CompTIA Network+ Practice Test 2026 - Free Network+ Practice Questions and Exam Prep Guide

APIPA, which stands for Automatic Private IP Addressing, is a feature used by Windows-based systems to automatically assign themselves an IP address when a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server is not available. The specific range of IP addresses designated for APIPA is from 169.254.0.1 to 169.254.255.254.

This range is significant because it is reserved by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for link-local addressing purposes. When a device is configured to use APIPA, it will pick an address from this range if it cannot obtain an address from a DHCP server, enabling local communications with other devices on the same subnet that also use APIPA.

Devices using APIPA can communicate with each other as long as they are on the same local network, but they will not be able to communicate with devices on other networks or the internet. This mechanism allows basic local networking without requiring manual configuration or a functioning DHCP server.

In contrast, the other ranges listed correspond to classifications of IP addresses such as private address ranges (the first two choices) and the loopback address range (the last choice). The private address ranges are designated for use within private networks, while the loopback range is used