In Android, occasionally you may come across the Obtaining IP address error. Be it your Android smartphone or Android tablet, the error is not device specific so you can encounter Obtaining IP address error anytime. If you want to fix this error, this tutorial will help you out. The Obtaining IP address error in Android occurs when trying to connect to a WiFi network. Even though you have entered right password for the WiFi network, it will still show Obtaining IP address and then goes into a loop. The problem here seems to be with the phone being unable to obtain an IP address from your WiFi network or router. Since your Android phone network is DHCP, the phone tried to obtain the IP address automatically, each time you try to connect the WiFi network. However, if you set the IP address to static in the settings, this problem does not occur. So, there you have the solution. The fix for obtaining IP address error in Android is to set the IP address to static and define an IP address manually. The settings to assign an IP address manually in Android is different based on the version of Android you are using. Before that, there is one thing that I suggest you do before you start with tweaking your network setting in Android. Also, make sure that not more than allowed number of devices are connected to the WiFi network. Close all the running Apps, forget the WiFi network, turn off WiFi, turn on WiFi and connect to the network and see if that works. Check WiFi Password The Obtaining IP address problem can also occur because you have entered a wrong password. Check the show password option inside your WiFi settings while entering the password. Do note that WiFi passwords are case sensitive, so make sure you use the upper case and lower case letters if needed. All done? Now try the static IP address method as shown below. If you are using the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich device, follow steps mentioned below. Fix Obtaining IP Address Error in Android 4.0 So, these are the steps you need to follow to be able to assign an IP address manually to Android phone running Android 4.0 or below. Open Settings app from the app drawer or Quick Settings. Go to Wireless and Networks and tap on Wi-Fi to turn it on. Enter WiFi settings. Now press Menu icon and select Advance. Check "Use static IP" option. Below that, enter following values in the respective fields. Note: You can use any IP address of your choice. Note: Use different IP than your Router IP address. If the router IP address is 192.168.137.1, use 192.168.137.2/3/4/ or 5 etc. IP address: 192.168.137.1 Gateway: 192.168.1.1 Netmask: 255.255.255.0 DNS 1: 8.8.4.4 DNS 2: 8.8.8.8 Note: DNS 1 and DNS 2 are open Google Public DNS, so you can use them as they are free and fast. Now save the changes and try to connect to the WiFi network that was showing Obtaining IP address error. If everything went right, you should be able to get connected now. Assign IP address Manually in Android 4.1 and Above Now if you are running Android 4.1 or above on your smartphone, here is how to assign an IP address manually to it. Go the Settings app and tap on Wi-Fi. Turn on Wi-Fi if it is off and connect to the WiFi network. Now press and hold on the connected network, and select Modify Network, when the option pops up. Select "Show Advance Options". Under IP settings, tap DHCP and select Static. Now be careful while proceeding as you have to only assign an IP address and leave everything as it is. Assign an IP address of your choice and tap on Save to save the changes. Note: While assigning an IP address, just make sure that you use a unique IP address and the IP address is not being used by any other device connected to the same WiFi network. Set WiFi Router Settings to Default At times a simple turn off and on can fix the IP obtaining IP address issue in Android. So, all you have to do is, turn off the WiFi router, pull the ethernet wire (if any), insert it back, turn on the WiFi router and see if that fixed the issue. Set WiFi Router Settings to Default Another thing you can try while trying to fix the Obtaining IP address error in Android is to set the WiFi Router settings to the default state. You can do this from your routers setting web page. To open the web page, open your web browser and enter manufacturer's default IP address. The default IP address is located on the underside of your router or in the user manual. If you have set a custom IP address then you should know it better. Enter the default IP address and visit the router setting page. Enter username and password to log in. (Refer your router manual or Google it if you don't know the username and password for the router). In the Primary Network tab, click Restore Wireless Defaults button. The options may be different depending on your WiFi router maker. Once done, Apply and save the changes. If this did not resolve the issue, try changing the encryption method if you have set any. Did you know that you can create WiFi hotspot in Windows laptop? Follow the link to know how to do it. Troubleshooting Tips: The Internet gets connected but cannot use the internet, what to do? It can happen that you get connected to the internet after assigning a static IP address, but may not be able to use the internet. In such cases, do the following. While you are connected to the internet, go to WiFi settings and change the IP setting back to DHCP and save the settings. Just make sure that while changing the IP settings to DCHP you don't disconnect from the internet. You have to change to DCHP from Static while being connected to the WiFi network.
