@jeff1414 wrote:
When you go to Wifi advanced settings you see this option whether to activate it or not.
Auto IP is a special network address mode.
In normal condition, after connecting to a wireless network your phone gets IP address from a DHCP server (alternatively you can specify static address in advanced settings).
When you don't set static address and DHCP server is not available phone will not be able to access any network resources. This is not desired condition, especially when you are just setting up new home network, router, printer or any other device.
Then auto ip was introduced. It is a special pool of network addresses used only to connect within local network to allow setting up basics or to allow two devices to communicate directly without setting up static addresses or DHCP servers and routers. These adresses are 169.254.x.x/16, where x.x means from 0.1 to 255.254. They are random assigned, when phone can't connect to DHCP server within certain amount of time.
When more than one device has auto ip address within the same wifi/LAN they can communicate together but cannot access the Internet or other networks.
You don't need it under normal conditions.
