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SELF-ASSIGNED IP??? (ethernet)

it worked for me!

ted400 said:
This thread has begun to take on a life of it's own, so to make it easier to navigate here is a summary of usable troubleshooting steps. These are the steps which have helped most people rectify their self-assigned address (169.x.x.x) problem:


1) Check your firewall on your affected computer to be sure it is not blocking your NIC or ports 67-68 for DHCP
The easiest way is:
1) Go to System Preferencess -> Security,
2) In the Firewall tab, choose either "Allow all incoming connections" or "Allow all essential services"

2) Flush your ipfw cache
a) In Terminal type: sudo ipfw list _then press enter
b) In one of the lines it shows what ip addresses are being allowed, like this:"allow any from 192.168.0.0 to 24"
c) If this is different from your router then flush the rules with the following command: sudo ipfw flush

3) Check your keychain permissions for your Network login
a) open your keychain and look for your network log in password
b) open the password key and under the access control tab make sure the "Allow All Applications to Access This Item" is selected.

Still having problems after finishing these steps? Give detailed information such as the IP address you receive, the version of your OS, the configuration of your router (DHCP or static), etc. etc. and we can continue to troubleshoot this. Hopefully 10.5.2 can address this problem as that update is now up to a whopping 450MB! Tons of fixes coming soon...be patient.
Click to expand...



Hey everyone! I just got done reading this article and searching the internet for answers. First off, I want to say thanks for all of you guys help! I know how frustrating it is to have a problem persist and have nobody know how to fix it.

This "self assigned ip address" problem started a couple days ago. I'm pretty computer savy but even this stumped me. I tried all the basic router techniques, power cycle, setting, reset...and all didn't work. It was like a bandage.. what someone said earlier about your not really fixing it if it only works for a day. I also checked all system setting and security setting and nothing really worked. I called up apple and was on the phone with there specialist and I ended up doing a preserve archive and install and then just a archive and install. After setting all my system setting up how i wanted them to be after the fact, I was at my friends house so I thought my problem when away..YEA!

but,....i came home to where my problem began and it didn't properly.

What Ted400 said above is what fixed it. something that should of took 5 minuets to fix ended up taking me hours if not a days to fix. :( in the long run, im glad its fixed.

Does apple know about this??? im guessing they have some acknowledgment of this problem but....The guy i talked to on the phone from apple took me through some pretty extensive procedures to try to fix this but, in the end I guess he did all that he could.


thanks everyone!
 
You guys rock!

ted400 said:
This thread has begun to take on a life of it's own, so to make it easier to navigate here is a summary of usable troubleshooting steps. These are the steps which have helped most people rectify their self-assigned address (169.x.x.x) problem:


1) Check your firewall on your affected computer to be sure it is not blocking your NIC or ports 67-68 for DHCP
The easiest way is:
1) Go to System Preferencess -> Security,
2) In the Firewall tab, choose either "Allow all incoming connections" or "Allow all essential services"

2) Flush your ipfw cache
a) In Terminal type: sudo ipfw list _then press enter
b) In one of the lines it shows what ip addresses are being allowed, like this:"allow any from 192.168.0.0 to 24"
c) If this is different from your router then flush the rules with the following command: sudo ipfw flush

3) Check your keychain permissions for your Network login
a) open your keychain and look for your network log in password
b) open the password key and under the access control tab make sure the "Allow All Applications to Access This Item" is selected.

Still having problems after finishing these steps? Give detailed information such as the IP address you receive, the version of your OS, the configuration of your router (DHCP or static), etc. etc. and we can continue to troubleshoot this. Hopefully 10.5.2 can address this problem as that update is now up to a whopping 450MB! Tons of fixes coming soon...be patient.
Click to expand...

I've registered with this forum specifically to thank people like ted400, Mlobo01 and others who have spent the time sussing out problems like this, which should obviously have been sussed out by Apple... and have posted real fixes for the problems.

This ridiculous "self assigned ip" issue was doing my head in. But logging on to this forum revealed that it wasn't just me but MANY other Leopard users having the same problem.

For what it's worth, what fixed it for me was step 3 in the ted400 post above. I know the problem seems to be a bit different for everybody, but that's what fixed mine.

I have a brand new iMac 20", 10.5.5, with 2GB RAM, running Airport through a Belkin N router. The router is hard wired to my old G4 mirror doors relic, which has never missed a beat I have to say. (Just makes a hell of a lot of bloody noise...). It's connecting perfectly via built in ethernet, and so was the new iMac for the first month or so, then suddenly - shudder - self assigned ip. It was only intermittent, sometimes it worked fine, but the error was becoming more and more regular, and I always had to select the network after starting up. I found that turning Airport off and then back on a few times would sometimes work. After doing the keychain thing above, it finds the network immediately and all is well every time.

Again, thanks guys, and I hope everyone else gets this crap worked out.
 
quick question.. I have been having this issue for the past 2 days.. And nothing listed has seemed to help! I need this laptop to access the internet while i am on the road traveling. I dont want to get home and have it doing the same thing. Will formating and re-installing the OS fix this issue?? btw, i am running an early 2008 mac book pro model, 2gb ram, everything else is standard.. i just need internet access!
 
Something that worked for me...

Hey all, I just had this same problem and got an immediate solution from a Netgear support forum.

I have a new Macbook running 10.5.5, connecting wirelessly to a Netgear router with DHCP turned on. It worked for a day, then I started getting self-assigned IP addresses and no connection.

In Network preferences, with AirPort selected, under Advanced settings, TCP/IP tab:

1. I changed 'Configure IPv4' from 'Using DHCP' to 'Manually'

2. Entered IP address: IP 192.168.1.200 (something outside the DHCP range)
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
Router: 192.168.1.1
(You may have to tweak these settings to match your network. Check your current router configuration.)

3. In the DNS tab, I added 2 DNS servers:
4.2.2.1 and 4.2.2.2

I know next to nothing about networking and I'm not prepared to explain or defend this solution, but it worked for me and I hope it's helpful to someone else.

Best regards...
 
Solution from Apple support

This problem bugged me for ages and I called Apple support and I had it sorted over the phone in less that 5 mins.

To avoid getting self assigned IP Address, do the following:

1. Go to Mac/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration
2. Delete the following:
a. Com.apple.airport.prefrences.plist
b. NetworkInterfaces.plist
c. Preferences.plist
3. Shut down computer
4. Power on computer and immediately press and hold the following keys until you hear the second start-up chime – Command+Alt+R+P (This resets the PRAM or something)
5. Release the keys and connect to the internet!

Worked for me!
 
I just started having this issue out of the clear blue sky, I've read all tips on how to fix it, called apple, even took it to the apple store. No one has an answer. I even reinstalled osx. Is there any end in sight? I work from home and this is starting to cause me problems. If anyone has a fix please post it. Thanks
 
LyleM said:
I just started having this issue out of the clear blue sky, I've read all tips on how to fix it, called apple, even took it to the apple store. No one has an answer. I even reinstalled osx. Is there any end in sight? I work from home and this is starting to cause me problems. If anyone has a fix please post it. Thanks
Click to expand...

Was it a full reinstall or an Archive and Install? If it was a full reinstall, the problem might be linked to your router, or a physical problem.

Do you connect via ethernet or airport?If one, try the other.
Same problem? Are there other computers on the same router? Are they accessing the net?
What's your setup like? Is the DHCP assigned manually? Automatically?
If its a portable, try it under a friends network? If it works there it's your modem (maybe MAC addressing got turned on by an accident) Try swapping the secuirity on your router.

Always do these kind of steps first before getting into the more obscure realms. They help narrow down the problem to hard/software, or which idenity (the mac, the router, the cable etc...)
 
Sorry, should have been more specific. I connect mainly with ethernet. The router is setup with dhcp. I have other macs on the same router all have access to the net. This one (imac) is the only one that has the issue. It was a full reinstall. But heres the interesting thing. I can browse the net fine, even install the updates which take about 30mins. but as soon as i access the network shares my network on this machine drops out, i can't even access the internet. I have to reboot. The other macs don't have this issue. I've tried wirelessly and still the same issue. I've tried renewing the ip. I've reset the router numerous times. Thanks for the reply.
 
LyleM said:
...but as soon as i access the network shares my network on this machine drops out...
Click to expand...

So you mean that if you access files on the other Macs from the problematic Mac via the router, the problematic Mac then cuts out from the net? OR you mean that when it joins the network that the other Macs are on?

Sorry, just having a bit of trouble reading that above phrase!

If it works with a direct connection, but then cuts out when it joins the "full" network, it sounds like a bad lease or something.
 
Basicly i have a freenas server. i have a powermac G5, mac mini, imac, and a few windows laptops. All computers are fine except the imac. The issue is when i boot the imac everything is fine. I can browse the net, run updates, run last.fm. But as soon as i access the network (freenas or other macs shared folders) the connection drops out on the mac, it still says connected. I can renew the ip and still doesnt work. I have to reboot the computer for it to come back. but then it starts all over. Other times if i renew the ip, it self assigns a IP and that gets me no where. Oh and i've tried 3 routers all the same thing.
 
Thank You!

ted400 said:
This thread has begun to take on a life of it's own, so to make it easier to navigate here is a summary of usable troubleshooting steps. These are the steps which have helped most people rectify their self-assigned address (169.x.x.x) problem:


1) Check your firewall on your affected computer to be sure it is not blocking your NIC or ports 67-68 for DHCP
The easiest way is:
1) Go to System Preferencess -> Security,
2) In the Firewall tab, choose either "Allow all incoming connections" or "Allow all essential services"

2) Flush your ipfw cache
a) In Terminal type: sudo ipfw list _then press enter
b) In one of the lines it shows what ip addresses are being allowed, like this:"allow any from 192.168.0.0 to 24"
c) If this is different from your router then flush the rules with the following command: sudo ipfw flush

3) Check your keychain permissions for your Network login
a) open your keychain and look for your network log in password
b) open the password key and under the access control tab make sure the "Allow All Applications to Access This Item" is selected.

Still having problems after finishing these steps? Give detailed information such as the IP address you receive, the version of your OS, the configuration of your router (DHCP or static), etc. etc. and we can continue to troubleshoot this. Hopefully 10.5.2 can address this problem as that update is now up to a whopping 450MB! Tons of fixes coming soon...be patient.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! this helped me perfectly. I had the same IP problem that started with 169. But after following these steps, my problem was solved and i can function normally again haha.
 
For those not just having Mac specific problems but entire network issues, try looking for a firmware update to your router, and then attempting to "power cycle" your network devices (modem and/or router). This involves not just resetting them with a button or unplugging them for a second, it involves unplugging them for a brief period of time.

As a rule-of-thumb I always do it for at least 5 minutes though that long may not be required (some have said 30 seconds to 1 minute is sufficient, although I generally have a few minutes to spare to get up and walk around). After that time, plug the devices in in order, modem to router. For example, I have two APExpresses extending my network (WDS mode G+N) so after power cycling I will first plug in my modem, then the main APE, and then the extender [this also is not required but is recommended]. Allow a couple minutes for everything to power back on and make their connections.

[NOTE: I'm sure that may have been tried in this case as a more serious problem was occurring with the Mac OS, but for the others this should be your first step in order to find a solution for network problems].

Also, if you have not, try updating to 10.5.6. I have seen this problem occur and get fixed through software updates yet it always seems to return somehow for different users and under different circumstances (from Tiger to now).
 
Crikey. Before reinstalling the whole OS, go and download Applejack and install it.

Then shut down/restart and hold down Cmd + S before the chime to boot into single user.

Type "applejack" at the prompt and run through the each maintenance routine in turn, when you have the choice (caches/prefs) choose to also perform the task for a specific user.

This normally clears up my self-assigned IP issues and they don't recur that frequently.

This might fix a whole bunch of different stuff but it worked every time for my Ethernet problems.
 
Check your WEP Password

I was having the self assigned ip problem as well. I was using a new wireless router. It was working fine, and then quit one day. I eventually figured out I was one digit off on my new WEP password. It would connect me to the network, but I could not get online. Quick fix, try it.
 
Temporary Solution

This was also driving me crazy. It happens to me every time I turn off my computer. Not sure what has triggered it.

This is how I fix it (albeit a terrible solution):
  • Turn off Airport.
  • Change the Date and Time of the computer to something completely different.
  • Restart
  • Fix Date & Time
  • Turn on Airport and Connect

Works every time. Basicly I have to turn on my computer and restart it every time I want to use it.

I have the last-edition iBook with a battery that holds NO charge. The clock battery seems dead as well. Not sure if this is related to the problem...
 
How I fixed it

I discovered that in my case it must have been corrupted keychain files and perhaps network preference files.

Firstly I went into utilities/keychain access and deleted all the keychain entries that had anything to do with my network. (I discovered in fact old apple airport base station entries that had duplicates) In Library/preferences/systemconfiguration I deleted all those files.

After re setting the wireless router I turned it off for an hour and went to starbucks to de-stress. I came back and turned it on and then used the network assistant to configure a new location which I called Automatic. Bingo - the network was found straight away - DHCP had obtained an address and it works well. I have tested this by turning on and off numerous times and it works well.

So for me I felt that an accumulation of previously stored network information and values was somehow corrupting the process

Hope this might help somebody. By the way, I also did try flushing firewall info and all the other suggestions without success. It was obviously the keychain items that were the problem.
 
Definitively the firewall

I had the same issue out of the blue sky here.
After poking around for about an hour I just switched off the firewall and it worked.
Looking at the firewall log it seems that it blocks incoming connections for configd, mDNSResponder and many more services. Furthermore it seems that even the "allow essential services" blocks far too aggressively (stuff like cupsd nmblookup - not sure if this is intended). My best guess is that either there is a configuration-related big, bad bug in the firewall or the network preferences seem to screw up randomly.
Edit: There is not much network related in the keychain for me (just few passwords)- either that's the bug or it pinpoints it really to the preferences.
 
help!

there are two mac laptops active in my house. one of them is a macbook running 10.4.11, and the other is a macbook pro running 10.5.4. I'm using a d-link 524 wireless router configured to DHCP. The odd thing is that the macbook connects to the network without a problem, but the macbook pro gets the self-assigned ip address error. both computers can connect when plugged directly into the modem. on the macbook, the ip address that shows up is simply the address of the router: 192.168.0.100. On the macbook pro, the address that shows up is 169.254.96.168.

earlier the macbook pro would still get the self-assigned ip address even through ethernet, and when i called apple support earlier they suggested that because of this it was likely a problem with my ISP. i called them, and they hit some buttons and suddenly the macbook pro was able to get an ip address when connected through the ethernet, but not through the router. the fact that the macbook can connect leads me to believe it's a problem with the macbook pro itself, not the router.

i've tried everything suggested in this thread and nothing works. i'm planning on calling apple support again, but does anyone have any suggestions?
 
oozienelson said:
there are two mac laptops active in my house. one of them is a macbook running 10.4.11, and the other is a macbook pro running 10.5.4. I'm using a d-link 524 wireless router configured to DHCP. The odd thing is that the macbook connects to the network without a problem, but the macbook pro gets the self-assigned ip address error. both computers can connect when plugged directly into the modem. on the macbook, the ip address that shows up is simply the address of the router: 192.168.0.100. On the macbook pro, the address that shows up is 169.254.96.168.

earlier the macbook pro would still get the self-assigned ip address even through ethernet, and when i called apple support earlier they suggested that because of this it was likely a problem with my ISP. i called them, and they hit some buttons and suddenly the macbook pro was able to get an ip address when connected through the ethernet, but not through the router. the fact that the macbook can connect leads me to believe it's a problem with the macbook pro itself, not the router.

i've tried everything suggested in this thread and nothing works. i'm planning on calling apple support again, but does anyone have any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Are you saying the IP address of the MacBook is the same as the address of the router?

I doubt that's the case, or you'd be getting IP address conflict errors popping up. (Though, it would explain why the MacBook Pro is struggling to get an IP address).
 
oozienelson said:
there are two mac laptops active in my house. one of them is a macbook running 10.4.11, and the other is a macbook pro running 10.5.4. I'm using a d-link 524 wireless router configured to DHCP. The odd thing is that the macbook connects to the network without a problem, but the macbook pro gets the self-assigned ip address error. both computers can connect when plugged directly into the modem. on the macbook, the ip address that shows up is simply the address of the router: 192.168.0.100. On the macbook pro, the address that shows up is 169.254.96.168.

earlier the macbook pro would still get the self-assigned ip address even through ethernet, and when i called apple support earlier they suggested that because of this it was likely a problem with my ISP. i called them, and they hit some buttons and suddenly the macbook pro was able to get an ip address when connected through the ethernet, but not through the router. the fact that the macbook can connect leads me to believe it's a problem with the macbook pro itself, not the router.

i've tried everything suggested in this thread and nothing works. i'm planning on calling apple support again, but does anyone have any suggestions?
Click to expand...

I don't know, I've seen weird things such as two computers wanting the same IP address. You could try creating a new location and seeing if it will connect. And if it doesn't, you could try manually giving it an IP address/DNS settings for that location.
 
I, too, have this problem...BUT

Okay...I upgraded to Leopard when it first came out...ethernet quit working, just like everybody else...went through all the steps here (thanks for the advice, but I am still seeing the same old stuff) and the only thing that has worked to get a DHCP address is to manually set the ethernet to 100BaseT Full Duplex/Flow Control...it works just fine then, but I don't want 100BaseT, I want 1000BaseT...I have seen this on ALL the laptops in my family that upgraded from 10.4 to 10.5...I am going to do a clean install I guess, but this really tees me off. I have been fighting this for over a year with no results...

I did carbon copy clone'ed my disk and booted by new Quad PowerMac and had ZERO problems with the ethernet, so it is not Leopard, it has to be something to do with Leopard and my MBP 2.33

Update: I went and installed Leopard Server on my PM, setup DHCP, hooked up a brand new gig switch, connected the 2 machines and duplicated the problem exactly like before, switched to 100BaseT and got an address...same as before...will this ever end?
 
More Weird on the Wired

jd4614 said:
Okay...I upgraded to Leopard when it first came out...ethernet quit working, just like everybody else...went through all the steps here (thanks for the advice, but I am still seeing the same old stuff) and the only thing that has worked to get a DHCP address is to manually set the ethernet to 100BaseT Full Duplex/Flow Control...it works just fine then, but I don't want 100BaseT, I want 1000BaseT...I have seen this on ALL the laptops in my family that upgraded from 10.4 to 10.5...I am going to do a clean install I guess, but this really tees me off. I have been fighting this for over a year with no results...

I did carbon copy clone'ed my disk and booted by new Quad PowerMac and had ZERO problems with the ethernet, so it is not Leopard, it has to be something to do with Leopard and my MBP 2.33

Update: I went and installed Leopard Server on my PM, setup DHCP, hooked up a brand new gig switch, connected the 2 machines and duplicated the problem exactly like before, switched to 100BaseT and got an address...same as before...will this ever end?
Click to expand...

Okay...want to know something more wierd...I just found a USB 2.0 Gigabit Interface and it does EXACTLY the same thing no matter what router I use to grab DHCP...so this is a Leopard and 1000BaseT issue on this laptop, it must be in the install...I have eliminated hardware completely with the PowerMac and now this third party interface
 
I think changing my Firewall settings to "Allow essential services" in order to enable the "advanced" tab so I could get to the log. Then I changed it back to "allow all incoming connections" and it seemed to work again.

I have a dual-radio router that supports an N and a G network. I was able to connect to the G radio and get an IP but not the N radio on the same radio. While connected with G though, I got a message saying my network had been compromised and that Airport would disconnect for 1 minute.

On my Netgear firmware download release notes page, I noticed this:

"RECOMENDED - Please use “WPA2-ONLY security” instead of “WPA+WPA2 mix mode” on GUI router setting. This will prevent that the client from using incorrect WPA (TKIP) packet transmission error; the fail will trigger router 802.11 function - MIC failure. So, it can be fixed if you just select WPA2-only and has better security mode."

MIC Is a Message Integrity Check that validates network traffic to prevent capturing packets and re-sending them for malicious purposes. So it could be unrelated, but it could be related if it means that the DHCP traffic was considered invalid. I've switched to WPA2-only and so far so good, but we'll see if it lasts.

Incidentally, with my old Powerbook 17 and intermittantly with my MBP 17, I've had trouble with WPA2 where the Mac will just refuse to connect to the network after connecting to it fine. It will say "connection failed" or "connection timeout" but will allow me to connect to other networks just fine. Fortunately that isn't part of the problem here, but I'll keep my fingers crossed on that.

Michael
 
solution for some...

I had the problem of wireless macbook pro's and also intel iMacs with ethernet NOT getting internet because of "self-assigned IP". I called a friend who gave me advise that seems to be working: At the school I work at we had 2 wlreless networks and had just set up a third on using an older Airport (the other two were a Airport Express and another older Airport). We had been having intermittent problems getting on the internet with that infamous message. My friend told me that the last Airport we installed had to be set so as to NOT distribute IP addresses. We had a Linksys router already doing that job, and apparently there were conflicting addresses being broadcast, which caused both wireless and ethernet connected computers (all running Tiger X 10.4.x) to have internet problems. It even interfered with the printers on the same networks. When I set the recently installed Airport to NOT distribute the IP addresses, it seemed to fix the problem and now all computers can access the internet AND all printers are working... hope this helps some
 
Self Assigned Ip

My internet was working fine for months, when I turned on mac today, and try to connect to he internet, Firefox/Safari was not responding.
I checked my system preferences to see network preferences, to see the airport is working properly. It say SELF ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS. (What does it mean don't know)

IP address reads: 169.254.198.71.

My airport used to say to have an ip from 192..............
I give it some of the basic try but still the same
=Restart
=Try to connect to a different network
=Renew
And i'm running a leopard 1.05


Thanks in advance :(:apple:
 
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