How to find your IP address on Windows

Windows shows your private address in Settings and in one short command. Your public address is on our home page.

First: which address do you need?

Public address (what websites see): open the home page of this site. It is at the top.
Private address (your computer's address inside the home or office network, such as 192.168.1.7): follow the steps below.

If you are not sure which one you were asked for, read public and private addresses.

Windows 11: in Settings

Open Settings (press the Windows key and I together).
Choose Network & internet.
Choose Wi-Fi, then the name of your network (shown as "*name* properties"). On a cable connection choose Ethernet instead.
Scroll down to IPv4 address. That is your private address. IPv6 address and IPv4 DNS servers are shown close by.

Windows 10: in Settings

Open Settings, then Network & Internet.
Choose Wi-Fi on the left, then select the network you are connected to. For cable, choose Ethernet and select the connection.
Scroll to Properties. IPv4 address is your private address.

Any Windows: with one command

This is the quickest way and works the same on every version.

Press the Windows key, type cmd and press Enter. A black Command Prompt window opens.
Type the command below and press Enter.

ipconfig

Find the block for the connection you are using ("Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi" or "Ethernet adapter Ethernet") and read these lines:

Line	What it is
IPv4 Address	Your computer's private address
Subnet Mask	The size of your local network, usually 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway	Your router's address. Type it into a browser to open the router's settings
IPv6 Address / Link-local IPv6 Address	The IPv6 addresses of the computer

For more detail, including the MAC address ("Physical Address"), DNS servers and when the address lease runs out, use:

ipconfig /all

What the result tells you

An address starting 192.168., 10. or 172.16 to 172.31 is a normal private address. All is well.
An address starting 169.254. means Windows could not get an address from the router. Restart the router and reconnect; if it stays, the cable, the Wi-Fi password or the router's address service is at fault.
Media disconnected means that adapter is not connected to anything.

Useful follow-up commands

These are safe; they only refresh the computer's own connection.

ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew

The first gives the address back to the router, the second asks for a new one. Use them when the computer shows a 169.254 address or "No internet" after a router restart.

ipconfig /flushdns

This empties Windows' memory of website addresses. It helps when one site will not open on your computer but opens on your phone.

Why is the address in ipconfig different from the one on your home page?

ipconfig shows the private address inside your network. Our home page shows the public address of your router or provider. Both are correct.

Can I find my public address from the command line?

Not from ipconfig, because Windows does not know it; only the router and the outside world do. A website has to tell you, which is what our home page does.

Does my private address change?

It can. The router lends it for a period. To keep it fixed for a printer or a shared folder, reserve it in the router's settings.