How to Find Your IP Address in Windows 10 (2024 Update)

Finding your device’s IP address is an important first step for many networking tasks. Your IP address uniquely identifies your device on a network and allows you to access the internet and other network resources.

In this comprehensive guide, I’ll show you multiple ways to find your IP address on Windows 10, both for IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. We’ll cover the easiest methods using the Settings app and ipconfig command, as well as how to interpret the information to understand your network configuration.

What is an IP Address?

Before showing you how to find your computer’s IP address, let me quickly explain what an IP address actually is.

An IP address is a numeric identifier assigned to a device on a network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. It allows the device to send and receive information over that network or the internet.

There are two major types of IP addresses you’ll encounter:

IPv4 – The most common type of IP address, consisting of four sets of numbers from 0-255, separated by dots (e.g. 192.168.1.100). Provides approximately 4 billion unique addresses on the internet. This is still the dominant standard.
IPv6 – A newer, expanded format consisting of eight groups of four hexadecimal digits, separated by colons (e.g. 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334). Supports an exponentially greater number of addresses as more devices and smart appliances connect to networks.

Internet Protocol is the standardized method for sending and receiving data across interconnected networks of devices, allowing communication between your computer, other computers on your home or work network, and resources across the public internet. Your device’s IP address ensures accurate routing of this information.

So in simple terms, an IP address identifies your PC or device on the network. Finding this address lets you understand network connectivity issues or remotely access a device. Next I’ll show you how to find this in Windows 10.

Find Your Public IPv4 Address

When connected to a local network your computer will have a private IPv4 address, which allows communication between other local devices. This IP address is not accessible from the public internet.

To find your public IP address that identifies your network on the broader internet, use these steps:

Open the Start menu and search for “cmd”.
Right click on the Command Prompt app icon that appears and select “Run as administrator”.
In the command prompt window that opens, type the following command and press Enter:
- nslookup myip.opendns.com resolver1.opendns.com
Your computer will query an external DNS server and respond with your public IP address information:
- Non-authoritative answer:
- Name: myip.opendns.com
- Address: 122.155.1.59

In this example, 122.155.1.59 is the public IPv4 address for my network’s internet gateway device.

To double check, you can visit a website like ShowMyIP to confirm the public address.

Knowing this public address is useful when configuring port forwarding rules for remote access to devices on your local network.

But to understand your computer’s information within your network for connectivity issues, you’ll instead need the private IPv4 address, covered next.

Find Your Private IPv4 or IPv6 Address

For finding your Windows 10 computer’s private IP address that identifies it on your home or work local area network (LAN), you have two easy options:

Through the Settings app
Via the ipconfig command line tool

Here’s how to use each method to find your private IPv4 or IPv6 address in Windows 10:

1. Find IP Address in Settings App

The easiest way to find your computer’s IP address is through the Windows Settings app:

Open Settings > Network & Internet settings
Click your active network connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet)
Scroll down and you’ll see your:
- IPv4 address – Consisting of four groups of numbers up to 255, separated by dots
- IPv6 address – Longer hexadecimal groups with colons as separators
Note down the IP address information shown here for reference with troubleshooting network issues or remote device configuration.

This Settings screen also displays related network connection details like:

Subnet mask – Defines the subnet your device is part of
Default gateway – The network router device that handles traffic beyond your local network
DNS servers – Resolve domain names into IP addresses

Having problems connecting to the internet or other devices? Comparing these details against a working system can help identify mismatched network settings that need correcting.

The Settings app provides an easy graphical interface to check your network status. Next we’ll see how to find the same information through the command line.

2. Use the ipconfig Command

The other fast way to check your IP address in Windows 10 is by using the ipconfig command:

Open the Start menu and search for “cmd” to open a command prompt
In the Command Prompt window, type the ipconfig command and press Enter:
- ipconfig
You’ll now see detailed IP addressing information for your network connections:
- The IPv4 Address and Subnet Mask identify your device to other devices on the same local network.
- The Default Gateway is the address for your router that connects your home/office network to the internet.
- The DNS Server addresses allow converting domain names (like opendns.com) into IP addresses.
If you have IPv6 enabled on your network, you’ll also see this longer hexadecimal IPv6 address for your device listed.

So with just the ipconfig command you can gather rich detailed IP configuration information without even opening Settings or Control Panel windows. It provides essential data for networking troubleshooting.

When Do You Use IPv4 vs IPv6 Addresses?

You probably noticed Windows showed you both IPv4 (four dot separated numbers) and IPv6 addresses (eight blocks of hexadecimal numbers). So when would you use one versus the other?

In practice most networks still rely predominantly on the older IPv4 protocol. This format allows for approximately 4 billion unique addresses – which has required some creative workaround solutions to provide every internet connected device an identifier due to address exhaustion.

The newer IPv6 protocol massively expands this availability, providing 340 trillion trillion unique IDs, ensuring plenty of addresses as more and more appliances and devices connect to networks.

But full adoption has been slow. So typically you’ll rely primarily on IPv4 addresses for communication, only falling back to IPv6 if the other host device supports it.

To force Windows 10 to prefer IPv6 you can adjust network adapter Advanced Properties and enable IPv6 while disabling IPv4. But this may break connectivity with devices or resources that don’t support it yet.

My recommendation is leaving IPv4 enabled as the primary IP protocol for maximum compatibility, until IPv6 gains broader ecosystem support.

Now that you know how to find your IP address information in Windows 10, let’s look at how you can use this to troubleshoot and fix issues.

How do I Find my IP Address on Windows 10 without Command Prompt?

You can find your IP address on Windows 10 without using Command Prompt in a few easy ways:

Open the Windows Settings app (Windows key + I)
Click on “Network & Internet”
On the left sidebar, click on your active network (Wi-Fi, Ethernet, etc.)
On the right side, under “Properties”, you will see your IPv4 address and IPv6 address if assigned.

You can also get your public IP address without Command Prompt by:

Going to a website like WhatIsMyIPAddress.com
Searching “What is my IP address” on Google
Asking Siri, Alexa, or other digital assistants what your public IP address is

So through the Settings app and a few web searches you can easily find your private and public IP addresses on Windows 10, no command line access required. The Windows GUI provides simple network property viewing for those less comfortable with typing CLI commands.

How do I Get my IP Address Automatically in Windows 10?

Here is a simplified way to get an automatic IP address in Windows 10:

Open the Settings app (Windows key + I)
Click on “Network & Internet”
On the left sidebar, click your Wi-Fi network
Click “Manage known networks”
Under your Wi-Fi network name, toggle “Automatically get IP address” to On

This will configure your Wi-Fi connection to automatically obtain an IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS server addresses from the router’s DHCP server.

You don’t need to dive into the old Control Panel network adapter properties. The Settings app provides an easy switch for enabling dynamic IP assignment.

Some additional notes:

Ethernet connections also default to automatic DHCP IP assignment
You can choose manual static IPs if preferred, but automatic is simpler for most home users
DHCP leases will renew the IP periodically, even if expired, so you may never notice if an IP changes
For Wi-Fi, ensure the router’s DHCP server range can assign enough IPs for all devices

So in just a few clicks through the Windows Settings, you can sit back and have IP addresses gracefully assign automatically in the background.

Applying Your IP Address Info for Troubleshooting

Simply locating your computer’s assigned IP address isn’t too helpful on its own. The key is understanding what the IP configuration means for connectivity and remote access.

Here are some ways you can apply this knowledge:

Compare against working devices – If having network problems, contrast mismatched IP or gateway info against functional devices to isolate where settings differ. Update to resolve.
Confirm successful DHCP assignment – Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) automatically assigns local IP addresses. Verify this succeeded, else fix DHCP failures.
Check DNS server response – Domain Name System (DNS) mapping of domains to IPs is vital for web browsing. Slow response could indicate DNS issues.
Allow remote device access – Utilize your public IPv4 address and port forwarding rules to connect remote apps or desktops back to local resources.
Share device info when requesting support – Your IP and network data helps ISP or remote IT support investigate and troubleshoot connectivity problems faster.

Let’s explore an example troubleshooting scenario to understand applying your IP knowledge…

IP Address Troubleshooting Example

Here’s a practical example of utilizing your Windows 10 IP address info to fix a network issue:

You move your computer to a new location in the house
After reconnecting the Ethernet cable, you find you no longer have internet access. Browsing stalls on “Looking up examplesite.com”, before ultimately timing out unable to show webpages.
You open Settings > Network & Internet and view configuration info:
- You still see an assigned IPv4 address of 192.168.20.45
- The Subnet mask matches other working devices (255.255.255.0)
- But the Default gateway is missing (blank instead of 192.168.20.1)
- And DNS server addresses aren’t populated
From this you can deduce that relocating your PC caused the DHCP assignment process to fail. Your PC retains its old IP address, but isn’t receiving updated router/gateway or DNS server information.
You refresh the network adapter (Disable/re-enable the Ethernet interface) and see it now obtain valid 192.168.20.1 gateway and DNS addresses. Internet access is restored!

By understanding the meaning of key IP details, you could isolate the root cause (in this case a failed DHCP request after a location change) and resolve internet connectivity without needing to call your ISP’s support team.

This also demonstrates the value of having a functioning “known good” network environment for comparison, so you can quickly identify misconfigurations from expected results.

Adopting this IP validation as part of your standard connectivity troubleshooting approach can help minimize downtime from outages.

Tips for Managing Your Network IP Addresses

Here are some additional tips for effectively managing IP addresses within home and small office networks:

Use static IPs cautiously – While assigning a permanent IP lets you always know a device’s address, it risks conflicting with DHCP dynamic assignments. Reserve DHCP addresses instead for servers/printer while leaving client machines dynamic.
Check IP address releases – Windows PCs by default will retain a DHCP leased IP indefinitely while remaining on that network segment. This avoids having to repeat initialization just waking from sleep. But can lead to address conflicts if a lease expires without renewing. Manually renew or release/renew the IP after long periods asleep.
Duplicate IP detection – If experiencing sudden loss of connectivity, an IP conflict is one possibility. Scan the local network address range for duplicate assignments to identify this problem case.
Label devices physically – Identify the assigned name and IP address on the back of devices. This avoids tedious rediscovery when needing to remotely access printers, network cameras, etc.
Renew DHCP leases regularly – Some home routers may hand out very lengthy 8 day or longer DHCP leases by default. Renew more frequently (daily) to avoid reusing old IPs.
Check IP reservations – If moving devices across network segments (e.g different Wi-Fi APs), verify there’s no conflicting DHCP IP reservation with the same static address assigned.
Reboot after changes – When modifying network settings, periodically restart devices or flush DNS to ensure updates propagate correctly across the LAN.

Actively monitoring and managing computer/device IP assignments this way helps avoid scenarios where connectivity inexplicably fails due to duplicate, mismatched, or missing IP configurations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to some common questions about finding and applying IP address information in Windows 10:

Why does Windows show multiple connections in ipconfig /all output?

The full ipconfig /all output provides info on all active or recently used network interfaces – Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth PAN, etc. Identify the primary interface you use for the current relevant connection details.

How long do DHCP IP address leases last?

A DHCP server will typically grant 8 day, 1 week, or permanent “infinite” leases. But clients renew frequently, so IPs may expire if offline from that LAN past the lease length. Check DHCP service settings on your router.

What happens when an IP address conflict occurs?

Duplicate IP assignments within the same network segment triggers connectivity issues. PCs may show limited local LAN access but no internet. Determine and fix the conflicting duplicate IPs to restore performance.

My public IP address keeps changing, why?

Most home internet subscribers are assigned a dynamic public IP by their ISP. Reconnecting or restarting your gateway router may request a different assignment. Request a static address if you require persisting public IP.

How do I access my PC remotely using the IP address?

Enable port forwarding to your computer’s private IP on the gateway router and connect remote desktop client to the public IP + port. Or use VPN software for wider private network access.

Conclusion

Finding your Windows 10 computer’s IP address is a vital first step when troubleshooting network issues or enabling remote device connectivity.

Both the Settings app and the ipconfig command provide simple ways to retrieve this key identification information. IPv4 addresses remain the primary standard, with IPv6 adoption still gradually building.

Awareness of your PC’s IP address assignments compared to functional devices helps validate successful DHCP configuration and identify problems like duplicate IPs. This knowledge directly aids fixing networking outages faster.

Manually recording device IPs or enabling reservation DHCP leases ensures you can maintain consistent access to local networked equipment like NAS, printers and security cameras when needed.

So take a few minutes today to confirm Windows 10 networking connectivity and note your dynamic or static IP addressing details. This small bit of visibility builds the foundation for smoothly operating networks and rapid fault remediation when issues eventually arise.