How to Set Manual DHCP and Static IP Address on iPad or iPhone

Certain Wi-Fi networks require clients to use static IP addresses or manual DHCP information in order for a device to connect properly to that network. Adjusting the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to use a static IP address or manual DHCP settings is easy in iOS, here’s how you can do it with any version of iOS software.

How to Set a Static IP Address & Manual DHCP on iPhone or iPad in iOS

1. Tap on “Settings” and then tap on “General”
2. Tap “Wi-Fi” and look for the network name you are connected to, then choose the little (i) button or arrow arrow next to it to get more information about that network



3. Tap the “Static” tab
4. The “Static” section is where you enter network appropriate DHCP info and static IP address information*

On iPhone and iPod touch, manual network settings look like this:


On an iPad the static IP network information looks like this:


5. Close out of Settings, and launch Safari or another network app to confirm connectivity

Settings are applied automatically after all the information is typed in, if you need an easy to remember DNS try using Google’s 8.8.8.8 server, which is fast, efficient, and has very high reliability.

* How do you know what IP to choose? This varies. Be sure to choose a manual IP address that is outside the range of other devices on the network as to avoid conflicts. For example, if the router is ‘192.168.0.1’ and there are five devices on the network, picking a static IP outside that range, like “192.168.0.25” would likely be in the clear. If you’re not sure what static IP, subnet mask, router, and DNS to enter, find out from the network administrator, sysadmin, ISP, or the request for manual IP entry.

I’ve had to set manual DHCP information in order to connect iPads to certain older Wi-Fi networks on more than one occasion, something I’ve encountered in Mac OS X Lion before as well.

This makes setting a static IP a fairly reliable network troubleshooting trick when certain iOS devices are having problems with very specific routers and networks, since sometimes the problem is either a conflict with another IP, or just an issue with how certain router firmware behaves with iOS.

The screenshot above demonstrates this used on an iPad and on an iPhone, but the method is the same on any iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch as well, and the settings are universal for all versions of iOS.

Finally, if you’re assigning manual network IP information an you need to set a static IP address on a Mac, you can do that too quite easily.