How to Find the IP Address of a Machine: A Complete Guide

Whether you're troubleshooting a network issue, setting up remote access, or just satisfying your curiosity, knowing how to find the IP address of a machine is a fundamental networking skill. The process varies depending on your operating system, whether you're looking for a local or public IP, and whether the machine is yours or another device on the network.

What Is an IP Address, Exactly?

An IP address (Internet Protocol address) is a numerical label assigned to every device connected to a network. It works like a postal address — it tells other devices where to send data.

There are two types you'll encounter constantly:

Local (private) IP address — the address assigned to your device within your home or office network by your router. Typically starts with 192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x, or 172.16.x.x.
Public IP address — the address your entire network presents to the outside internet. Assigned by your ISP and shared across all devices on the same connection.

Which one you need depends entirely on what you're trying to do.

How to Find Your IP Address on Windows 🖥️

Method 1: Settings App

Open Settings → Network & Internet
Click your active connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet)
Scroll down to find your IPv4 address

Method 2: Command Prompt

Open Command Prompt and type:

ipconfig

Look for the IPv4 Address under your active adapter. You'll also see the Default Gateway (your router's IP) and Subnet Mask here.

For more detailed output including all adapters:

ipconfig /all

How to Find Your IP Address on macOS

Method 1: System Settings

Go to System Settings → Network
Select your active connection
Your IP address is displayed directly on this screen

Method 2: Terminal

ipconfig getifaddr en0

Use en0 for Wi-Fi or en1 for Ethernet depending on your Mac's configuration. You can also run ifconfig for a full breakdown of all network interfaces.

How to Find Your IP Address on Linux

Open a terminal and run:

ip addr show

or the older:

ifconfig

Look for the inet entry under your active interface (commonly eth0 for wired or wlan0 for wireless). The number following inet is your local IP address.

How to Find Your Public IP Address

Your public IP is the same regardless of which device on your network you use to look it up. The simplest methods:

Search "what is my IP" in any browser — Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo all display it instantly at the top of results
Visit a site like ipinfo.io or checkip.amazonaws.com in a browser or via terminal using curl checkip.amazonaws.com

Your public IP is controlled by your ISP and can change over time unless you've arranged a static IP.

Finding the IP Address of Another Machine on Your Network 🔍

This is where things get more variable. If you're looking for another device — a printer, a server, a smart TV — you have several options:

Check your router's admin panel

Log into your router (usually at 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1) and look for a connected devices, DHCP client list, or LAN clients section. This lists every device currently assigned an IP on your network, often with device names and MAC addresses.

Use a network scanner

Tools like Nmap or GUI apps like Angry IP Scanner can sweep your network range and return a list of active hosts. Running:

nmap -sn 192.168.1.0/24

...will ping-scan your entire subnet and list responding devices.

Use the ARP table

Running arp -a on Windows, macOS, or Linux shows recently contacted devices and their associated IP and MAC addresses. It won't catch every device on the network, only those your machine has communicated with recently.

Key Variables That Affect the Process

Factor	How It Changes the Process
Operating system	Commands and menu locations differ across Windows, macOS, and Linux
Connection type	Wi-Fi vs. Ethernet can mean different interface names and adapters
IPv4 vs. IPv6	Many networks now assign both; the format and lookup method differ
Dynamic vs. static IP	DHCP-assigned IPs can change after a restart or lease renewal
Network permissions	Scanning another machine's IP may require admin or root privileges
VPN active	A VPN replaces your public IP and can alter local routing

Local vs. Public: The Distinction That Trips People Up

A common source of confusion is expecting your local IP to match your public IP — they won't. Your router performs NAT (Network Address Translation), which maps multiple private addresses to a single public one.

If you're setting up port forwarding, remote desktop, or a home server, you need to know both: the local IP to configure the device or service, and the public IP to reach it from outside your network.

Static vs. Dynamic IPs and Why It Matters

Most home networks assign IPs dynamically via DHCP. This means the IP address of a machine can change when it reconnects, restarts, or when the DHCP lease expires. For everyday browsing this is irrelevant, but for anything where a device needs a consistent, predictable address — a NAS drive, a print server, a security camera — a static (reserved) IP becomes important.

You can assign a static IP either through your router's DHCP reservation feature (tying a specific IP to a device's MAC address) or by configuring the IP manually on the device itself.

The right approach depends on how your network is managed, how many devices you're working with, and how much control you have over the router. Some setups make DHCP reservation straightforward; others require direct configuration on each machine — and the tolerance for one approach over the other varies significantly from one environment to the next.