How to Find Your Local IP Address (Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android)

The fastest way to find your local IP address: on Windows, open Settings → Network & internet (or run ipconfig in Command Prompt); on Mac, open System Settings → Network; on iPhone, tap Settings → Wi-Fi → the ⓘ next to your network; on Android, open your network's details in the Wi-Fi settings.

Below are the exact steps for each operating system, plus the one distinction that trips most people up: your local IP is not the address websites see. Get that straight first and you won't copy the wrong number into the wrong box.

Local IP vs Public IP: Which One Are You Looking For?

Every device on your network carries two addresses, and they do completely different jobs.

Your local IP (also called a private IP) identifies your device on your own network. Your router assigns it, and it usually looks something like 192.168.1.23. You need it for jobs inside your home or office: connecting to a printer, setting up port forwarding, reaching a NAS drive.

Your public IP is the address your router presents to the rest of the internet, the one websites, games, and streaming services see. No settings menu needed for that one: see your public IP instantly on our homepage. For the full picture of how the two work together, read what an IP address is.

One detail that confuses people: a VPN changes your public IP but leaves your local IP untouched. Your laptop stays 192.168.1.23 on your home network with the VPN on or off. Only the address the outside world sees gets swapped.

Quick test: an address starting with 192.168, 10, or 172.16 through 172.31 is local. Anything else is public. The rest of this guide covers the local one.

A concrete way to decide which one you need: if the instructions you're following mention another device in your home (a printer, a console, a NAS), you need the local IP. If they mention something out on the internet, like whitelisting your address with a service or setting up remote access from elsewhere, you need the public one.

Find Your Local IP on Windows 10 and 11

The Settings app shows it in a few clicks:

1. Open Settings (Windows key + I) and go to Network & internet.
2. Click Wi-Fi if you're wireless, or Ethernet if you're on a cable.
3. Click your connection name, then Properties (on Windows 11, the properties open directly).
4. Scroll down to IPv4 address. That's your local IP, for example 192.168.1.42.

The wording shifts a little between versions: Windows 10 routes you through Status → Properties, while Windows 11 puts the connection front and center under Network & internet. Either way, you're hunting for the same "IPv4 address" line in the connection properties.

The command-line route is even faster once you know it:

1. Press the Windows key, type cmd, and press Enter to open Command Prompt.
2. Type ipconfig and press Enter.
3. Find your active adapter ("Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi" or "Ethernet adapter") and read the line labeled IPv4 Address.

If ipconfig lists several adapters, ignore the ones marked "Media disconnected". Only the active connection carries your current address.

Find Your Local IP on a Mac

On macOS Ventura and later (the versions with the redesigned System Settings):

1. Open the Apple menu → System Settings.
2. Click Network in the sidebar, then click Wi-Fi (or Ethernet).
3. Click Details… next to your connected network.
4. Your local IP appears under IP address, for example 192.168.1.17.

Prefer Terminal? One command, no clicking:

1. Open Terminal (Spotlight: Cmd + Space, type "Terminal").
2. Type ipconfig getifaddr en0 and press Enter.

en0 is Wi-Fi on nearly every modern Mac. If you're wired through an adapter and get no output, try en1.

Two more shortcuts worth knowing. On macOS Monterey and earlier, the path is System Preferences → Network, and your address sits right under the connection status, no Details button needed. And on any version, holding Option while clicking the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar reveals a hidden diagnostic panel with your IP address, the router's address, and the channel you're on. Once you know it exists, it's the fastest route of all.

Find Your Local IP on iPhone and iPad

iOS keeps it three taps away:

1. Open Settings and tap Wi-Fi.
2. Tap the ⓘ icon next to the network you're connected to.
3. Scroll to the IPV4 ADDRESS section. Your local IP is on the line labeled IP Address.

This only works on Wi-Fi. On mobile data there's no local network in the usual sense: your carrier assigns the address, and what websites see is your public IP, which you can check on the homepage.

Find Your Local IP on Android

Android paths vary a bit by manufacturer (Google phones say "Network & internet", Samsung says "Connections"), but the destination is the same:

1. Open Settings and tap Network & internet (or Connections on Samsung devices).
2. Tap Wi-Fi (or Internet on recent Pixel phones).
3. Tap the gear icon next to your connected network, or the network name itself, depending on the device.
4. Look for IP address, usually under Network details or after expanding Advanced.

Many Android phones list two addresses here: a long one with colons (IPv6) and a short dotted one (IPv4, like 192.168.1.31). For printers, port forwarding, and most local tasks, the IPv4 address is the one you want. Curious about the difference? See IPv4 vs IPv6.

There's also a path that works the same on almost every Android phone: Settings → About phone → Status information lists the IP address alongside the Wi-Fi MAC address and other identifiers. It's buried deeper, but it sidesteps the manufacturer-specific Wi-Fi menus entirely.

Why Your Local IP Starts with 192.168 (or 10.x)

It's no coincidence that nearly every local IP you'll ever see starts the same way. A standard called RFC 1918 reserves three address ranges exclusively for private networks: 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255, 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255, and 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255. These addresses are never routed on the public internet. That's why your laptop and millions of others can all be 192.168.1.23 without ever colliding: each address only means something inside its own network.

Your router picks one of these ranges (home routers overwhelmingly default to 192.168.x.x; corporate networks tend toward 10.x.x.x because it's far larger) and hands out addresses to your devices through DHCP, a protocol that leases an address to each device that joins, for a limited time. When the lease expires or the device reconnects, it may get a different address from the pool. That's why a local IP scribbled on a sticky note is unreliable: the address you noted last month may belong to a different device today.

If you need a device to keep the same local address (a printer, a NAS, a server you forward ports to), the clean solution is a DHCP reservation in your router's admin panel, which pins one address to one device permanently. How that works, and when it's worth doing, is covered in static vs dynamic IP addresses.

When You Need Your Local IP

For everyday browsing you never need it. The local IP matters when devices on your network need to find each other:

• Adding a network printer. When automatic discovery fails, typing the printer's local IP directly is the reliable fallback. Most printers show theirs in a settings menu or on a printed status page.
• Port forwarding. To expose a game server or service to the internet, your router needs to know which device gets the traffic, and you point it at that device by its local IP.
• Reaching a NAS or media server. Typing the drive's local IP into a browser or file manager takes you straight to its interface, no discovery protocol required.
• Troubleshooting Wi-Fi. A device with no local IP (or a strange 169.254.x.x one, which means DHCP failed) hasn't properly joined the network. That single check separates router problems from internet problems.
• Pairing apps across devices. Remote desktop tools, file-transfer apps, and phone-to-PC scanning utilities often ask you to type one device's local IP into the other when automatic pairing fails.

Notice what's missing from that list: anything involving a website or online service. Those always use your public IP, because your local address never travels past your router.

Key Takeaways

• Your local IP identifies your device on your own network; your public IP is what websites see. Settings menus show the local one; the public one is one click away.
• Windows: Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi/Ethernet → Properties, or ipconfig in Command Prompt.
• Mac: System Settings → Network → Wi-Fi → Details, or ipconfig getifaddr en0 in Terminal.
• iPhone: Settings → Wi-Fi → ⓘ. Android: network details in the Wi-Fi settings (paths vary by manufacturer).
• Local addresses come from the RFC 1918 private ranges (192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x, 172.16-31.x.x) and are leased by your router via DHCP, so they can change unless you reserve them.

Common Questions

Why does my local IP keep changing?

Because DHCP leases are temporary. Your router lends each device an address for a set period (often 24 hours to a week), and when the lease expires or the device rejoins the network, it may get a different one from the pool. Harmless for browsing, but it breaks anything configured against a specific address, like port forwarding rules. The fix is a DHCP reservation in your router's settings, which guarantees the same device always gets the same address; see static vs dynamic IP addresses for the details.

Is 192.168.1.x the same as my router's address?

They live in the same range, but they're different addresses. The router takes one for itself (conventionally the first or last in the range, like 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.1.254) and assigns the rest to your devices. So if your laptop shows 192.168.1.42, that's the laptop's address; the router's is the one listed next to "Gateway" or "Router" on the same settings screen. Type the gateway address into a browser and your router's admin panel opens.

Can websites see my local IP?

No. Local addresses never leave your network: your router translates them through NAT, so every device in your home appears to the outside world under one shared public address. A website can log that public IP, your approximate city, and your internet provider, but it can't tell your laptop from your TV, and it never sees 192.168-anything. To see exactly what websites do see, check your public IP.