Can someone please explain this slowly, and without using big words or acronyms, as if to a child?

A couple of days ago, my GrapheneOS Pixel 5 suddenly would not hook up with our apartment house WiFi. I tried everything short of a factory reset, because I wasn’t sure exactly what that would do. All of our other Android phones and iPads were fine. The IP config error was what I received.

This afternoon all is well, and I am back in, having done nothing.

Can a helpful person take a shot at telling me what the hell probably happened? I’m trying to learn something here.

  • Every time a device connects to a WiFi router it needs an IP address in order to operate

  • WiFi router issues IP addresses based an MAC addresses remote devices provide

  • Each IP address is issued for a preset time

  • GrapheneOS by default configured to generate a new MAC address every time it connects to a WiFi router cashing router to think another new device is connecting and issues next available IP

  • Do this many times over relatively short period time and router runs out of available IP addresses to issue causing devices not get an IP and fail

  • Eventually IP leases expire, releasing IP making them available to be issued

  • IP lease duration is configured on each router and could be set to minutes, hours, weeks, or indefinite

To avoid, set Privacy settings for your WiFi to "Use per network randomized MAC" (default is per connection)

Frequent disconnects and reconnects to a WiFi router could also indicate other wireless issues causing your device to drop connection

    Thank you very much, I actually believe I understand that.

    The only thing which bugs me is that two pixels and two iPads were unaffected by this.

    I have no access to the router.

    Again, thank you.

      Blastoidea The only thing which bugs me is that two pixels and two iPads were unaffected by this.

      Normally devices don't change theirs MAC addresses and upon reconnecting router is able to match them to an existing IP lease reassigns the same IP by extending previously established lease - that's how WiFi and networking in general works - so your other devices were not affected because they were assigned previously leased addresses. GOS privacy protection feature is to generate new MAC address so it's harder for WiFi access point to track devices
      Sometimes rebooting a router clears its DHCP leases, which would reset the IP pool, but not always and you'd have to wait for leases to naturally expire to allow new devices to connect