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🏠 LAN and DHCP

DHCP Reservation and Static IP Setup for Printer CCTV and Servers

A network printer should be at the same address today, next month and after every power cut. DHCP reservations give it exactly that - without touching the printer at all.

✍️ Technical Anshu🌐 Home and Office Routers⏱️ 10 minute guide
🎥 Watch the complete router setup in the video - every screen, step by step

By default your router lends each device an address for a limited time, and the address can change. For phones that is fine. For a printer, CCTV DVR/NVR, NAS or a PC you remote into, a changed address means the device seems to have vanished - Windows still prints to the old address and the camera app still looks at the old address. There are two cures: set a static IP on the device itself, or reserve an address in the router. The reservation is almost always the better choice, and this guide shows both honestly.

Router Admin - DHCP Reserved Addresses (Example)
Office Printer192.168.0.50
CCTV NVR192.168.0.51
NAS Storage192.168.0.52
DHCP Pool for Phones and PCs192.168.0.100 - 199

Fixed devices live below the pool. The router always gives each one the same address because the reservation matches its MAC address.

1

Reservation vs Static IP - Choose Correctly First

  1. DHCP reservation (in the router): the device still asks for an address, and the router always gives the same one, matched to the device's MAC address. Central, visible, easy to change. Best for almost everything
  2. Static IP (on the device): the device never asks; it simply uses a fixed address you typed into it. Needed when the device must work even if the router's DHCP is down, or for the router-facing gear itself
  3. The golden rule either way: the fixed address must be outside the DHCP pool, or inside it only via a proper reservation - otherwise the router may hand the same address to a phone and cause a conflict
2

Make a Reservation Step by Step

  1. Find the device's MAC address - printed on its label, shown in its network settings, or listed in the router's connected-devices page
  2. In the router, open DHCP settings and find Address Reservation / Static Lease
  3. Add the MAC address and the IP you want, for example 192.168.0.50 for the printer
  4. Save, then restart the device (not just the router) so it picks up its reserved address
  5. Confirm in the router's client list that the device now holds the reserved IP
3

Plan the Address Layout Once

A tidy scheme prevents years of confusion. One common pattern: .1 the router, .2 to .49 reserved for infrastructure like a second access point, .50 onwards for printers, cameras and servers, and the DHCP pool at .100 to .199 for everything else. Write the list down and keep it with the router - the next person to maintain this network, possibly you in two years, will be grateful.

4

If You Must Set a Static IP on the Device Itself

  1. Use an address outside the DHCP pool, in the same range as the router - if the router is 192.168.0.1, the device can be 192.168.0.50
  2. Subnet mask 255.255.255.0, gateway = the router's address, DNS = the router's address or 1.1.1.1
  3. Never give two devices the same address - an IP conflict takes both offline and produces the strangest, most intermittent faults in networking

🎥 Watch the Full Router Setup Video

See every menu and setting live on screen - WAN, LAN, WiFi and security, in the exact order of this guide.

▶️ Watch Full Video
❓ Frequently Asked Questions

My printer got a new IP and Windows printing broke. How do I fix it permanently?

Reserve the printer's current address in the router as shown above, then in Windows either reinstall the printer at that fixed address or change the printer port to it. With the reservation in place the address never moves again, so the problem does not return after the next power cut.

Can I reserve an address that is inside the DHCP pool?

Many routers allow it and handle it correctly, because the reservation removes that address from general lending. Some cheaper models behave oddly though. The safe habit is reserving addresses outside the pool range - there is no downside and it works on every brand.

The CCTV app stopped showing cameras after I changed routers. Is this the same issue?

Very likely. A new router often uses a different range, for example 192.168.1.x instead of 192.168.0.x, so the recorder's old fixed address no longer fits. Either set the new router's LAN to the old range, or give the NVR a new reservation in the new range and update the app.

This guide is based on the Technical Anshu full router setup video • Stuck on any step? Ask in the video comments — you will get a reply there 🙏