diff --git a/automated install/basic-install.sh b/automated install/basic-install.sh
index a4adac94..17bdde31 100755
--- a/automated install/basic-install.sh	
+++ b/automated install/basic-install.sh	
@@ -934,7 +934,7 @@ valid_ip() {
         # and set the new one to a dot (period)
         IFS='.'
         # Put the IP into an array
-        ip=("${ip}")
+        read -r -a ip <<< "${ip}"
         # Restore the IFS to what it was
         IFS=${OIFS}
         ## Evaluate each octet by checking if it's less than or equal to 255 (the max for each octet)
diff --git a/test/test_automated_install.py b/test/test_automated_install.py
index 4bfb0f6a..cce11857 100644
--- a/test/test_automated_install.py
+++ b/test/test_automated_install.py
@@ -700,3 +700,42 @@ def test_IPv6_ULA_GUA_test(Pihole):
     ''')
     expected_stdout = 'Found IPv6 ULA address, using it for blocking IPv6 ads'
     assert expected_stdout in detectPlatform.stdout
+
+
+def test_validate_ip_valid(Pihole):
+    '''
+    Given a valid IP address, valid_ip returns success
+    '''
+
+    output = Pihole.run('''
+    source /opt/pihole/basic-install.sh
+    valid_ip "192.168.1.1"
+    ''')
+
+    assert output.rc == 0
+
+
+def test_validate_ip_invalid_octet(Pihole):
+    '''
+    Given an invalid IP address (large octet), valid_ip returns an error
+    '''
+
+    output = Pihole.run('''
+    source /opt/pihole/basic-install.sh
+    valid_ip "1092.168.1.1"
+    ''')
+
+    assert output.rc == 1
+
+
+def test_validate_ip_invalid_letters(Pihole):
+    '''
+    Given an invalid IP address (contains letters), valid_ip returns an error
+    '''
+
+    output = Pihole.run('''
+    source /opt/pihole/basic-install.sh
+    valid_ip "not an IP"
+    ''')
+
+    assert output.rc == 1