Fix: Unable to Contact DHCP Server error on Windows 10

The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a network management protocol that automatically provides and assigns IP addresses, default gateways and other communication parameters to client devices. Lately, several users reported that while trying to refresh their IP address or release it, they end up with the Unable to Contact DHCP Server error message. This error message giving a piece of information that, the network interface not able to communicate with the DHCP.

The said error can occur due to many reasons, but here we need to think about how to resolve this error quickly. In our study on this particular error, we have gathered some solutions which will possibly resolve the Unable to Contact DHCP Server error easily. If you are also the one suffering from the same error then, this article will help you. Without wasting the time, we can move to the sure solutions.

Fix 1: Update/ Roll Back your Network Drivers:

Unable to Contact DHCP ServerIn your case update, the driver option will help you as the drivers are outdated. If the said error starts to occur after your driver has been updated, the best solution is to roll back the driver.

First, you need to update your network driver, for doing so, follow these steps,

• Firstly, press Windows + R to launch the RUN dialog box, then type, devmgmt. msc and then click on OK.
• In the Device Manager, select and expand the option Network adapters then select the needed driver to update.
• Now right-click on the driver and select Update driver from the drop-down menu.
• In the newly appeared prompt, select Search automatically for updated driver software.
• Once you are done, restart your system and check whether the said issue gets resolved or not.

To Rollback the network drivers, follow these steps,

• In the Device Manager window, from the Network adapters section, select the driver you need to roll back, right-click over it and from the context menu, select Properties.
• Inside the Properties, from the top horizontal menu, select the Driver tab, then click on the Roll Back Driver tab.
• If you see the Roll Back Driver tab is greyed, then that means the device wasn’t updated recently and no backup files remembering the old driver.
• Once done, restart your system and check for the said error.

Fix 2: Restart DHCP Client Service:

In case you have stopped the DHCP service or your operating system cannot access the service, you might get the Unable to Contact DHCP Server error on the screen. To get rid of this issue, you may need to restart the DHCP client service. For doing so, follow the steps given below,

• Firstly, press Window + R altogether to open the Run dialog box, then type services.msc and then press OK.
• In the Services menu, locate and right-click over DHCP Client service and then, select Properties from the drop-down list.
• Then set the Service status to Stop and Startup to Automatic. Now click on the Start button.
• Finally, click on Apply and then the OK button to save the changes.

Fix 3: Register your DNS:

As per some suffered users, they finally managed to avoid the Unable to Contact DHCP Server error by registering the DNS. So, we recommend you can also try the same. To register the DNS, follow these steps,

• Firstly, in the desktop search bar, type, cmd and open the Command Prompt window from the search results. Make sure you open it with administrative access.
• Then inside the Command Prompt window, type or copy+paste the following command and then press Enter. 

ipconfig /registerdns

• Once you executed the command, exit from the window and restart your system.
• Now the said error might get resolved for you.

Fix 4: Reset TCP/IP Configuration: 

Sometimes resetting the TCP/IP configuration might help you to get rid of the Unable to Contact DHCP Server error. To reset TCP/IP Configuration, follow these steps,

• Firstly, in the desktop search bar, type, cmd and open the Command Prompt window from the search results. Make sure you open it with administrative access.
• In the Command Prompt window, type or copy+paste the following commands one by one and then press Enter after each command,

netsh winsock reset

netsh int ip reset

ipconfig /release

ipconfig /renew

ipconfig /flushdns

Once executed all the commands, restart your system and when the system starts again, run the ipconfig /renew command and check the said error persists or not.

Fix 5: Disable IPv6 on Active Connection:

Sometimes you will get the Unable to Contact DHCP Server error in your system if the IPv6 is enabled for the internet connection and you do not have a local gateway to connect. As per some suffered users, disabling the IPv6 on their active connection helped them to resolve the said issue. Hence, we also recommend the same. To disable IPv6 on active connection, follow these steps,

• Firstly, press Window + R altogether to open the Run dialog box, then type ncpa.cpl and then press OK.
• Then in the Network Connections window, select the internet connection currently you are using, right-click on it and select its Properties. 
• Now, in the newly opened window, under the Networking tab, untick the checkbox beside Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), and then click OK button.
• Once you made the changes, restart your system and check for the said error.

So, these are all about the Unable to Contact DHCP Server error issue. Along with all the fixes, you can also try to refresh your system then check for improvement. If you have any queries or doubts after reading this article, please leave a comment in the below comment box.