How to Find an IP Address on Your Computer
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 yours is a basic but genuinely useful skill, whether you're troubleshooting a connection, setting up a home network, configuring a router, or accessing a device remotely.
The first thing worth clarifying: there are actually two different IP addresses associated with most computers, and which one you need depends entirely on what you're trying to do.
Local IP Address vs. Public IP Address
Your local IP address (also called a private IP address) is assigned by your router and identifies your computer within your home or office network. It typically looks like 192.168.x.x or 10.0.x.x. This is what you need for tasks like setting up a printer, accessing a network-attached storage device, or configuring port forwarding on your router.
Your public IP address is assigned by your internet service provider and identifies your entire network to the outside world. All devices on your home network share a single public IP. This is what remote servers see when you browse the web, and it's relevant for things like remote desktop access, hosting a server, or diagnosing ISP-related issues.
Most day-to-day network troubleshooting involves the local IP. If you're doing anything internet-facing, you need the public one.
How to Find Your Local IP Address 🖥️
On Windows
The fastest method is through Command Prompt:
- Press Windows + R, type cmd, and hit Enter
- In the command window, type ipconfig and press Enter
- Look for IPv4 Address under your active network adapter (usually labeled "Ethernet adapter" or "Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi")
The number next to IPv4 Address is your local IP. You may also see an IPv6 address — a longer alphanumeric string. IPv6 is the newer standard, though most local network tasks still reference IPv4.
Alternatively, go to Settings → Network & Internet → your active connection → Properties and scroll down to find the IP assignment details.
On macOS
- Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
- Click Network
- Select your active connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet)
- Your IP address is displayed directly on that screen
You can also use Terminal: open it and type ifconfig | grep "inet " — your local IP appears next to inet on a line that isn't 127.0.0.1 (that's the loopback address, which always refers to the local machine itself).
On Linux
Open a terminal and run:
or the older command:
Look for inet followed by an address under your active interface — typically eth0 for wired connections or wlan0 for wireless.
How to Find Your Public IP Address
This one is simpler. Your computer doesn't directly "know" its public IP — your router handles that translation through a process called NAT (Network Address Translation). To find it, you need to ask an external service.
Any of these work:
- Type what is my ip into a search engine — the result appears at the top
- Visit a site like ifconfig.me or api.ipify.org in your browser
- In a terminal (any OS), run: curl ifconfig.me
The address returned is what the internet sees for your network.
Key Variables That Affect What You'll Find
The IP address you find isn't necessarily permanent or unique to just your machine. Several factors shape what you're looking at:
| Factor | What It Affects |
|---|---|
| DHCP vs. static assignment | Most routers assign IPs dynamically — they can change. A static IP is manually set and stays fixed. |
| Wired vs. wireless connection | Your computer may have different local IPs for each adapter if both are active |
| IPv4 vs. IPv6 | Which version is active depends on your router and ISP configuration |
| VPN usage | A VPN replaces your visible public IP with one from the VPN provider's servers |
| ISP type | Some ISPs use CGNAT (Carrier-Grade NAT), meaning your "public" IP is actually shared across many customers |
Understanding these variables matters because finding an IP address is rarely the end of the task — it's usually a step toward something else, and the type of IP (local vs. public, dynamic vs. static, IPv4 vs. IPv6) determines whether you've found the right number for your actual purpose.
When Your IP Address Changes on Its Own
Dynamic IP assignment through DHCP is the default on virtually every home and small office network. Your router leases an IP address to each device for a set period. When that lease expires — or when a device disconnects and reconnects — the address may change.
For most browsing and general use, this is completely invisible and irrelevant. It becomes significant when you're trying to consistently reach your computer from another device or location, run a local server, or maintain a stable remote connection. In those cases, either setting a static local IP on the device or using a dynamic DNS service for your public IP becomes relevant.
A Note on 127.0.0.1 and Unusual Addresses 🔍
If you run ipconfig or ifconfig and see 127.0.0.1, that's not your network IP — it's the loopback address, which every computer uses to refer to itself internally. It's used in software development and local testing but has nothing to do with your network connectivity.
Addresses starting with 169.254.x.x on Windows indicate a self-assigned IP, which typically means the device couldn't reach a DHCP server — a sign of a network configuration problem worth investigating separately.
The method that makes sense for you, and which IP address is actually useful, depends on what you're trying to accomplish with the information once you have it.