Troubleshooting Windows Server DHCP Lease Release Failures

While attempting to assign a static IP address in Windows Server Core Edition via Command Prompt, you might encounter an error stating Failed to release DHCP Lease. This particular error can surface when you try to modify the settings of your network adapter. In this article, we’ll explore various workarounds and solutions for when Windows Server is unable to release the DHCP Lease.

Resolving the Issue of Windows Server Failing to Release DHCP Lease

If your Windows Server is struggling to release a DHCP Lease, try the following solutions.

1. Verify Server Updates
2. Force a Change of the IP Address
3. Restart the DHCP Client Service

Let’s delve into each solution in detail.

1] Verify Server Updates

If there are bugs in the version of your operating system, configuring your network settings may lead to issues. Although Microsoft doesn’t always confirm these bugs, it’s advisable to check for updates in hopes of a fix. To do this, navigate to Settings, then to Update & Security, and click on Check for updates. Install any available updates, restart your server, and see if the problem continues.

2] Force a Change of the IP Address

If no updates are available at this moment, you can manually change the server’s IP address using the command line interface (CLI). This process involves forcing an IP address change to bypass the error message encountered. If you are at the error screen, simply press Enter to proceed and select the option to open PowerShell, often assigned the number 15 for this action. If you aren’t on that screen, just launch PowerShell as an administrator.

After launching PowerShell, execute Get-NetAdapter to view a list of your network interfaces and their aliases.

If your network adapter has multiple aliases and you’re uncertain about which to modify, use ipconfig /all to examine the list. The next step is to alter the IP of the alias you’ve selected.

Once you’ve identified the alias to be adjusted, enter the command below to eliminate the currently assigned IP address for the Ethernet interface.

Remove-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias Ethernet -confirm:$False

Let’s break down the components of this command:

• Remove-NetIPAddress: This cmdlet is utilized to delete an IP address and its configuration from a network interface.
• InterfaceAlias Ethernet: This specifies the network interface from which the IP address will be removed, in this case, the Ethernet interface.
• confirm:$False: This prevents the confirmation prompt that typically appears when executing the cmdlet, allowing for seamless execution without user interaction.

For my instance, the command was Remove-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias Ethernet0 -confirm:$False.

After successfully removing the existing IP, the next step is to assign a new one. To do this, run the command below.

New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias {NAME} -IPAddress {IP} -PrefixLength {L} -DefaultGateway {GATEWAY_IP}

Here’s an overview of this command:

• New-NetIPAddress: This cmdlet allows you to establish a new IP address configuration for a network interface.
• InterfaceAlias {NAME}: This specifies the network interface by its name or alias for IP assignment. Replace {NAME} with your actual network interface’s name, such as Ethernet.
• IPAddress {IP}: This indicates the new IP address you want to assign. Replace {IP} with your designated IP address, such as 192.168.1.10.
• PrefixLength {L}: This defines the subnet prefix length (known as the subnet mask) for the IP address. Replace {L} with the numeric prefix length, like 24 (representing a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0).
• DefaultGateway {GATEWAY_IP}: This refers to the default gateway’s IP address. Replace {GATEWAY_IP} with your actual gateway IP address, such as 192.168.1.1.

After substituting all placeholders, the command for my setup was New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias Ethernet0 -IPAddress 192.168.1.4 -PrefixLength 24 -DefaultGateway 192.168.1.1. Ensure your parameters reflect your environment accurately.

This workaround effectively removes the existing IP address, allowing for the assignment of a new static IP.

3] Restart the DHCP Client Service

The DHCP Client Service is critical within a network, facilitating the automatic distribution and management of IP addresses and network configurations. As the error arises when trying to set the IP automatically, it’s worth restarting the DHCP Client Service on your device. To do this, open PowerShell and execute the command below.

Restart-Service DhcpClient

After executing that command, check whether the issue has been resolved. If the problem persists, you may also attempt running netsh winsock reset to reset Winsock protocol settings.

By employing the solutions outline in this article, you should be able to resolve the issue at hand.

How can I resolve a DHCP lease failure?

If you face an error indicating that the DHCP lease has failed, preventing you from configuring your server’s network settings, you can try several solutions. First, check for any available updates and install them. If the update does not resolve the issue, consider manually setting the IP or restarting the DHCP service to facilitate automatic IP assignment.

What contributes to a DHCP failure?

Several factors can lead to DHCP failure, such as IP address conflicts (where two devices share the same IP), misconfigured DHCP servers, or a lack of available IP addresses. We recommend searching for solutions based on the specific error message you encounter for targeted resolutions.

Author: Egor Kostenko

My goal is to make complex technical topics simple and accessible. On this site, I gather unique and useful content that not only solves users’ problems but also helps them better understand the capabilities of Windows.