DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. It provides IP addresses and related configuration information, such as the subnet mask and default gateway, to client machines. DHCP is especially important in large networks because it automatically assigns a unique dynamic IP address to each client. With DHCP, the process is automated; without it, you must configure IP addresses manually. If DHCP does not work or any related error occurs, you will not be able to access the internet. In this article, we will see what you can do if your router or client machine fails to obtain IP address from DHCP Server.
Failed to obtain IP address from DHCP Server on Windows computer
If your WiFi router says Failed to obtain IP address from DHCP Server, restart your router and see if the issue appears again. If yes, you can try the solutions provided below:
- Check the status of DHCP
- Restart DHCP Client
- Disable your antivirus and firewall temporarily
- Run Network Adapter troubleshooter
- Edit your network properties
- Release TCP/IP, Flush DNS, and reset Winsock
- Reinstall your network adapter
- Fix duplicate IP address conflict on DHCP Server
- Configure a different IP address for each VLAN
Let’s see all these solutions in detail.
1] Check the status of DHCP
If DHCP is disabled on your Windows device, you will experience issues like this. Hence, the first step is to check if DHCP is enabled on your device or not. To do so, go through the following steps:
- Open the Control Panel.
- Select Category in the View by mode.
- Click Network and Internet.
- Now, click Network and Sharing Center.
- Click on the Change adapter settings link on the left side.
- Double-click on your network connection.
- Under the General tab, click on the Details button.
The Network Connection Details window will open up. See whether the DHCP is enabled or not. If DHCP is enabled, you will see Yes next to it. If DHCP is disabled on your device, you have to enable it.
2] Restart the DHCP Client
The issue you are currently experiencing on your Windows computer can be fixed by restarting the DHCP Client. You can restart it by executing the following commands in the elevated Command Prompt.
net stop dhcp net start dhcp
Copy and paste the above commands one by one on the Command Prompt (Admin), and press Enter after typing each command. Restart your computer after executing the above commands.
Alternatively, you can also restart the DHCP Client via the Services app. The steps for the same are written below:
- Open the Run command box and type services.msc. Click OK. This will open the Services app on your Windows device.
- Scroll down and locate the DHCP Client.
- Right-click on it and select Restart.
- Now, double-click on it to open its properties. Select Automatic in Startup type.
- Click Apply and then click OK.
- Close the Services app.
- Restart your computer.
3] Disable your antivirus and firewall temporarily
Disable the firewall and your third-party antivirus. Your antivirus might be conflicting with the DHCP. After disabling your antivirus, check if the issue persists. If this fixes your problem, contact the customer support of your antivirus.
4] Run Network Adapter troubleshooter
The Network Adapter troubleshooter is an automated tool in Microsoft Windows operating systems. You can run this tool to fix network-related issues. Run Network Adapter troubleshooter and see if it helps.
Follow the steps written below:
- In Windows 10, open Settings and go to “Update & Security > Troubleshoot > Additional troubleshooters.” Select Network Adapter and click on the Run the troubleshooter button.
- In Windows 11, open Settings and go to “System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.” Click on the Run button next to Network Adapter.
5] Edit your network properties
The misconfigured IPv4 network adapter settings may also cause DHCP errors. If you have defined a custom IP address, we suggest you change this setting to automatic and see if it helps. The following instructions will help you with that.
- Open the Control Panel and select Category in the View by mode.
- Go to “Network & Internet > Network and Sharing Center.”
- Click on the Change adapter settings link on the left side.
- Right-click on your network connection (WiFi or Ethernet) and select Properties.
- Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click Properties.
- Select the following options.
- Obtain an IP address automatically.
- Obtain DNS server address automatically.
- Click OK.
- Click OK again to close the network properties window.
Restart your computer and check if the issue persists.
6] Release TCP/IP, Flush DNS, and reset Winsock
The internet problems can be fixed by releasing and renewing TCP/IP, flushing DNS, and resetting Winsock. You can do this with a single click by creating a BAT file using Notepad. Simply, write all the commands required to perform these actions and then save that file with the .bat extension. Now, whenever you run that file, Windows will release and renew TCP/IP, flush DNS, and reset Winsock.
You can also use our FixWin 11 utility to fix network and internet problems.
7] Reinstall your network adapter
One possible cause of the issue that you are currently encountering is an outdated or corrupted network driver. If this is the case with you, reinstalling the network driver will fix the issue. The steps to do this are as follows:
- Press the Win + X keys and select the Device Manager.
- When the Device Manager appears, expand the Network adapters node by double-clicking on it.
- Right-click on your WiFi adapter and select Uninstall device.
- After uninstalling the network adapter, restart your computer.
Windows will automatically detect the hardware change on restart and reinstall the missing network adapter.
8] Fix duplicate IP address conflict on DHCP Server
If the duplicate IP address conflict occurs on the DHCP Server, your network device will not be able to obtain the IP address from the DHCP Server and you will get this error message. If you have assigned a static IP address to your device, change it to automatic. We have explained this in method 4 above. Or you can exclude the static IP address from the DHCP Server. The steps to do that are written below:
- Turn off the problematic DHCP Client computer.
- Open the DHCP Settings and exclude the static IP address from the DHCP IP address range.
- Turn on the DHCP Client computer.
9] Configure a different IP address for each VLAN
If you have connected different computers to the same router via a switch, you need to configure a different SVI IP address for each VLAN. Using the same IP address creates a conflict between devices connected to the same router.
This should fix the problem.
Read: Unable to contact your DHCP Server error on Windows.
What do you do when a client host cannot obtain an IP address from the DHCP server?
When a client host cannot obtain an IP address from the DHCP Server, check whether DHCP is enabled on that device. If DHCP is disabled, the client will not be able to obtain an IP address from the DHCP Server. This issue also occurs due to an IP address conflict on the DHCP Server. To fix this, exclude the static IP address from the DHCP Server.
Sometimes the issue occurs due to third-party antivirus and firewall. You can check this by temporarily disabling your antivirus and firewall. If this fixes the problem, contact your antivirus provider’s customer care team to resolve it.
A corrupted and outdated network adapter can also cause several problems, including this one. So, keep your network adapters up to date. You can try one thing: uninstall the currently installed WiFI driver from your system, then reinstall it by restarting your device. This should fix the problem.
Read: Disable or Enable DHCP for Ethernet or Wi-Fi in Windows
What happens when DHCP fails?
DHCP automatically assigns a unique IP address to the clients connected to a particular network. If DHCP fails, this automated process breaks, and the user can’t access the internet.
Read next: DHCP Client Service gives Access Denied error in Windows.
