Enabling DHCP on Your Macintosh Computer

Heads up! This is an older guide

This guide was created or last modified prior to 2019, and screenshots or individual steps may now be out of date. If you need assistance with the steps below, please email the Help Desk at ts@dornsife.usc.edu.

Over the next few months, ITS will be performing upgrades to the USC network. The goal of the upgrade project is to improve network service for both wired and wireless connections, resulting in significant improvements to network bandwidth, availability, stability, and security. Users in this building will see improvement in network performance immediately after the planned upgrade.

The network upgrades require changes to be made to your computer. These changes are related to the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) settings, which handles how an IP address is assigned to your computer. The DHCP changes to your computer should be made immediately. If the DHCP changes are not made, your computer will not be able to access the Internet after the network upgrade occurs.

This document details how to make the appropriate changes. If you have any questions about the upgrade project or about making the DHCP changes, please contact 213-740-2775 or email ts@dornsife.usc.edu.

Enabling DHCP

Complete the following steps to enable DHCP on your Macintosh OS X computer.

From your desktop, select the Apple menu. A drop-down menu displays.
Next, select System Preferences... The System Preferences screen displays.
Select the Network option on the System Preferences screen. The Network screen displays.
On the Network screen, select your Ethernet connection from the listing on the left side of the screen. The name of the Ethernet connection can vary from computer-to-computer. Locate the Ethernet connection that displays both the Ethernet symbol (the Ethernet symbol is 2 arrows that are joined by a dotted line) and a green dot. An example, with the symbols notated, is shown in the picture above.
After selecting your Ethernet connection, select the Configure IPv4 menu. A drop-down menu displays.
From the drop-down menu, select Using DHCP.
After selecting Using DHCP, select the Apply option.

Your DHCP settings have been updated. Repeat these steps on any additional Macintosh computers that are on the USC network.