Device Intermittently Disappears or Changes IP Address

Symptoms

• The device intermittently disappears from WinDiscovery
• The device’s IP address changes unexpectedly
• Communication drops and then returns without configuration changes

Causes

• DHCP lease changes or DHCP service is unreliable on the connected network
• Device is configured for DHCP but the network does not provide DHCP consistently
• IP address conflict on the network (two devices using the same address)
• Network segmentation or packet loss causes WinDiscovery sessions to appear intermittent

Troubleshooting steps

1. Confirm whether the device is using DHCP. If DHCP is enabled, the IP may change as leases renew.
2. If DHCP is not reliable, use a static IP. Configure a static IP in WinDiscovery to prevent unexpected address changes.
3. Check for missing DHCP on the network. If the network does not provide DHCP, the device may repeatedly attempt to renew. See Understanding Fallback IP Addresses (169.254.x.x).
4. Check for IP conflicts. Ensure no other device is using the same IP address.
5. Review boot and initialization behavior. See Device Boot and Network Initialization Behavior.

Related articles

• WinDiscovery status is intermittent or garbled