IP addr assigned to LMS

hello,
i have been looking into this issue for couple of weeks now and feel i'm at least zeroing into it.
here's the setup:
- LMS installed on a raspberryPi3B+ along with squeezelite and jivelite
- media is local at /mnt/usb
- ethernet connection and wi-fi via a mobile hotspot

problem:
when hotspot goes away, My Music fails attempting to connect to "raspberryPi"

observations:
- as expected, i have no problem connecting to LMS from a local browser via http://192.168.1.23:9000/
- BUT it has the old ip addr assigned by the hotspot
Logitech Media Server Version: 7.9.2 - 1530185314 @ Thu Jun 28 14:19:19 CEST 2018
Hostname: raspberryPi
Server IP Address: 192.168.43.252
- yet, via browser, all works including viewing My Music but not at the raspberryPi itself (jivelite)

questions:
- how does LMS gets its ip addr assigned? can i make it static to local eth0 addr, 192.168.1.23?
- since all components are local to raspberryPi, why should ip addr matter at all?
- lastly, how does brower access work as expected but local access does not? very frustrating to say the least...

any insights would be greatly appreciated...
hong son