How to Find Your Private/Local IP Address

Your device needs two identities. One for talking to the world. One for talking to your printer.

Your private IP address is the name your device goes by at home—the one your router uses to route messages between your laptop, your phone, your smart TV. Outside your network, this address means nothing. Inside, it's how everything finds everything else.

Think of it like apartment numbers. Your public IP is the street address—17 Oak Street. Your private IP is Apartment 3B. Mail from outside needs the street address. But if you're already in the building, you just knock on 3B.

Every device connected to your network gets its own apartment number: 192.168.1.12, 192.168.1.13, 192.168.1.14. Your router is the landlord, assigning numbers and making sure messages reach the right door.

Here's how to find yours.

Windows

The visual path: Start → Settings → Network & Internet → Your connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet) → Properties. Look for "IPv4 address."

The fast path: Windows key → type cmd → Enter. Type ipconfig and press Enter. Find "IPv4 Address" under your active connection.

Both get you the same place. The command line is faster once you know it exists.

macOS

Apple icon → System Settings → Network → Your active connection (the one with the green dot). Your IP address is right there.

For more detail: Details → TCP/IP tab. You'll see your address, subnet mask, and router—the full apartment building layout.

Linux

Open terminal and run one of these:

ip address (or ip a)—comprehensive information about every network interface. Look for the line starting with "inet" under your active connection.

hostname -I—just the addresses, nothing else.

ifconfig—older systems. Same information, different command.

iPhone and iPad

Settings → Wi-Fi → Tap the (i) icon next to your connected network → Scroll to "IPv4 Address."

Android

Settings → Network & Internet → Wi-Fi → Tap your network name → Find "IP address."

Pixel puts it under About phone. Samsung hides it in Status information. But every Android device exposes it somewhere in network settings.

Why Two Addresses Exist

Your router performs a translation trick called NAT (Network Address Translation). All your devices share one public IP to talk to the Internet, but each maintains its own private address for talking to each other.

This is why you can't directly reach your laptop from the Internet. The public address points to your router, not to any specific device behind it. Your laptop is genuinely unreachable—not because of a firewall or a setting, but because the address simply doesn't go there.

Private IPs always start with 192.168, 10.0, or 172.16–172.31. These ranges are reserved—they'll never appear as public addresses. They're exclusively for internal networks. Your apartment building, not the street.

When You Need This

Setting up a printer. Configuring port forwarding. Troubleshooting why two devices can't see each other. Assigning static IPs. Running a local server.

The private address is the anchor point for anything that requires devices to find each other directly.