A computer or any device connected to the Internet has two types of IP addresses necessary to communicate. Each Internet-enabled device comes with a private IP address, whereas a public IP address, also known as the external IP address, is provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP).
While checking your private IP address is easy, knowing your public IP address can be necessary for many tasks, including remote access, server hosting, network troubleshooting, and geolocation services. Here we show you a few ways to retrieve your public IPv4/IPv6 information on Windows.
How to Check Your Private IP Address on Windows
Windows offers multiple ways to view your network information, including the IP address. For instance, you may easilycheck your IP address from the Settings app. You can also use the Network and Sharing Center in Control Panel or dig a little bit in the Task Manager’s Performance tab to access your system’s network details.
But if you would rather skip multiple clicks and are comfortable with Command Prompt, the ipconfig (Internet Protocol configuration) command is all you need. It is easy to remember and shows more information quickly than the Settings app.
Follow these steps to get your Private IP address using Command Prompt:
If you need to share the output for troubleshooting purposes, you can export the output to a text file. In Command Prompt, runipconfig > NetworkInfo.txtto save the output to aNetworkInfo.textfile. By default, it is saved to theC:\Users\Usernamedirectory.
How to Get Your Public IP Address on Windows
Unlike the private IP address, theipconfigcommand cannot retrieve the public IP address of your ISP. Instead, you’ll need touse the curl command-line utility to make HTTP requestsusing a third-party service, like ifconfig.me, to obtain IP address mapping information.
The newer versions of the OS, Windows 10 and 11, come with the curl utility built-in. If you are using an older version, you may need to install curl for Windows to run the utility.
Follow these steps to get the public IP address using Command Prompt:
If you check your public IPv6 address again after a few hours or days—depending on the router’s configuration—you may notice a different IPv6 address. Due to privacy concerns, your router dynamically assigns and changes the IPv6 address for all connected devices.
Online Tools to Get Your Public IP Address
If you prefer a more intuitive experience, you can use online web services that can provide information on your network configuration. These services can also detect the ISP location and other information, including the user agent.
Online services to view public IP addresses:
Many Ways to Check Your Public IP Address on Windows
Whether you want to perform remote access or set up a gaming server, you may need to share your public IP address to allow others to connect to your network. Fortunately, plenty of web services allow you to check your network details using Command Prompt and online tools.
