howtofindtheip.com

Where Do I Find My IP Address?

The 5-second answer: open our homepage and your public IP is already on screen. For the private IP of each device — plus hostnames and physical (MAC) addresses — follow the steps for your platform below.

First: public or private?

There are two different answers to "where do I find my IP address", because you have two different IPs:

  • Your public IP identifies your whole network on the internet. Fastest method: our homepage shows it instantly, together with your ISP and city.
  • Your private IP identifies one device inside your home network (usually 192.168.x.x). You need it for gaming, port forwarding, printer setup and troubleshooting. Methods per platform below.

Windows 11 & 10

Method 1 — Settings

  1. Press Win + I to open Settings.
  2. Go to Network & internet → Wi-Fi (or Ethernet).
  3. Click your connected network. Under Properties, look for IPv4 address — that's your private IP.

Method 2 — Command Prompt

  1. Press Win + R, type cmd and hit Enter.
  2. Type the command below and press Enter. Your IPv4 address appears under the active adapter, next to IPv4 Address.
Command Prompt
ipconfig

Need the full picture — including the MAC address and DNS servers? Use ipconfig /all (see the physical address section).

macOS

Method 1 — System Settings

  1. Open the Apple menu → System Settings.
  2. Click Wi-Fi and press the Details… button next to your network (on older macOS: Network in the sidebar).
  3. Your private IP is listed under TCP/IP → IP Address.

Method 2 — Terminal

Terminal
# Wi-Fi on most Macs
ipconfig getifaddr en0

# All interfaces
ifconfig | grep "inet "

Linux

Terminal
# Modern way — look for 'inet' under your active interface (wlan0/eth0)
ip addr show

# Quick: private IPs only
hostname -I

On desktops with a GUI (GNOME, KDE): open Settings → Network, click the gear icon next to your connection and read the IPv4 Address field.

iPhone & Android

iPhone / iPad

  1. Open Settings → Wi-Fi.
  2. Tap the (i) icon next to your connected network.
  3. Your private address is under IP Address (IPv4) and IPv6 Address.

Android

  1. Open Settings → Network & internet (or Connections on Samsung).
  2. Tap your Wi-Fi network's name or gear icon.
  3. Look for IP address — on some phones, tap Advanced first.

Mobile networks (4G/5G) also hand out an IP — visible on Android under Advanced, and always shown publicly on our homepage.

Your router (and its public IP)

Your router's management page sits at its private address — commonly 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1. Log in (the credentials are usually printed on the router) and look for a Status, Overview or WAN page: the WAN IP shown there is your public IP. The public IP is also listed under the router's connected devices.

No login needed? Our homepage shows the same public IP without touching the router.

Finding the host name

The host name is your computer's human-readable name on the network (like DESKTOP-9F2K4A1 or Johns-MacBook-Pro). Handy for network shares, remote desktop and router device lists.

Windows — Command Prompt
hostname
macOS / Linux — Terminal
hostname
# Linux extra detail (name, OS, kernel):
hostnamectl

Graphical alternatives: Windows → Settings → System → About → Device name. macOS → System Settings → General → Sharing → Local hostname.

Finding the physical (MAC) address

The physical address — better known as the MAC address — is a unique hardware identifier of your network adapter, written as six pairs like 1A-2B-3C-4D-5E-6F. Routers use it for device identification and MAC filtering.

Windows — Command Prompt
ipconfig /all
# Look for 'Physical Address' under your active adapter
  • macOS: System Settings → Wi-Fi → Details… → the Wi-Fi MAC address field (or ifconfig en0 | grep ether in Terminal).
  • Linux: ip link show — the MAC is the link/ether value.
  • iPhone: Settings → Wi-Fi → (i) next to your network → Wi-Fi Address. Note: since iOS 14, iPhones use a randomised Private Wi-Fi Address per network — disable it there if you need the real hardware address.
  • Android: Wi-Fi network details → MAC address (tap Advanced if hidden; choose "Use device MAC" to see the real one).

Remember: the MAC/physical address is not your IP address. It never leaves your local network, and you can't find it from our homepage — only on the device itself.

Wrapping up

FAQ

Common questions

Where do I find my IP address?

The quickest way to find your public IP address is to open howtofindtheip.com — it is displayed instantly. To find a device's private (local) IP address, use Settings on Windows or your phone, System Settings on a Mac, or the ipconfig / ip addr commands in a terminal.

What is a physical address?

In networking, the physical address is the MAC address — a unique hardware identifier burned into your network adapter, such as 1A-2B-3C-4D-5E-6F. On Windows you can see it as "Physical Address" in the output of ipconfig /all.

How do I find my computer's hostname?

On Windows, open Command Prompt and type hostname. On macOS, use System Settings → General → Sharing (the name at the bottom), or type hostname in Terminal. On Linux, run hostname or hostnamectl in a terminal.

Why does my IP address here differ from the one in my settings?

Your device settings show the private IP your router assigned (e.g. 192.168.1.42), while howtofindtheip.com shows the public IP your whole network uses on the internet. Both are correct — they are simply different layers of your connection.