Checking the Gateway and DNS Servers for Your Miner

Before you can open your miner’s web dashboard, point it at a pool, or scan for its IP with a tool like BTC Tools, your computer and the miner have to live on the same subnet. That means knowing two numbers on your own machine first: the default gateway (your router’s LAN address) and the DNS servers your network hands out. Get those, and you know exactly what address range the miner should be in and where to look for it. This guide shows how to read those values on Windows, macOS, and Linux, then how to use them to find and reach the miner.

Why the gateway and DNS matter for a miner

An ASIC miner is just another host on your LAN. Most Antminer, Whatsminer, and Avalon units ship configured for DHCP, so when you plug them into your router they pull an address automatically from the same pool your PC uses. A few older or field-reset units fall back to a fixed static address (Bitmain historically used 192.168.1.99), which will be invisible if your network runs a different range such as 192.168.0.x or 10.0.0.x.

• Gateway tells you the network prefix. If your gateway is 192.168.1.1, every device — including the miner — should sit in 192.168.1.2–192.168.1.254.
• DNS servers are what the miner uses to resolve pool hostnames (e.g. a stratum URL). Wrong or unreachable DNS is a common reason a miner shows a valid IP but never connects to the pool.
• Subnet mask (usually 255.255.255.0) defines how wide that range is.

Tools you’ll need

• The PC/laptop plugged into the same router/switch as the miner (wired is best; Wi‑Fi on the same router is fine).
• A terminal/command prompt — no extra software required to read the values.
• Optional: a miner-discovery tool (BTC Tools, or the manufacturer’s IP Reporter) to then locate the miner itself.

Find the gateway and DNS on Windows 10/11

1. Press Windows key + R, type cmd, press Enter.
2. Type ipconfig /all and press Enter.
3. Find the adapter you’re actually using — Ethernet adapter if you’re wired, Wireless LAN adapter Wi‑Fi if not. Ignore adapters marked “Media disconnected.”
4. Read these lines under that adapter:
   • IPv4 Address — your PC’s address (e.g. 192.168.1.24).
   • Subnet Mask — e.g. 255.255.255.0.
   • Default Gateway — your router (e.g. 192.168.1.1).
   • DNS Servers — one or more addresses.

If you only want the short version, ipconfig (without /all) shows the IPv4 address, subnet mask, and gateway but not DNS. Use /all when you need DNS too.

Find it on macOS

1. Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities).
2. Gateway: netstat -nr | grep default — the address next to default is your gateway.
3. DNS: scutil --dns | grep nameserver, or read it in System Settings → Network → (your connection) → Details → DNS.
4. Your own IP and mask: ifconfig en0 (or en1 for Wi‑Fi) — look at the inet and netmask fields.

Find it on Linux

1. Gateway: ip route | grep default — the address after via is your gateway.
2. Your IP/mask: ip addr (the /24 after your address is the mask).
3. DNS: resolvectl status, or cat /etc/resolv.conf on older systems.

Use those numbers to reach the miner

Now that you know your gateway and range, locate the miner:

1. Scan the subnet. Open BTC Tools (or the manufacturer’s IP Reporter/scanner) on the same PC and let it sweep your range — it lists every ASIC it finds with its IP, worker/hostname, and firmware.
2. Or use the IP Reporter button. On most Antminers, press and hold the small IP Report button on the control board (next to the Ethernet/reset) for ~5 seconds. The unit broadcasts its current IP to the IP Reporter app running on your PC.
3. Confirm reachability. From the command prompt, ping the miner’s IP. A reply means you’re on the same subnet and can proceed.
4. Open the dashboard. Type the miner’s IP into a browser. Stock Antminer firmware defaults to username root / password root; change this immediately once you’re in.

Setting a static IP (recommended for a permanent rig)

DHCP addresses can change on reboot, which breaks bookmarks and monitoring. Once you can reach the dashboard, pin the address:

1. In the miner’s Network settings, switch from DHCP to Static.
2. Enter an IP inside your gateway’s range but outside the router’s DHCP pool to avoid collisions (e.g. gateway 192.168.1.1 → assign 192.168.1.201).
3. Set Subnet Mask to match your network (255.255.255.0), Gateway to your router, and DNS to the values you read earlier (or a public resolver like 1.1.1.1 / 8.8.8.8).
4. Save and reboot. The miner now comes up at the same address every time.

How to confirm it worked

• ping the miner’s IP returns replies (not “Request timed out” or “Destination host unreachable”).
• The web dashboard loads and shows live hashrate and pool status.
• On the miner’s status page, the pool shows Alive — if it shows Dead with a valid IP, suspect DNS: re-check the DNS servers you entered.

Common mistakes

• Reading the wrong adapter. A laptop on Wi‑Fi while the miner is wired to a different router puts them on separate subnets — connect both to the same router.
• Mismatched range. Miner stuck at a factory 192.168.1.99 while your LAN is 192.168.0.x. Temporarily set your PC to a matching 192.168.1.x static address to reach it, then reconfigure the miner.
• Static IP inside the DHCP pool. Causes intermittent drop-outs when the router hands the same address to another device. Always pick an address above the pool.
• Blank or unreachable DNS. The miner gets an IP but never connects to the pool. Fill in a working DNS server.
• VLAN/guest network. Some routers isolate Wi‑Fi guests from wired LAN devices; keep the miner and PC on the same segment.

Related

If the miner still won’t come online after the network checks, work through the model-specific procedures in our ASIC repair manuals and match any on-screen fault to a code in the ASIC fault finder. Unfamiliar with a term used here? See the mining glossary. When a fault is clearly hardware rather than network, start a repair and we’ll take it from there.