How to Find Out Your Local and External IP Addresses
You usually don’t need to think about your IP address (in fact, you’ve probably never heard of it before), but it’s an important little piece of information attached to every device on your home network. Knowing the ins and outs of IP addresses can be helpful when setting up your home’s Wi-Fi network, troubleshooting connection problems, and keeping your devices secure while they’re online. Here’s where you can find them and what they do.
What is an IP address?
An IP address is an Internet Protocol address: it works much like the postal address of where you live, allowing websites and web servers to find you and maintain a working connection. It’s an essential piece of code that makes the Internet work, and it looks like a bunch of numbers and letters with a bit of punctuation.
Every device connected to your home router will have a local (or private) IP address, which helps the router identify which gadget is which and ensure smooth operation. Additionally, your router has an external (or public) IP address that it broadcasts to the world, which helps everyone else on the Internet find you.
You’ll see both older, simpler IPv4 addresses and newer, more complex IPv6 addresses for your devices. Most modern hardware uses both, but IPv4 is eventually expected to be phased out, albeit very slowly – IPv6 was introduced back in 1995 because the Internet was simply running out of addresses to use.
Luckily, all of this is handled seamlessly by your Wi-Fi router and your ISP. In fact, most routers and ISPs provide dynamic IP addresses for local and external use that change constantly (it’s a little easier and more cost-effective), but your overall Internet connection is not affected. .
You only really need to know your IP address for certain scenarios, usually involving some change in network configuration: perhaps you’re mapping a network drive to the Internet that you need to access remotely, or you’re trying to get online multiplayer gaming features to work on a game console . Here’s how to find out what your current IP addresses are.
How to find out your external IP address
Many different websites will tell you your IP address: this is a piece of information you give to each site you visit in exchange for connecting to them, although you can switch to a different external IP address by setting up a VPN . Remember also that, as we said, most ISPs provide you with a dynamic IP address that changes regularly.
VPNs will broadcast the IP address of one of their servers somewhere in the world, meaning that your external IP address will remain hidden from the sites you load. If you want to access your external IP address, make sure you are not currently using a VPN.
Once this check is complete, all you have to do is visit a website like the aptly named WhatIsMyIPAddress and you’ll see your IPv6 and IPv4 addresses on the screen. (Depending on how the network you’re using is configured, either in hardware or software, you may only see an IPv4 or IPv6 address.) You can also simply type in “What’s my IP?” into Google, and the search engine will tell you about it (even though it may not be the best result).
How to find out your internal IP address
On a Windows computer, go to Settings in the Start menu, open the Network and Internet page and click either Wi-Fi and then the network name or Ethernet , depending on your connection method. Your local IPv6 and IPv4 addresses will be included in the information on the screen, and a handy Copy button will appear next to the details.
On macOS, you need to open the Apple menu, then select System Preferences and Network . Select Wi-Fi or Ethernet depending on how you’re currently connected to the Internet, then select More Details next to the network you’re on. The Mac’s local IP address is listed on the next screen along with your router’s IP address.
Next is the iPhone. From the main iOS Settings screen, tap Wi-Fi , then the small blue info bubble next to your current network to see your IP addresses. Note that phones often list multiple numbers, sometimes for added privacy protection and to account for Wi-Fi and cellular data.
As usual with Android, the exact menu names and structure vary depending on your phone: On Pixels, open Settings and tap Network & Internet and Internet . There will be a gear icon next to the network you’re currently on: tap it, then scroll down to see your device’s IP address.
On Samsung Galaxy phones, open Settings and select Connections , Wi-Fi , and then the gear icon next to the network you’re currently connected to. Select View More to see the corresponding IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. If you’re not using a Pixel or Galaxy phone, you should be able to find something similar through the Internet options in Settings.