How to Find Your IP Address on a PC (All Methods Explained)

Your IP address is one of the most fundamental pieces of network information tied to your computer — and knowing how to find it is a surprisingly practical skill. Whether you're troubleshooting a connection issue, setting up remote access, configuring a router, or just curious, locating your IP address on a Windows PC takes less than a minute once you know where to look.

The slightly tricky part: there's more than one IP address to find, and they're not the same thing.

The Difference Between Your Local IP and Public IP

Before diving into the steps, it helps to understand what you're actually looking for.

Your local IP address (also called a private IP) is the address your router assigns to your PC within your home or office network. It typically looks like 192.168.x.x or 10.0.x.x. This address is only meaningful inside your local network — no website or external server sees it.

Your public IP address is the address your internet service provider (ISP) assigns to your connection. This is what the outside world sees when your PC connects to the internet. Every device on the same network shares one public IP.

Which one you need depends entirely on what you're trying to do. Configuring a home server or network printer? You need the local IP. Checking what servers see when you connect? You need the public IP.

How to Find Your Local IP Address on Windows 🖥️

Method 1: Settings App (Windows 10 and 11)

1. Open Settings (Windows key + I)
2. Go to Network & Internet
3. Click your active connection — Wi-Fi or Ethernet
4. Scroll down to find IPv4 address

This is the most beginner-friendly method. No commands, no menus to dig through.

Method 2: Command Prompt (Works on All Windows Versions)

1. Press Windows key + R, type cmd, hit Enter
2. In the Command Prompt window, type: ipconfig
3. Press Enter

Look for the section labeled with your active connection (e.g., Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi or Ethernet adapter). Your local IP appears next to IPv4 Address.

You'll also see your Subnet Mask and Default Gateway here — useful for network troubleshooting.

Method 3: Control Panel (Older Windows or Advanced Users)

1. Open Control Panel → Network and Sharing Center
2. Click your active network connection
3. Click Details
4. Find IPv4 Address in the list

This method surfaces the same information but through the legacy interface, which some users still prefer for its level of detail.

Method 4: PowerShell

If you're comfortable with PowerShell, this command returns clean results:

Get-NetIPAddress -AddressFamily IPv4 

This shows all IPv4 addresses assigned to your machine, including loopback (127.0.0.1) and any virtual adapters — useful if you have multiple network interfaces.

How to Find Your Public IP Address

Your public IP isn't stored on your PC in an easily accessible way — it's assigned by your ISP and visible from the outside. The fastest methods:

• Search "what is my IP" in any browser — Google, Bing, and most search engines display it instantly at the top of the results
• Visit a site like ipinfo.io or ifconfig.me — these return your public IP and often additional details like your ISP and approximate location
• Use Command Prompt with curl (Windows 10 version 1803+): curl ifconfig.me

Understanding IPv4 vs. IPv6

Modern PCs often have both an IPv4 and an IPv6 address. IPv4 addresses use the familiar four-number format (192.168.1.5). IPv6 uses a longer alphanumeric format (fe80::1a2b:3c4d:5e6f:7g8h) and was introduced to handle the global shortage of available IP addresses.

Most home networking tasks still rely on IPv4. IPv6 becomes relevant when configuring modern routers, enterprise networks, or certain internet services.

Variables That Affect What You'll See 🔍

Not every PC shows the same results, and a few factors explain why:

• Wired vs. wireless connection — Your PC may have different IP addresses for its Ethernet adapter and Wi-Fi adapter simultaneously
• VPN software — A VPN creates a virtual network adapter and assigns its own local IP; your public IP will also change to the VPN server's address
• Static vs. dynamic IP — Most home routers assign IPs dynamically (via DHCP), meaning your local IP can change over time. Static IPs are manually configured and stay fixed
• Multiple network adapters — Laptops with docking stations, or PCs with both a physical and a virtual network card, will show multiple IP entries in ipconfig
• Windows version — The Settings path differs slightly between Windows 10 and Windows 11, though the Command Prompt method works identically across both

When Your IP Address Matters More Than Usual

Knowing how to find your IP becomes particularly important in a few scenarios:

• Setting up remote desktop access — You typically need your local IP to configure Windows Remote Desktop within a network
• Port forwarding on a router — Router rules target specific local IPs
• Network security audits — Verifying that a VPN is functioning correctly means checking that your public IP has actually changed
• Troubleshooting DHCP conflicts — When two devices claim the same IP, your network can break; finding and comparing IPs helps diagnose it

The method that works best, and the IP address that matters most, shifts depending on what problem you're actually solving. A user setting up a home media server needs something entirely different from someone verifying their VPN is working — even though both start by asking the same question.