So today my router suddenly lost its IP address from Shaw and couldn't renew. I normally have two IP addresses (modem -> switch -> router + separate laptop), and the secondary IP address continued to function normally, but the router could not renew my primary IP address until I changed its MAC address. Then it got a new IP address from Shaw. I tried changing it back to the original MAC address, but of course that didn't work because now the new MAC address was registered as one of the two allowed. Prior to this I hadn't changed my router MAC address in years, and the Shaw IP address issued to it actually hasn't changed in years either (it was almost a static IP!).
I've seen temporary problems with both Shaw and Telus in the past being unable to issue an IP address for a short time due to DHCP problems at their end, but what would cause the modem to suddenly block out the router's original MAC address like that, but still accept a new MAC address?
↧