What happens to my IP Address once the device is off?

[exoduser2016]

Hello,

I have a question regarding how distribution of IP Addresses work.
Let's say I turn off my computer at night (it's the only network device in my house), what does happen to the IP Address while the computer is asleep?
Is there a chance that it's assigned to another person's computer in the same ISP as me?
And once I turn on my computer back on, and he turns his, my IP Address gets back to me as if it never left?
Am I in the right direction of understanding it?

Thank you upfront.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

The IP address is probably still attached to your PC - typically, the lease time is somewhere around a week. If your computer isn't awake when the address comes up for renewal, it will be released into the pool of available addresses (some ISPs force renewal to use a new address even if the client is still connected).

Next time you turn on the PC, if the lease has expired, you will get a new IP from the pool - might be the same as the old one, probably not.

This assumes you have your PC directly connected to the ISP (including modems), no routers. And that your ISP uses DHCP - with a static IP, your IP stays yours indefinitely.

If someone tries to connect to an IP which doesn't have a host, or the host is off, they'll get 'Destination Host Unreachable'.

 

[exoduser2016]

The IP address is probably still attached to your PC - typically, the lease time is somewhere around a week. If your computer isn't awake when the address comes up for renewal, it will be released into the pool of available addresses (some ISPs force renewal to use a new address even if the client is still connected).

Next time you turn on the PC, if the lease has expired, you will get a new IP from the pool - might be the same as the old one, probably not.

This assumes you have your PC directly connected to the ISP (including modems), no routers. And that your ISP uses DHCP - with a static IP, your IP stays yours indefinitely.

If someone tries to connect to an IP which doesn't have a host, or the host is off, they'll get 'Destination Host Unreachable'.

First of all, thank you for the reply.
I understood what you're saying.

The situation is as follows:
I got banned from an online video game because of the Cheat Detector system saw 2 different users with the same IP Address.
They sent me the document which shows it, and it looks similar to this:
5.5.2016 - Me - My IP.
6.5.2016 - Other guy - My IP.
7.5.2016 - Me - My IP.

My question is, is it possible that someone got my IP when my PC was offline that day, and then I got my IP back the day after?

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Possible, but unlikely.

No-one else on your network, no WiFi with questionable security?

 

[sam1275tom]

The IP address is probably still attached to your PC - typically, the lease time is somewhere around a week. If your computer isn't awake when the address comes up for renewal, it will be released into the pool of available addresses (some ISPs force renewal to use a new address even if the client is still connected).

Next time you turn on the PC, if the lease has expired, you will get a new IP from the pool - might be the same as the old one, probably not.

This assumes you have your PC directly connected to the ISP (including modems), no routers. And that your ISP uses DHCP - with a static IP, your IP stays yours indefinitely.

If someone tries to connect to an IP which doesn't have a host, or the host is off, they'll get 'Destination Host Unreachable'.

First of all, thank you for the reply.
I understood what you're saying.

The situation is as follows:
I got banned from an online video game because of the Cheat Detector system saw 2 different users with the same IP Address.
They sent me the document which shows it, and it looks similar to this:
5.5.2016 - Me - My IP.
6.5.2016 - Other guy - My IP.
7.5.2016 - Me - My IP.

My question is, is it possible that someone got my IP when my PC was offline that day, and then I got my IP back the day after?

Yes, it's possible.

 

[exoduser2016]

Possible, but unlikely.

No-one else on your network, no WiFi with questionable security?

No, no one else was on my network at that time.
Is it even more likely to happen if my ISP's pool of IP addresses might not be so big as other big companies?

 

[bill001g]

There are so many idiots in some game companies that only know about games and then try to run servers and networks. To assume someone is cheating because they share a IP shows complete lack of knowledge on how networks work. You would commonly see this using any form of public wifi or access provided by say a hotel. Many apartment complex provide internet but only have a single routeable ip. You also get this issue on most mobile broadband plans since you do not get a actual routable IP on those either.

It is strange that means 2 people in the same house playing the same game on different machines are cheating according to their definition.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

It's more likely to happen with fewer IPs, but nowhere near guaranteed, and one would expect both you and the other user to have played from other IPs before.

If I saw that activity here, I would at least be cautious - not smoking gun, but any hint of cooperation and you'd be out.