How to find your computer’s IP address on Windows, for troubleshooting or configuring your internet connection

By

windows laptop computerReuters

  • Your computer’s IP address, the string of numbers used to identify your computer online, can be found in Windows easily.
  • You usually don’t need to know your IP address, and it’s usually assigned automatically, but you can find your Windows PC’s local IP address by running a command called "ipconfig" in a Command Prompt window. 
  • You can also find both your local and public IP addresses in a web browser.  
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Your computer’s IP address — which stands for "Internet Protocol" — is a string of numbers, separated by dots, that identifies a computer or device on the internet or its local network. 

Your computer is required to have an IP address to access the Internet. Most of the time, you’re assigned an address automatically, and there’s often no reason for you to need to know your IP address.

Occasionally, though, you may need to know your computer’s IP address, either to configure networking software, or to troubleshoot a problem with your internet. 

Complicating the situation slightly is that there are two different IP addresses associated with your computer: a local IP (sometimes called internal IP) and a public IP (also known as an external IP). Most of the time, you only need to know the local IP. If you’re asked for your IP address and it doesn’t specify which one, assume it’s the local IP. 

The good news is that it’s very easy to find your computer’s IP address, and the process has been exactly the same, no matter what version of Windows you have. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Windows 10 Home (From $139 at Best Buy)

How to find your local IP address in Windows

1. Click the Start button, type "cmd," then press Enter. 

ip 1Dave Johnson/Business Insider

2. The Command Prompt window will open, which you can type operating system commands through.

3. Type "ipconfig" and press Enter.

4. Look for the line that says "IPv4 Address," right above "Subnet Mask." If you’re looking for the IP address of a home computer, the IP address will look something like 192.168.1.###, where only the last three numbers will vary from computer to computer. 

ip 2Dave Johnson/Business Insider

How to find your local and public IP address in a web browser

If you ever need to know your computer’s external IP address, it’s very easy to track down: Open a browser and visit WhatIsMyIP.com. 

This site will display your public IP address at the top of the page, as well as your local IP address a little lower on the page. 

NOW WATCH: Jeff Bezos is worth over $160 billion — here’s how the world’s richest man makes and spends his money

See Also:

SEE ALSO: The best laptops you can buy

Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Dave Johnson)

MustHaves.LA a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.