How to “Reboot” your Internet Connection

To access the Internet one must have an IP address. This IP address is assigned to you by your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

 

Most home internet connections have “shared” IP addresses. This means that the IP address changes periodically, typically with a period of a few days to weeks.

 

Not all IP addresses are the same, however, and with large and complex ISPs with many millions of IP addresses, there are bound to be some which are problematic.

 

If you notice problems with performance of your Internet connection, even if it only appears to happen when you connect to PandaPow, it can be a good idea to try “rebooting” your internet connection, so that it gets assigned a different IP address:

 

  1. First make sure PandaPow is not connected.
  2. Make a note of your current IP address. To find it, you can click here. The IP address should be 4 numbers separated by dots.
  3. Next unplug your modem and/or router and make sure it’s completely powered down for at least 30 seconds.
  4. Start up your modem and router and click the link above again, to make sure that you now have a different IP address. If not, you can try repeating the process, but it might also be that your ISP has assigned you an IP address statically, so it won’t help.

 

Occasionally, bad IP addresses come in groups, so even if you successfully get a new IP address, the problem continues. If so you may need to repeat the process a few times to get back to a good IP address.