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All FAQs → Verizon FiOS FAQ → 2.1 Troubleshooting

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How do I release my DHCP lease? Why would I need to?

FIOS DHCP leases are MAC bound to the router. When swapping routers, it is imperative to release your DHCP lease, otherwise, the new router may not be able to obtain a DHCP lease, and therefore will not be able to connect to the internet. Contrary to popular belief, the ONT does not manage your DHCP lease, and rebooting your ONT will not help in the release.


There are several ways to release your DHCP lease:


  • Via Router GUI. Verizon routers provide this function. Some, but not all, third party routers also provide this function. See below for release instructions for Verizon routers.

  • Power off and completely unplug router two hours. Verizon's standard DHCP lease interval is 2 hours. When the existing DHCP lease has expired, the new router should be able to obtain a new DHCP lease.

  • Call Tech Support. Verizon Tech Support (800-Verizon) can immediately break the existing lease.


To release DHCP lease via the router GUI, follow the below steps on the Actiontec or FiOS Quantum Gateway:

1Click on the My Network icon at the top.
2Click Network Connections from the menu on the left.
3Click Broadband Connection
4Click Settings
5Scroll down and click Release under DHCP Lease
6Click Apply
7Disconnect the router immediately to prevent it from re-requesting a DHCP lease.


Feedback received on this FAQ entry:
  • Hint: Before doing an exact model for model FiOS router swap (such as this G1100 for G1100 swap), you might consider first backing up the router settings (if you have changed them) so that you can then restore your settings onto the new router. Then you're up and running perfectly. If you haven't made changes, don't bother, though. Verizon offers many options, but went the simple route (for me) and saved to a file on my laptop, took my laptop off wifi, powered up the new G1100, connected it Ethernet to my laptop, and restored to the new G1100 so that it was fully configured when I swapped it. Note that you want to power down the new G1100 immediately as it's broadcasting the same SSIDs as your current router. ALSO NOTE that if you decided to do this backup / restore like I did, the new router will get the old router's password. Thus the new G1100 password will NOT match the label on the side of the router unless you change it back manually.

    2020-05-21 14:54:49 (robo45h See Profile)

  • You guys are the best!

    2017-09-24 22:32:02

  • I'm so happy I checked this article out. I was able to place my own router using this method. Thanks! You've save me a lot of time.

    2017-05-12 20:53:04

  • worked great on my Actiontec router when replacing with FiOS G1100--thanks!

    2017-03-09 09:30:13

  • worked great on my FIOS G1100 router - quite buried in the menus. thanks!

    2016-12-01 23:55:02



Expand got feedback?

by More Fiber See Profile edited by Branch See Profile
last modified: 2017-01-22 21:35:53