Google introduces DHCPv6 Prefix Delegation to simplify advanced networking on Android

Google is rolling out support for DHCPv6 Prefix Delegation (PD) across Android devices, a move aimed at addressing long-standing networking challenges tied to IPv4 and the limitations of current IPv6 implementations. The update is expected to improve reliability, reduce battery drain, and make it easier for developers to build advanced networking applications.

For decades, IPv4 has dominated global internet traffic, but its limited pool of roughly 4.3 billion addresses means users often share public IPs through Network Address Translation (NAT). While NAT allows multiple devices to connect under one address, it creates problems for apps that depend on seamless connectivity, such as video calling, VPNs, and peer-to-peer services. These apps often need to send constant “keepalive” signals to maintain sessions, which consumes additional power and complicates app code.

IPv6, with its nearly unlimited address space, was designed to solve IPv4’s scarcity. It enables every device to have a unique global address, eliminating the need for NAT. Today, about half of Google’s users already access the internet via IPv6.

However, the address assignment mechanisms typically used on Wi-Fi—SLAAC (Stateless Address Autoconfiguration) and DHCPv6 IA_NA—have their own limitations. Both approaches require the network to track state information for each address, which makes scaling difficult when multiple IPv6 addresses are needed for containers, virtual machines, tethered tablets, or wearable devices connected to an Android phone.

Network operators have also expressed concerns about SLAAC’s lack of transparency, as it makes it harder to predict and monitor address usage on devices. This has slowed broader IPv6 deployment on Android.

To bridge these gaps, Android now supports DHCPv6 Prefix Delegation, defined in RFC 8415 and RFC 9762. Instead of assigning single IPv6 addresses, the network can allocate a dedicated block of IPv6 addresses (a prefix) to an Android device.

This enables:

• End-to-end connectivity for tethered and wearable devices, as well as VMs and emerging IoT environments like Thread networks.
• Elimination of NAT-related complexity, reducing the need for traversal protocols and battery-draining keepalives.
• Improved manageability for operators, who can use DHCPv6 logging to monitor which device holds which prefix, following recommendations in RFC 9663.

In practice, this means Android devices gain the flexibility of SLAAC—using multiple addresses—while networks retain the structure and accountability of DHCPv6.

Support for DHCPv6 PD will arrive through a Google Play System Update later this year, covering most devices running Android 11 or higher. Users and developers won’t need to take any action—apps will simply gain IPv6 connectivity on networks that support the feature.

For developers building apps that depend on robust connectivity, this update removes the hurdles created by NAT and simplifies code design. Google also encourages developers who haven’t yet optimized for IPv6 to do so, highlighting benefits such as improved reliability, lower battery consumption, and future-proof scalability.