been looking to accomplish..
I have an iMac G5 with a built-in Airport Extreme card running Leopard 10.5.3. I have created a network to provide my AppleTV and my work laptop with access to the internet. I've turned Internet sharing on, and have security set to a the WEP 128 key..
Recently I had to exchange my AppleTV for a new one, and during the 2 weeks I was without AppleTV - something has changed (and as I think through the issue, I'm not certain about when the last time I played youtube or purchased content - maybe the new appleTV doesn't have anything to do with it, and it was a software upgrade), as I am no longer able to access YouTube content or the iTunes Music store to authorize my purchased content or to purchase new music/movies. However, I am able to watch movie trailers, and preview songs. It connects to the network fine, shows a strong signal, but something isn't quite right.
I've performed about every known solution to the AppleTV problem, and have an open post over in the AppleTV area, but in tracking down my issue, I see that my Airport connection is showing that it has a "self-assigned IP Address" and my not be able to connect to the internet. My thoughs are that if i get the self-assigned IP address problem solved, I'll solve the ITMS/YouTube issue on the AppleTV.
My internet connection is via Verizon DSL, with a DSL modem, connected directly to my iMac with an ethernet cable. (no external router/firewall)
I find it interesting that I can watch trailers, preview music from ITMS with the 'Self-assigned IP' but not access ITMS for purchases, etc.
I do not have any expertise in networking and for the most part am just following what posts I've seen out there suggest to try - trashing the com.apple.airport.pref's - restarting in 'Safe' mode, etc. Rebuilding the network connections from scratch, etc. Repairing Keychain access, disabling the built in firewall, etc. Just can't get by this issue.
Anyone with any thoughts?

hey guys...I found the problem...it helped me very much just try to change the wireless mode from 11bgn mixed to 11bg mixed...do this from router settings . . .I guess this will help you

Self Assigned IP Address, wher the heck did that come from?????

Getting flipping well annoyed with this 10.4 software release! Come on Apple say something find the fix. The problem started with 10.4.4 EVERYTHING was working fine prior to installing, Wifes imac on airport, me on my G5 chatting happily away, the reason I purchased the .mac accounts and the iSights. After 10.4.4 came the problem of the iMac getting an IP address of 10.0.1.x from the airport and no longer able to connect to the internet. So I powered off the airport and connected the ethernet from the Zoom ADSL router direct, and the iMac claims there is a "self assigned IP address" on the Ethernet, which is not true, the machine uses DHCP, rebooted so many times (Windows funnily enough never needed as many reboots as OSX Tiger! and now seems like a better choice if truth be told) and everytime this self assigned IP address appears. Now if I connect my PB to the same cable I get 10.0.0.x and no problem with the internet connection. Settings are IDENTICAL, I even cloned my PB and booted the iMac from the clone and STILL we get "Self Assigned IP Address" on the iMac!
Does anyone have any idea how to stop the self assigned ip address problem?
Jed "Really not very happy at all" Stone

Powered off the Zoom DSL modem for an hour or so, and
now it all works fine, got this Gem of info from ther
Macosxhints website, a mighty fine site it is as
well. Regards Kev
Does not solve the problem for me. I'm sitting in a motel with a wireless net. I can connect to the Red Carpet network, with a strong signal, but Safari says I'm not connected to the internet. Network status gives me the same dumb "self-assigned" error. TCP/IP is set for DHCP. Since it's not my base station, I can't just go and recycle it. It did work once, but I haven't been able to reconnect. I've tweaked the connection multiple ways, rebooted multiple times, etc. etc. etc.
So what gives, and what can I do.
Powerbook G4, Mac OS X 10.4.6
Machine Name: PowerBook G4 12"
Machine Model: PowerBook6,8
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (1.2)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1.5 GHz

All of a sudden I started getting "Self-assigned IP address ... Can't connect to internet" message when I attempt to connect to wi-fi at home. I tried solutions posted on the net but to no avail.

It once worked when I removed it from Network preferences and attempted a relogin - but the problem resurfaced again and is not going away. I tried the "key chain access" solution - but my Wi-Fi doesn't show up in "Sytems" at all. Any help will be appreciated. It's OS 10.6.9 MacBook Air.

The wifi icon shows no connection with the network -- the "!" mark.
However the computer sees the network, i.e. when I search in Network Preferences the network is listed.
So: 1) the computer sees the network but 2) will not connect to the network. The reason given for refusal to connect is "self-assigned IP address".
Not to be repetitive but two other Mac laptops are connected to the same network and working perfectly. The network preferences, as shown in the "advanced" section, are the same for all machines, i.e. DHCP is selected and IPv6 is Automatic.

Self assigned IP address partial SOLUTION

Hello there, dealing with the nasty issue of "self assigned IP address" has been my latest two days nightmare, I tried lots and lots of solutions I read in forums here and there without getting to a point.
I started this post because I want to post here a solution that really worked for me and I haven't seen it posted over the web.
I don't remember where but I saw the comment that WEP encryption by the router is not very mac compatible as opposed to WPA. So a while ago when I entered my router home screen (Thomson TG585 v7) I saw the option to enable WPA-PSK encryption and went for it, I can tell you it inmediatelly solved my conection issues and till now it's working perfectly.
I'm not any mac/web guru but I want to share this tip with all of you because I know it can be a really nasty problem that one of the gat dam "self assigned IP address" and this may help somebody else. ;-)
Best regards
Luis Erantzcani

Hello, thanks for the tip/post, & a warm welcome to the forums!

One SOLUTION for "self assigned IP address"

Hello there, dealing with the nasty issue of "self assigned IP address" has been my latest two days nightmare, I tried lots and lots of solutions I read in forums here and there without getting to a point.
I started this post because I want to post here a solution that really worked for me and I haven't seen it posted over the web.
I don't remember where but I saw the comment that WEP encryption by the router is not very mac compatible as opposed to WPA. So a while ago when I entered my router home screen (Thomson TG585 v7) I saw the option to enable WPA-PSK encryption and went for it, I can tell you it inmediatelly got me online and till now my airport wireless conection is working perfectly.
I'm not any mac/web guru and maybe I'm stepping some technical details but I want to share this tip with all of you because I know it can be a really nasty problem that one of the gat dam "self assigned IP address" and this may help somebody else. ;-)
Best regards
Luis Erantzcani

Great tip Luis, thanks!

Problems using MBP as WiFi router for iPad2 (self-assigned IP address)

H/W& S/W:
MBP 15" (model early 2011), running Snow Leopard,
iPad 2 WiFi only, 64Gb, iOS 4.3.4 (8K2).
Scenario:
I am in a location where there is no WiFi. MBP is connected via Ethernet to a DSL network, and has access to the Internet. I turn on Internet sharing, having set the following:
"Share your connection from" set to "Ethernet" and
"Share computers using Airport" ticked.
Previously, I have then connected the iPad 2 via WiFi with the WiFi network created on the MBP, and succesfully worked from the iPad on the Internet (email, browsing, app downloads, ...).
Problem:
Now, however, the iPad connects to the MBP's WiFi network, but when I attempt to access the Internet, I get such messages on the iPad as "Safari is not connected to the Internet" or "Cannot Get Mail ...".
On investigation, I see that Airport on the MBP is in a YELLOW status: Status On, with the note "Airport has the self-assigned IP address 169.X.y.z, and will not be able to connect to the Internet".
On the iPad, the WiFi network shows the IP address 169.X.a.b (with a subnet mask (255.255.0.0).
I have tried:
1. turning Airport off and on
2. renewing the DHCP lease on the MBP
2. configuring IPv4 address in the MBP manually
3. configuring the IP address manually on the iPad (not expecting anything with this, but ....)
4. fixed Permissions" on the MBP disk (suggested on another support community web site)
But none of these make any difference.
Message was edited by: WKH
forgot to mention: Firewall is disabled on the MBP.

Hello,
I've had the exact same problem on my macbook and it really **** me off ! I tried all of the solutions written in this forum and none worked for me ! I was really starting get mad especially that my macbook is quite new...
And the thing is i have no Apple Store where i live which is a pretty F***g problem so I had to wait for vacations to go to france where I took my macbook for check at the apple store...
I just came back right now and my wifi works till now a least far much better than before...The guy was really nice he checked everything and he tried all the solutions on this forum too..Finally he tried to boot from one of '' apple's '' usb that has suberb booting systems...And it worked so finally he re-installed 10.6.5 as it was '' corrupted '' with wifi bugs ! For that he needed to delete everything on my macbook ! GREAT !
After 15 minutes the installation was done and it started like when you buy a new macbook !
And VOILA the Wifi came back to normal !
Hope this helps...
If you have this problem go and see Apple Store or re-install yourself 10.6.5 !
Thanks !

Ethernet problem - self-assigned IP address

I'm just testing my spanking new Mac Pro with Leo 10.5.6 (still holding back to go to 10.5.7 as there are issues with certain audio apps) and I can't get an internet connection via ethernet and a router. In the network config I get the dreaded 169.xxx.xxx.xxx address and the message "Ethernet 1 has a self-assigned IP address and may not be able to connect". (ethernet 2 has the same problem). Manual DHCP does not work either.
The router is a D-Link DI-624 connected to a cable modem.
I have absolutely no problem connecting to the internet with my Macbook or any other PC through the router.
Strangely, the Mac Pro can connect to the internet and gets an IP if directly plugged into the cable box. However as I often need a wireless connection I need to keep using the router.
Apart from an answer, I would also appreciate if we could avoid wasting time by asking the typical first level help desk questions, such as "have you restarted the router?" etc. I'm not computer illiterate and all the symptoms and logical deductions clearly indicate that the problem is solely in the Mac Pro.
Thanks much.

I'm having the same problem.
I have a brand new router and switch, everything works fine when I plug the cable into my PC Laptop and worked fine with my Mac Pro until today!
Now, I get the nasty "169..." self-assigned IP on both Ethernet ports and cannot connect to the internet.
I have deleted both the ETHERNET 1 and ETHERNET 2 Prefs as R2B suggested but sadly, it did not work for me. As I reassign the Ethernet, it gives me the same error
any ideas??
thanks!

Problems connecting Airport - self assigned IP addresses

Greetings,
I upgraded to a powerbook a few months back, and everything seemed to be working well enough until today. My internet connection (using airport on my powerbook) wasn't working. Usually I just unplug my modem, reconnect, and all works fine.
Today, to my horror, airport does not reconnect as usual and I see the note
AirPort has the self-assigned IP address xxx.xxx.xx.x and will not be able to connect to the Internet.
I've tried using snow leopard cache cleaner, I've tried restarting, I've turned off my iPhone, and disconnected my old mac connected by ethernet.
My iPhone works, using the same wifi, and there are other wifi users nearby.
Not sure what else to mention, any ideas?

try to do it manual:
decide a ipv4 close to your iphone (if iphone has xxx.xxx.x.7) like x.8
next, net-mask must be 255.255.255.0 (if there is something other it's wrong)
router is seen when you open network in iphone, take this.
could be like: 192.168.1.1, if your ip starts with 192 ...
all this in network/more options

"self-assigned' IP address.

Firstly to be semantic. Part of my frustration at this problem is the fact that Apple call this a "self-assigned" IP address. In no way have I assigned this IP address myself. My Macbook Pro assigned it for me.
I have had this problem intermittently since I bought my Macbook Pro years ago. The first time I found a solution by renewing my DHCP lease and sometimes that would work, sometimes not.
Second fix is a reboot, third fix is to make airport inactive and then re activate it again, fourth fix is to add new location from system preferences and then start from fix number one again
I have also tried various commands suggested for terminal and tried deleting folders that have been suggested as the cause.
But now returning from a trip overseas I get the "self [apple] - assigned IP address" message and none of the fixes that I have wasted my time applying in the past are working.
It's almost comical because just a week ago I was saying to somone how I was thinking of moving to PC as I had had enough of trying to fix problems with my Mac.
Hours of trawling the internet for a simple walk through of the problem suggests anything beyond what I have already tried. I can't believe I have put up with this issue for so many years, just accepting that it's a small problem that occaisionally interupts the massive benefits of using a Mac.
So if anyone has a final suggestion of where to go to fix the problem [on line] I would be so releived of my frustrations. If not then I am heading out to buy a PC tomorrow and I will take great pleasure in destroying my Macbook Pro.

I have a little Macbook that connects to my wifi connection automatically without any problems and always has.
I have a much more expensive, much more powerful 2010 Mac Pro Quad Core which is totally incapable of jumping on to the same Wifi Connection. Even if both devices are right next to one another.
Of course, I have the usual 'Self Assigned IP' problem, and like you, I have trawled the internet endlessly following all sorts of guides, all sorts of DHCP Renewal methods and all sorts of manual methods and all sorts of Firewall settings etc etc etc.
In the end up, none of it ever works. Except for the very rare occasionally day I'll turn the Mac Pro on and it will have randomly decided to connect to the WIFI connection and work fine.
I gave up trying to figure it out. I can no longer connect to the internet so my Mac Pro has to live with no important updates etc. Not very future proof at all and extremely frustrating.
I run a busy recording studio so its solely the fault of this problem that I struggle to be as competitive as my rival studios as I can not preform the simple Audio software updates everyone else can. Brilliant.
INFURIATING.

Self-assigned IP address problem - My solution

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