Can anyone explain the function of the Zeroconf IP

Can anyone explain the function of the Zeroconf IP.

it shows 169.254.x.x so what is the IP of the unit. I looked around and some it said that its 169.254.1.1 but it does not respond when my pc also comes up with a 169.254.x.x ip. This happens when the interface  is set for dhcp but there is no dhcp server. I image that the AP does the same but how to find the IP of the AP?

Its an E400

The zeroconf IP will depend on the MAC address of the unit. The first two octets of the IP are 169 and 254. The last two octets of the IP address are the same as the last two octets of the MAC address (ESN on the label) of the unit.

For instance, if the MAC address (ESN) of the device is 00-04-56-11-22-aa, its zeroconf IP will be 169.254.34.170 (0x22 == 34 and 0xaa == 170)

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