Yes you can. I have DHCP enabled on my router and I have a static IP assigned to my Mac. To avoid conflicts, you just use static IPs outside the range of your DHCP server. For example, configure your router to use 192.168.1.1-192.168.1.100 for DHCP, and then you can use 192.168.1.101-192.168.1.254 for your static IPs. No conflicts, works great.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
SELF-ASSIGNED IP??? (ethernet)
- Thread starter rph105
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yes you can. I have DHCP enabled on my router and I have a static IP assigned to my Mac. To avoid conflicts, you just use static IPs outside the range of your DHCP server. For example, configure your router to use 192.168.1.1-192.168.1.100 for DHCP, and then you can use 192.168.1.101-192.168.1.254 for your static IPs. No conflicts, works great.
No...and you do not have to turn off DHCP for statically configured hosts to be able to connect to the Internet, so long as you provide the gateway's IP address and in some cases an authoritative DNS source. I have always used this type of configuration. For instance my wireless cards always get an address from DHCP, but my desktops are always statically configured so I can always be sure their IP addresses are set up for proper port forwarding in my router table. This allows for my wireless connections to connect anywhere, but allows me to set up my NAT and security on my fixed machines. There's more than one way to skin a cat!
...not really an amateur here, I was looking for a more in depth solution for this problem. I was using the statically configured example to show the fact that there was a routing issue and the fact that the IP address coming from a DHCP server or being manually configured didn't make a difference.
I appreciate your attempt to help, don't get me wrong, but this is the reason why I get frustrated with Forums...people hijack the topics to show how smart they might be, thus confusing the entire issue.
I was not trying to sound smart, I was merely saying that if you have DHCP on and static IP's, you must make sure that your configurations don't clash (i.e use fixed DHCP IP assignments), and that the gateway/DNS settings are correct. Sorry if I was misinterpreted.
why would so many apple leopard users have the exact same problem is it wasn't a software error?
I also have this problem... I cannot connect at all, and neither will my airport express... I have to join a neighbors network.
and yes, I have tried every single suggestion above to no avail. and i know for an absolute fact that all the settings on my computer are 100% correct.
Then perhaps it's a bug in Leopard. But to say that Leopard won't work with a certain modem just because it's old is absurd. Old modems talk the same standards that new ones do, it's a bug somewhere else in Leopard causing it
Can anyone seem to narrow this down to a specific router or router/modem combo? My MacBook has connected to linksys, netgear, apple airports, and my school's router, which is some type of cisco enterprise solution....
My PowerBook G4 encouters this problem when attempting to connect to my Terayon cable modem, as well as my friends Motorola surfboard (The only two I've tried). In my case I have not had any problems connecting to routers - wireless or wired. The problem only exists when trying to connect directly to modems.
I have been using this powerbook with the Terayon modem for 2 years now and have never encountered this problem until I installed leopard.
I have been using this powerbook with the Terayon modem for 2 years now and have never encountered this problem until I installed leopard.
I've been having a similar problem. I'm an IT Manager with exclusively PC experience who recently switched to Mac to avoid Vista.
My network has DHCP provided by a Windows 2003 server and we have 14 PC's which connect with no problems. My MacBook Pro, running 10.5.1 cannot pull a DHCP address. I can manually assign an address from outside of my DHCP scope and connect normally, and I can connect normally using my Airport. The cable I'm using works with a PC (disconnect from MacBook, plug into PC and good to go).
I've re-booted the Win 2K3 server, re-assigned the DHCP range, and played with all the network tools I could find in the MAC OS (great learning experience btw) but it keeps self-assigning in the 169 range.
I had the same problem in my Shanghai office, using another Win 2K3 DHCP server, but after several re-connections it picked up an address and worked.
If I manually assign an IP address in the correct range to access the internet and then select DHCP, it won't re-new the IP address but will continue to use the previously assigned one, if I re-new the lease, it keeps the same address (it's not in my DHCP range) which leads me to suspect it's not communicating with the server properly.
Like I say, I'm new to Mac's so no idea if this is new to 10.5.1 as this is my first flavour.
My network has DHCP provided by a Windows 2003 server and we have 14 PC's which connect with no problems. My MacBook Pro, running 10.5.1 cannot pull a DHCP address. I can manually assign an address from outside of my DHCP scope and connect normally, and I can connect normally using my Airport. The cable I'm using works with a PC (disconnect from MacBook, plug into PC and good to go).
I've re-booted the Win 2K3 server, re-assigned the DHCP range, and played with all the network tools I could find in the MAC OS (great learning experience btw) but it keeps self-assigning in the 169 range.
I had the same problem in my Shanghai office, using another Win 2K3 DHCP server, but after several re-connections it picked up an address and worked.
If I manually assign an IP address in the correct range to access the internet and then select DHCP, it won't re-new the IP address but will continue to use the previously assigned one, if I re-new the lease, it keeps the same address (it's not in my DHCP range) which leads me to suspect it's not communicating with the server properly.
Like I say, I'm new to Mac's so no idea if this is new to 10.5.1 as this is my first flavour.
Just had a revelation.....
If you are using WPA2, try using both AES+TKIP as your encryption method. This seems to be the only change I made when I reset my router and it is working now. I don't know if that was the change that made the difference or not but it's worth a try.
--------------------------------------------------
I thought I would add a summary of what this thread has produced so far....
Main Issue
Mac's recently updated to Leopard do not pull a DHCP address wirelessly from the router, instead they pull an internal 169.x.x.x address, other non-leopard Mac's still pull correct wireless addresses and route fine to the Internet
Troubleshooting attempted by readers:
As a troubleshooting method to see if a routing problem existed, manually configured the Mac to an address on the internal network (192.168.1.x), also setting a gateway and authoritative DNS
Result: The Mac can talk to other machines on the 192.168.1.X network but will not route out to the Internet, other non-Leopard Mac's on the network route just fine
This remains an open problem. Seems to be a routing issue
Double checking MAC filter list
Result: Some users have found they have accidentally filtered their Mac's MAC address
Reset router to factory settings (from the router configuration page) and started from scratch, using WPA2 and AES+TKIP for encryption, minus MAC filtering
Result: This has worked as a solution for one person
Reset Router/ Power Cycled Router and/or Computer
Result: This hasn't worked for ANYONE!
Anyone have anything else to add????
If you are using WPA2, try using both AES+TKIP as your encryption method. This seems to be the only change I made when I reset my router and it is working now. I don't know if that was the change that made the difference or not but it's worth a try.
--------------------------------------------------
I thought I would add a summary of what this thread has produced so far....
Main Issue
Mac's recently updated to Leopard do not pull a DHCP address wirelessly from the router, instead they pull an internal 169.x.x.x address, other non-leopard Mac's still pull correct wireless addresses and route fine to the Internet
Troubleshooting attempted by readers:
As a troubleshooting method to see if a routing problem existed, manually configured the Mac to an address on the internal network (192.168.1.x), also setting a gateway and authoritative DNS
Result: The Mac can talk to other machines on the 192.168.1.X network but will not route out to the Internet, other non-Leopard Mac's on the network route just fine
This remains an open problem. Seems to be a routing issue
Double checking MAC filter list
Result: Some users have found they have accidentally filtered their Mac's MAC address
Reset router to factory settings (from the router configuration page) and started from scratch, using WPA2 and AES+TKIP for encryption, minus MAC filtering
Result: This has worked as a solution for one person
Reset Router/ Power Cycled Router and/or Computer
Result: This hasn't worked for ANYONE!
Anyone have anything else to add????
the day i upgraded to leopard this happened to me on my macbook pro. i got advice from someone on this forum to just unplug all the cables involved and wait. i went out for a bit and when i came home, plugged everything back in, and the MBP grabbed the IP the second the modem booted up, i've had no problems since
Guess what folks..it happened again! I had to move some equipment Thursday and had to unplug my access point. I sat down this morning on my couch with my coffee and waiting out the Nor'Easter up here in NY. I figured for a nice calm morning, instead I have been fighting with this damn thing for two hours and have gotten no where! A phone call to Apple was worthless, Apple is still denying it has anything to do with Leopard....I disagree vehemently! Now I am getting the same thing as before...Tiger box connects just fine and Leopard box again is getting a 169.x.x.x address. I wish Apple would at least recognize the problem. I should have stayed with Tiger.
Chiming in late here... I'm also having problems with Leopard not getting an IP address from DHCP using Ethernet. When this happens, the only way to get an IP address is to reboot. 
There's nothing wrong with the ethernet cable I'm using since when I plug it in to a Windows XP laptop, it gets an IP address right away.
There's nothing wrong with the ethernet cable I'm using since when I plug it in to a Windows XP laptop, it gets an IP address right away.
Does turning off the Leopard firewall help? Also, look in your logs (system.log for OS X, also your router log) to see if there any clues.
this is a software issue...
This is a software issue with Leopard, I've tried a hundred things and it all points towards a weakness or corruption in the way the network settings are stored, my wireless connection gets lost when the computer goes to sleep and then it cannot find the network(s), I have disabled the router's ssid, but it shouln't make a difference, Tiger picks it up even after days of not being used, some have suggested making a secondary location to see if it retains the settings and it does for a couple of times but it soon gets corrupted and the settings disappear, I have tried deleting the keychain, deleting prefs, selecting and deselecting the network settings but to no avail, this is a major issue that hopefully gets an upgrade to itself or when 10.5.2 comes out. Also it could be from the System Prefs issue of not being able to retain settings, the Utility Disc does not fix permissions either, a lot of folks have had no issues to connectivity but those who do are not being able to do the usual fixes, we are left in the dark, also leave your router alone, its not the router its the software, and if I do come up with a solution I will post my experiments.
This is a software issue with Leopard, I've tried a hundred things and it all points towards a weakness or corruption in the way the network settings are stored, my wireless connection gets lost when the computer goes to sleep and then it cannot find the network(s), I have disabled the router's ssid, but it shouln't make a difference, Tiger picks it up even after days of not being used, some have suggested making a secondary location to see if it retains the settings and it does for a couple of times but it soon gets corrupted and the settings disappear, I have tried deleting the keychain, deleting prefs, selecting and deselecting the network settings but to no avail, this is a major issue that hopefully gets an upgrade to itself or when 10.5.2 comes out. Also it could be from the System Prefs issue of not being able to retain settings, the Utility Disc does not fix permissions either, a lot of folks have had no issues to connectivity but those who do are not being able to do the usual fixes, we are left in the dark, also leave your router alone, its not the router its the software, and if I do come up with a solution I will post my experiments.
I've tried all firewall settings...
it does the same thing, I also have a powerbook that does not loose the settings or connectivity but my mac mini is a lost cause, the issue i believe lies between the system prefs corruption, the plist file permission and the keychain access files, but then Apple's zany firewall could be knocking out the settings, I've seen the logs and nothing suggests its doing it, I also seen the complete logs and it does not report any lost connectivity! only when awaking from sleep does it report:"cannont find known networks" or "unable to join...network" etc. I have also monitored the Terminal app and it sometimes reports proecesses stuck but I cant find the stuck ones nor can I make sense of it enough to fix the connectivity issue. There is also a forum here about lost airport connectivity that has good info but Im willing to bet its a hard issue to fix without a deep upgrade from Apple.
it does the same thing, I also have a powerbook that does not loose the settings or connectivity but my mac mini is a lost cause, the issue i believe lies between the system prefs corruption, the plist file permission and the keychain access files, but then Apple's zany firewall could be knocking out the settings, I've seen the logs and nothing suggests its doing it, I also seen the complete logs and it does not report any lost connectivity! only when awaking from sleep does it report:"cannont find known networks" or "unable to join...network" etc. I have also monitored the Terminal app and it sometimes reports proecesses stuck but I cant find the stuck ones nor can I make sense of it enough to fix the connectivity issue. There is also a forum here about lost airport connectivity that has good info but Im willing to bet its a hard issue to fix without a deep upgrade from Apple.
I think we should keep the discussion in this thread related to ethernet connections. The problem with Airport is that there are several levels on which it can fail (authentication, MAC filtering, router incompatibilities, encryption type, etc.), but the ethernet problem can be narrowed down easily to DHCP and /or routing.
So can someone whose ethernet connection is failing please check their firewall/system logs?
So can someone whose ethernet connection is failing please check their firewall/system logs?
You're spot on! Firewall is blocking ports 67-68 for DHCP!
Fixed that now. Cheers!
/me must stop mucking about with ipfw
Fixed that now. Cheers!
/me must stop mucking about with ipfw
/me must stop mucking about with ipfw
Haha, I remember reading an article about using ipfw, and one of the things it cautioned about was not blocking DHCP. In fact, that is how I thought of the firewall as a potential problem.
you said you fixed the firewall blocking...can you repeat the steps here,Thanks
[Can you also post] the firewall logs? thanks (newbies...ha) just kidding
[Can you also post] the firewall logs? thanks (newbies...ha) just kidding
The easiest way is:
1) Go to System Preferencess -> Security,
2) In the Firewall tab, choose either "Allow all incoming connections" or "Allow only essential services"
I would if I knew where the logs are, and if it's enabled...
I'm a recent switcher. Since I've used Linux for quite a bit, I wanted to configure Leopard's firewall to filter both incoming and outgoing packets. Guess there's still a lot for me to figure out here.
Been having the same issues since my Leopard upgrade.
Running a Netgear N router only a year old with all updates.
Spent 1 hr on the phone with apple, still no fix.
My work around.... open iTunes and hit "Radio" grab a low kbps station you like and let it play. Seems to force it to connect. I think the original prob happens during sleep and then waking.
Here's a link to the apple forum, it's definitely a Leopard issue
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1200966&tstart=0
Running a Netgear N router only a year old with all updates.
Spent 1 hr on the phone with apple, still no fix.
My work around.... open iTunes and hit "Radio" grab a low kbps station you like and let it play. Seems to force it to connect. I think the original prob happens during sleep and then waking.
Here's a link to the apple forum, it's definitely a Leopard issue
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1200966&tstart=0
Again, I think it is very clear that people are having issues with wireless connections and Leopard, and that there is some software bug causing it. What is not clear is if there is a bug affecting wired connections.
I agree...
its an issue with connectivity that affects all types of connections, some anomaly throws the router's configurations off or System prefs cant retain any settings or they get corrupted fast. I recently had to connect through the ethernet jack and acquired the same message-"self assigned ip add..." so it affects connectivity overall, once I restarted through Tiger it connected instantly(wired and wireless), when I restarted Leopard through my external testing drive it would encounter the same issue. No matter what location I would make or how many times I would delete keychains or plists files it would forget the settings and would not connect because it could not find the network (ssid off) I would lock System prefs just to find it unlocked.
So the issue could be way out of our hands, but Im willing to entertain ideas, and sometimes it works for a couple of restarts and then it goes out again, I set the firewall to essential settings like it was suggested here and so far so good, I will keep on testing. If Firewall is blocking port 65 or 67 how can we input so it doesnt? assuming this is what affects DCHP? thanks for the input people
its an issue with connectivity that affects all types of connections, some anomaly throws the router's configurations off or System prefs cant retain any settings or they get corrupted fast. I recently had to connect through the ethernet jack and acquired the same message-"self assigned ip add..." so it affects connectivity overall, once I restarted through Tiger it connected instantly(wired and wireless), when I restarted Leopard through my external testing drive it would encounter the same issue. No matter what location I would make or how many times I would delete keychains or plists files it would forget the settings and would not connect because it could not find the network (ssid off) I would lock System prefs just to find it unlocked.
So the issue could be way out of our hands, but Im willing to entertain ideas, and sometimes it works for a couple of restarts and then it goes out again, I set the firewall to essential settings like it was suggested here and so far so good, I will keep on testing. If Firewall is blocking port 65 or 67 how can we input so it doesnt? assuming this is what affects DCHP? thanks for the input people