If you don’t know how to fix the “Self-Assigned IP” error on a Mac, we are going to help you out. It occurs when different network interfaces receive a self-assigned IP address, even though the system is actually connected to a network with a DHCP server, which has been correctly configured.
When this happens, other devices or computers connected to the same network will work fine, but when the Mac assigns itself an IP address, it will prevent the Internet from functioning normally. Furthermore, even if you are connected to a WiFi network, you will not be able to use the Internet.
And while it is possible to follow a series of basic, simple, and straightforward steps, they do not always solve the problem, forcing us to delete some files to effectively resolve the issue.
Why does it happen?
The incident occurs when an ad-hoc network is created if necessary without the presence of an established network. This happens when the network port detects a suitable hardware connection but is unable to communicate with the DHCP server to obtain a new IP address.
And this error often occurs when the user makes major changes to the configuration of their systems, which may result in the configuration not being migrated correctly.
How to fix the “Self-Assigned IP” error on a Mac?
When trying to solve the problem we can do several things: create a new network location, which would offer the possibility to update the settings of the different network ports. Or, manually update the DHCP allowance to force a port reconfiguration.
While these steps can be useful, they are often not entirely effective in solving problems. And this is because the main culprit is the configuration with the system firewall, so originally it is necessary to reset the firewall.
To solve this, we must open Finder, then go to Computer and click on macOS X, then click on the Library folder, and finally on Preferences.
Next, we must click on the folder called SystemConfiguration, and we must proceed to move the following files to the trash:
- apple.network.identification.plist
- apple.airport.preferences.plist
- plist
Once this is done, we must restart the Mac. Once it has started, the system may request that we allow new incoming connections to numerous services and programs. We must simply accept them and that’s it!