I sometimes see a message about Windows detecting an IP address conflict. It always seemed to be spurious, but today I noticed that it is associated with losing connectivity for several seconds. So I looked at the details in the Windows System log and found this:
The system detected an address conflict for IP address 0.0.0.0 with the system having network hardware address [redacted]. Network operations on this system may be disrupted as a result.
The hardware address is my Zyxel router’s Ethernet bridge address. My Windows computer is connected to the router via wifi, not Ethernet. I was surprised to learn that 0.0.0.0 is a real, albeit special IP address.
I found mention of a similar warning related to hibernation, but on my system it happens when I’m actively using it.
I also found a troubleshooting guide from Cisco that is rather over my head. Most of it seems to be about configuring Cisco routers to not do whatever causes the conflict, which has something to do with ARP probes. But it does also mention client-side troubleshooting:
Another method used to resolve this issue involves a troubleshoot of the client to determine the reason duplicate address detection occurs so late after the link comes online. The switch has no way to determine the time this process occurs, so estimate the time set for the probe delay to prevent the conflict. To effectively troubleshoot the reason duplicate address detection occurs so late, further information on the behavior of the IP device-tracking probe is useful.
What does that mean in practical terms for Windows 10?
