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How to find your IP address on Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Android

Step-by-step guide to finding your public and private IP address on every device — Windows, macOS, Linux, iPhone, iPad, and Android. Plus a one-click check.

May 5, 20265 min read

The fastest way to see your public IP address is to scroll to the top of showmyipaddress.io. Done.

But sometimes you need your private IP (the one your router assigned, only visible inside your home network) — for things like setting up a printer, configuring a server, or troubleshooting Wi-Fi. That requires checking inside your operating system. Here's how on every common device.

Quick reference

You want to findWhere to look
Your public IPshowmyipaddress.io — visible at the top
Your private IPYour device's network settings (below)
Both at onceThis page — public IP at top, follow steps below for private

If you're not sure which you need: a public IP is what websites see (203.0.113.5). A private IP is what your router uses inside your network (192.168.1.42). Most home support questions involve the private one.

Windows 10 / 11

The graphical way

  1. Open Settings → Network & internet.
  2. Click Properties under your active connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet).
  3. Scroll to find IPv4 address and IPv6 address.

The fast way (Command Prompt)

Press Win + R, type cmd, hit Enter. Then:

ipconfig

Look for "IPv4 Address" under your active adapter. That's your private IP.

Public IP on Windows

ipconfig only shows your private IP. For the public one:

curl ifconfig.me

Or open showmyipaddress.io — it's the same answer, with extra info.

macOS

The graphical way

  1. System Settings → Network.
  2. Click your active connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet).
  3. The IP address appears in the connection details.

The fast way (Terminal)

ifconfig | grep inet

Or, more readable:

ipconfig getifaddr en0

Replace en0 with en1 if you're on a wired connection (varies by Mac model).

Public IP on macOS

curl -4 ifconfig.me   # IPv4
curl -6 ifconfig.me   # IPv6

Or showmyipaddress.io.

Linux

ip addr

Or shorter:

hostname -I

For public:

curl ifconfig.me

iPhone / iPad

  1. Settings → Wi-Fi.
  2. Tap the (i) info icon next to your connected network.
  3. The IP Address field shows your private IPv4 (and IPv6 if available).

For your public IP, open Safari and visit showmyipaddress.io.

If you're on cellular data, the iPhone doesn't expose your "carrier IP" through settings — but showmyipaddress.io will show it.

Android

The exact path varies by manufacturer, but generally:

  1. Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi (or Connections on Samsung).
  2. Tap your connected network's gear icon or details arrow.
  3. Look for IP address.

Quick alternative: open Chrome and visit showmyipaddress.io — you'll get the public IP plus a lot more, in one screen.

Routers

Want to know your WAN IP (the public IP your ISP assigned to your router, before any of your devices)? Two options:

  • Visit showmyipaddress.io — that is the WAN IP, since all your traffic exits through it.
  • Log into your router at 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 (consult its label or manual). Look for "WAN" or "Internet status" — the IP listed there is the same as what websites see.

Why these numbers might be different

When you check, you'll often see two distinct IPs:

  • Private IP (192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x, or 172.16.x.x to 172.31.x.x) — assigned by your router. Only meaningful inside your network.
  • Public IP (anything else) — assigned by your ISP. Visible to the entire internet.

Your router uses NAT (Network Address Translation) to bridge the two. We have a full explainer on public vs. private IPs if you want to dig in.

Why your IP changes

If you check today and again tomorrow and see different numbers, you have a dynamic IP — your ISP rotates them. This is normal for most home connections. If you need a fixed IP (for hosting, VPN setup, or whitelist rules), ask your ISP about a static IP — usually a small monthly fee.

Why it might be wrong

Sometimes the IP shown by your OS or by a website looks unexpected:

  • You're on a VPN — the public IP shown is the VPN's, not yours. Disconnect the VPN to verify.
  • You're behind CGNAT — many mobile carriers and some ISPs put many users behind one shared public IP. You see one IP locally; the world sees another.
  • You're using IPv6 — modern devices may show an IPv6 address by default. Same internet, different format. See IPv4 vs IPv6 explained.
  • DNS-over-HTTPS or proxies — some browsers route traffic through Cloudflare or another proxy that changes which IP a site sees.

TL;DR

  • Public IP: visit showmyipaddress.io — works on every device.
  • Private IP: check your OS network settings using the steps above.

That's it. Save this page if you find yourself looking it up a second time.