Causes of 169 IP Address Error
For a computer to access the internet through a network, it needs a valid IP address. The easiest way to make sure this happens seamlessly is through the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), which is a setting that allows the router to automatically assign an IP address to each device on the network. When a Windows computer isn’t able to communicate with the DHCP server, something called Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) kicks in. It assigns the computer an IP address that starts with 169.254. These IP addresses are only useful on local networks, not the internet.
How to Fix a 169 IP Address Error
To fix an error where your computer has an invalid IP address that starts with 169, you need to make it so that the networking device in your computer is able to communicate with your network hardware. Depending on the reason you experience this error, you may be able to accomplish this by resetting the network hardware, telling the networking device in the computer to request a new IP address, or changing some settings in the router. DHCP is the setting that allows a router to assign IP addresses dynamically. If this setting is turned off, and you haven’t set a static IP address for the computer, you won’t be able to access the internet.
