How to Fix “Failed to Obtain IP Address” Error

We buy products and services, and we buy another, more important commodity on the internet: information. Research suggests that there were 5.3 billion internet surfers in October 2023, out of which 91 percent were mobile users. In this digital (and economically sensitive) world, you need data on the go, especially because smartphones now have everything you would only imagine to contain on your fingertips. But what happens when it’s a crucial moment and your Android smartphone fails to obtain the IP Address? This is a common mobile error and can be fixed using one of these six methods.

What is “Failed to Obtain IP Address” error?

When Android users connect their devices to Wi-Fi networks, they might get this error either because of poor connectivity or when a network device needs a quick push to assign an IP address to your smartphone. Sometimes, you may see the “Obtaining IP Address” message, which is used interchangeably for the same “Failed to Obtain IP Address” error.

What causes this error?

“Failed to Obtain IP Address” is a common error f

or Android users and you may be facing the same because of one or more of these six causes:

• Poor connectivity: your router might temporarily be transmitting weak Wi-Fi signals.
• Updates: Your device had an update and might need a reboot.
• New connection/new smartphone: Your smartphone can leave you on hold while obtaining an IP address if either of your device, the router or your smartphone is new.
• Encryption method: your router isn’t working compatibly with the set encryption method.
• Router Issues: your router may fail to assign an IP address to one or more mobile devices if it is out of order, malfunctioning or there are some technical issues with the wiring inside the device.
• MAC Filtering: your device may be blacklisted.

How to fix “Failed to Obtain IP Address” Error?

1. Restart the Router.

The first conventional method to fix this error is to restart your router and reconnect to the network while standing close to the router. This method works well if your router had a weak signal or was simply malfunctioning.

2. Activate and deactivate the Airplane Mode.

Did you recently update an app, your phone,  or perform a factory reset? This might be the reason behind this frustrating error and you can fix this simply by turning the Airplane Mode On and Off. When turned on, Airplane mode temporarily blocks all cellular networks and refreshes the device, after which a smartphone picks up all network connections and runs smoothly.

3. Forget / Erase the Network.

If restarting the router didn’t fix this error, try this method. 

• Open the Wi-Fi settings on your device, select the particular network you had attempted to connect to.
• Tap the ‘forget’ button. This will erase all the details of this network device from your smartphone.
• Start scanning the networks manually.
• Select the network you wish to connect to, insert the network security key, and connect.

The first three methods mentioned above are the simplest and primary ways to fix this error. If your problem doesn’t resolve using these methods, try one of the advanced methods mentioned below.

4. Assign a Static IP Address

You may often face this error when your network device fails to assign an IP address for the device. If your Wi-Fi device does not obtain an IP address automatically, assign one by following these steps.

• Open the Wi-Fi setting on your device and select the network you wish to connect to.
• Forget the network to erase the details of the troublesome network.
• Select the network again and click IP settings.
• From the drop-down menu, switch to Static from DHCP.
• Tap the IP Address field and change the last 3 digits to any number between 2 to 255.
• Save the settings and connect to the network.

Note that this method may quickly fix the ‘obtaining IP Address’ error on your phone, but this is not a permanent solution.

5. Switch Off the MAC Filter.

Known as the Media Access Control Address, it is a code which allows a particular device on your Wi-Fi network. It is a network administration feature which ensures only the allowed devices gain internet access from a particular network. You can choose to activate or deactivate the MAC Address filtering in your router settings or blacklist certain devices to block their internet access. Your phone’s network glitch might also be the result of this filter. In order to fix the “Failed to Obtain IP Address” error, you will have to check the settings of your router using the following steps:

• Access the web interface of your router.
• Check if your device is whitelisted or blacklisted.
• Disable the ‘MAC Address’ filter and save the changes.
• Reconnect the network on your device.

If you still wish to enable the MAC Address filter, make sure to add your particular device’s MAC Address in the whitelist to access the internet using that router.

6. Change the Encryption Method.

Some devices are not compatible with routers that have advanced encryption methods. This may happen if your device has an older version of the operating system. While it is advisable to always use advanced-level network security keys, you may have to switch from your current settings to lower-level options. Here’s how to do it:

• Access the web interface of your router and open network configuration settings.
• Check the encryption method and change from WPA to WPA2 or vice-versa. However, WPA2 is recommended.
• Save the settings and reconnect to the Wi-Fi network.

What to do if these methods don’t work?

If none of these methods works while you try to obtain IP Address on your smartphone, it is a signal of one of these conditions:

1. Your router needs a technical examination. There might be some hardware issues with your router and contacting your ISP might help.
2. Someone has deciphered your device’s MAC Address. Your device might also fail to connect to a network device and show “Failed to Obtain IP Address” error if someone has gained unauthorized access using your MAC address and introduced their own on the platform. Use the 5th method to solve this issue if you need to fix this temporarily.

The aforementioned steps are fail-proof methods to fix the said error, whichever Android phone you are using. Were you able to fix this error? Tell us which of these 6 methods helped you resolve the “Failed to Obtain IP Address” issue successfully on your Android device.