MikroTik static DHCP lease: always give a device the same IP
Last updated: 2 October 2026
Printers, cameras, servers and anything you forward a port to should keep the same address. The clean way is a static lease: the device still asks by DHCP, and the router always answers with the address you chose.
1. Turn an existing lease into a static one
Connect the device, find its lease and fix it:
/ip dhcp-server lease print
/ip dhcp-server lease make-static [find mac-address=AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF]In Winbox: IP → DHCP Server → Leases, open the lease and press Make Static. The D (dynamic) flag disappears. The device keeps the address it has now.
2. Change it to the address you want
/ip dhcp-server lease set [find mac-address=AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF] address=192.168.88.50 comment="office printer"The device takes the new address when it next renews. To make that happen now, reconnect it or restart it.
3. Add a lease by MAC address before the device is connected
/ip dhcp-server lease add address=192.168.88.51 mac-address=AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF server=dhcp1 comment="camera gate"Use the name of your own DHCP server from /ip dhcp-server print.
Inside or outside the pool?
Both work. A static lease may use any address in the network of the DHCP server.
- Outside the pool is tidier. Keep, say, 192.168.88.2-99 for fixed devices and give out 192.168.88.100-254 to everyone else. There is no chance another device already holds the address.
- Inside the pool is fine too: the server will not hand a reserved address to anyone else. The only catch is the moment you create it, when another device may still hold that address until its lease runs out.
/ip pool set [find name=dhcp-pool] ranges=192.168.88.100-192.168.88.254Pools and networks are explained in DHCP server setup.
A speed limit on the lease
A lease can carry its own limit. The router creates a queue for the device while the lease is active:
/ip dhcp-server lease set [find mac-address=AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF] rate-limit=2M/5MThat is 2 Mbps upload and 5 Mbps download. As with every queue, it is ignored for traffic handled by FastTrack; see bandwidth limit per user.
Client-id problems
Besides the MAC address, many devices send a client-id. When you press Make Static the router stores both, and the lease then matches only when both are the same. If the device later sends a different client-id (after a system reinstall, or when booting from the network), it gets a new dynamic address and your static lease sits there unused.
/ip dhcp-server lease print detail where mac-address=AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FFThe fix is to remove that lease and add it again by MAC address only, as in step 3. A lease added by hand without a client-id matches on the MAC address alone.
/ip dhcp-server lease remove [find mac-address=AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF]Random and private MAC on phones
Phones and recent laptops invent a different MAC address for each Wi-Fi network, and some change it again from time to time. A static lease then stops matching and the phone gets an ordinary address from the pool. On the phone, open the settings of that Wi-Fi network and set the MAC or privacy option to "use device MAC" (Android) or switch "Private Wi-Fi Address" off (iPhone), then make the lease static again with the address that now shows.
What static leases are good for
- The target of a port forward, which must not move.
- Firewall rules and queues that name one device by address.
- A hotspot bypass for a printer or TV (IP binding).
Where RadiusNest fits
Static leases are for devices on your own LAN. For paying customers on hotspot or PPPoE, the address comes with the login instead: in RadiusNest a customer can be given a static IP address from a pool you define per router, and can be locked to one device's MAC address, without touching the lease table.
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Questions and answers
Does the device need any setting changed for a static lease?
No. It stays on automatic (DHCP). The router simply always gives it the same address.
Why does my device still get a different IP after Make Static?
It is sending a different client-id or a random MAC address. Add the lease by MAC address only and turn off private MAC on the device.
Static lease or a fixed address typed into the device?
A static lease is easier to manage: every reservation is in one list on the router, and the device still gets the right gateway and DNS automatically.