How to Check the IP Address of a PC

Every device connected to a network has an IP address — a numerical label that identifies it and allows data to travel to the right destination. Knowing how to find your PC's IP address is one of those fundamental skills that comes up more often than you'd expect: troubleshooting a slow connection, configuring a router, setting up remote access, or just answering a question from your IT department.

The process is straightforward, but there are a few layers worth understanding before you start clicking around.

What Is an IP Address, and Why Does Your PC Have More Than One?

This is where a lot of people get confused. Your PC typically has two IP addresses at once:

• Private (local) IP address — assigned by your router, used within your home or office network. This is usually something like 192.168.1.x or 10.0.0.x.
• Public (external) IP address — assigned by your Internet Service Provider (ISP), used to identify your entire network on the internet. Every device on your home network shares this one address externally.

Which one you need depends entirely on what you're trying to do. Configuring a printer on your local network? You need the private IP. Checking what address a website sees when you visit it? That's the public IP.

How to Find Your Private IP Address on Windows

Method 1: Settings App (Windows 10 and 11)

1. Open Settings → Network & Internet
2. Click on Wi-Fi or Ethernet, depending on your connection type
3. Click on the connected network name
4. Scroll down to the Properties section
5. Look for IPv4 address

This method is clean and requires no technical knowledge.

Method 2: Command Prompt (All Windows Versions)

1. Press Windows + R, type cmd, and hit Enter
2. In the Command Prompt window, type ipconfig and press Enter
3. Look for your active adapter (Wi-Fi or Ethernet)
4. Your private IP is listed next to IPv4 Address

The ipconfig command also shows your subnet mask and default gateway (your router's IP address), which is useful for network troubleshooting.

Method 3: Control Panel (Classic View)

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

💡 If your PC shows an address beginning with 169.254.x.x, that's an APIPA address — it means your PC couldn't reach a DHCP server and assigned itself a fallback address. This usually signals a network configuration problem.

How to Find Your Private IP Address on macOS

1. Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
2. Click Network
3. Select your active connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet)
4. Your IP address is displayed directly, or click Details to see it alongside subnet and gateway info

Alternatively, open Terminal and type:

ipconfig getifaddr en0 

Use en0 for Wi-Fi or en1 for Ethernet on most Macs, though the interface name can vary by model.

How to Find Your Public IP Address

Your public IP isn't visible through local network settings — it's assigned upstream by your ISP. The quickest way to check it is to visit any IP lookup site using your browser. These sites simply reflect back the address your router is using to connect to the internet.

Common approaches:

• Search "what is my IP" in any search engine — the result appears at the top
• Use a browser-based IP tool
• In Command Prompt, type: nslookup myip.opendns.com resolver1.opendns.com

Your public IP address can change over time unless your ISP has assigned you a static IP. Most residential connections use dynamic IPs, which are periodically reassigned by the ISP through DHCP.

IPv4 vs. IPv6: Which One Are You Looking At?

Modern networks often show two IP addresses per adapter — one IPv4 and one IPv6.

IPv4 is still dominant in day-to-day use and is what most guides and applications refer to. IPv6 was introduced to solve the address exhaustion problem of IPv4 and is increasingly supported, but you'll rarely need to use your IPv6 address directly unless a specific service or configuration requires it.

Variables That Affect What You'll See

Not every PC will show the same type of IP information, and a few factors shape what you find:

• Connection type — wired Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and VPN adapters each have their own IP addresses. A PC with a VPN running will show an additional virtual adapter with its own IP
• Network configuration — corporate or university networks often use different IP ranges and may assign IPs through more complex DHCP setups
• Operating system version — the navigation path through Settings or System Preferences varies between Windows 10, Windows 11, macOS Ventura, and earlier versions
• VPN use — if a VPN is active, your public IP will appear as the VPN server's address rather than your ISP's address, which is the intended behavior
• Multiple network adapters — desktop PCs with both a wired and wireless card will show separate IPs for each

🔍 On a machine with several adapters active simultaneously, it's worth identifying which adapter is actually carrying your traffic before acting on an IP address.

Static vs. Dynamic IPs: Does It Matter for Your Setup?

By default, most PCs receive a dynamic private IP from the router — meaning it can change if the device reconnects or the router restarts. For most everyday use, this is fine.

If you're running a home server, setting up port forwarding, or accessing your PC remotely, a static private IP (set manually in your adapter settings or reserved in your router's DHCP table) ensures your PC always gets the same address.

Whether that level of configuration is necessary depends on what you're actually trying to accomplish — and that's a question only your specific use case can answer.