How to Find Your IP Address in Windows

This article explains how to get your IP address in every version of Windows. You can find your external IP address and your local IP address, and there are two major ways to do it: a program or website with a graphical user interface (easier), or the command line.

How to Find Your IP Address in Windows the Easy Way

One way to see your public IP address is to use the Lifewire System Info Tool. It works right here on this page:

There are also websites designed specifically for displaying this address when you open the page—IP Chicken and ifconfig.me are just a couple of examples. Or, just search Google for what's my IP to see it instantly.

The easiest way to get your private/local IP address is through the network settings on your device. It works a little differently between all the Windows versions:

Windows 11 & Windows 10

1. Open Settings. You can do this by searching for it from the taskbar, or right-clicking the Start button and selecting Settings.

2. Select Network & internet.

3. Choose Properties on the right, next to whichever connection type you want the IP address for. For example, if you see Ethernet and Wi-Fi here, you can open the properties for either one.

   

4. The local IP address is listed next to IPv4 address (or Link-local IPv6 address, if you're looking for the IPv6 address). You can select the address from that screen if you want to copy it.

   

   IPv4 vs. IPv6: What's the Difference?

Windows 8/7/Vista/XP

1. Open Control Panel. A quick way to get there is through the Run dialog box: Win+R > type control > OK.

2. Select the View network status and tasks link located directly below the Network and Internet heading.

   

   Windows XP users should instead select Network and Internet Connections.

3. Next to Connections, select the connection type (for example, Ethernet or Local Area Connection).

   If you're using XP, select Network Connections instead.

4. Select Details to view all the connection information, such as IPv4 Address or Link-local IPv6 Address.

   

   Windows XP users need to right-click the connection and choose Status, and then open the Support tab to see the IP address.

How to Find Your IP Address in Command Prompt

Another way to find your local or external IP address is through Command Prompt.

Let's start with the local address (this works the same in all Windows versions). Open Command Prompt and then enter this to display the results of the ipconfig command:

 ipconfig

To get the IPv4 address, look for the value next to IPv4 Address. You can see in our example that it's 192.168.86.245.

You can also find your public IP address in Command Prompt. There are lots of ways to do this, but here are two examples that work in Windows 11 and Windows 10:

 curl ifconfig.me/ip

 curl ip-adresim.app

If curl isn't installed in your version of Windows (it's not included in Windows 8 and older), this nslookup command works instead:

 nslookup myip.opendns.com resolver1.opendns.com

More Information & Other Methods

VPNs hide your public IP address. If you're running VPN software, know that the external IP address you see via any of the above methods is really the VPN provider's address. Disconnect from the VPN to see your real public IP address.

IP addresses assigned by a DHCP server might change, so you could repeat the above steps over the course of a few months to find different addresses each time. This is true for both local and public IP addresses. In some cases, you can get a fixed/static IP address to avoid having it change on you. Learn more here: When to Use a Static IP Address.

The above directions explain the best ways to locate your IP address, but there are a couple of other methods:

• Use the System Information tool (enter msinfo32 into the Run box). Navigate to Components > Network > Adapter for a list of network details.
• Open Task Manager, go to the Performance tab and select the connection type (like Ethernet) to see the local IP address below the activity chart.
• Log in to the router as an administrator. You can find the IP address in the router for all the connected devices, and most can also locate the external address that applies to the whole network. Look for a place that lists all the connected devices to see the local addresses. The public address is probably in an admin or advanced section.

If you don't have a valid IP address or your computer can't get on the internet for some other reason, see our guide on How to Fix It When There's No Internet Connection.