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Link-local Addresses

You landed here because the address you looked up is a link-local address — only valid on the single subnet it was configured on. Packets sourced from or destined to these addresses are dropped by every compliant router. RFC 3927 defines the IPv4 range (169.254.0.0/16, aka APIPA) and RFC 4291 reserves fe80::/10 as the IPv6 equivalent.

IPv4 link-local (APIPA)
169.254.0.0/16
RFC 3927
IPv6 link-local
fe80::/10
RFC 4291

Troubleshooting 169.254.x.x on your device

If your computer or phone shows a 169.254.x.x address, it means DHCP failed and the OS assigned an APIPA fallback address. You have no internet access. Common fixes:

  • Check the cable/Wi-Fi. A loose Ethernet cable or a dropped Wi-Fi connection prevents DHCP discovery.
  • Restart the DHCP client. On Windows: ipconfig /release && ipconfig /renew. On macOS/Linux: toggle the interface off and on.
  • Check the router/DHCP server. If the DHCP server is down or the pool is exhausted, no device on the subnet gets an address.
  • Assign a static IP. As a temporary workaround, set a manual IP in the same subnet as your router (e.g. 192.168.1.x/24).

Frequently asked questions

Why does my device have a 169.254.x.x address?

Your DHCP client asked for a lease, did not get a reply, and fell back to RFC 3927 APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing). The host picks a random address from 169.254.1.0 – 169.254.254.255, probes the subnet to make sure nobody else has it, and starts using it. You have network hardware, a link, and an IP — but no working DHCP server upstream. The usual causes are a down DHCP server, a broken switch port, or a cable into a port with no DHCP service at all.

Is 169.254.1.1 routable across subnets?

No. Link-local means exactly that: valid only on the local link. RFC 3927 requires that routers drop any packet with a link-local source or destination at the ingress interface. Even if you wanted to route it, the address is not unique — another host on another subnet may hold the same number.

What does APIPA mean?

Automatic Private IP Addressing. It is Microsoft's name for the RFC 3927 mechanism: if DHCP fails, pick a random address in 169.254/16 so that devices on the same switch can still talk to each other. macOS, Linux NetworkManager, and most embedded stacks implement the same fallback with different names.

What is fe80::/10 used for?

Every IPv6 interface auto-configures a link-local address in fe80::/10 at startup. It is used for neighbor discovery, router advertisements, and DHCPv6, and it is how IPv6 hosts find their gateway without manual configuration. You cannot reach an fe80:: address without specifying the outgoing interface (the 'zone ID'), because the address space is not globally unique — fe80::1 means a different host on every link.

Can link-local addresses appear in BGP?

No. RFC 3927 and RFC 4291 explicitly forbid it, and every sane bogon filter drops them at the edge. If you see 169.254/16 or fe80::/10 in a BGP table it is a leak from a router's management interface that should not be there.

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