Find Your Home's IP Address in Your Router

Your router has two IP addresses that are easy to find

By
Bradley Mitchell
Bradley Mitchell
Writer
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • University of Illinois
An MIT graduate who brings years of technical experience to articles on SEO, computers, and wireless networking.
lifewire's editorial guidelines
Updated on June 16, 2020
Reviewed by
Jon Fisher
Jon Fisher headshot
Reviewed by Jon Fisher
  • Wichita Technical Institute
Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA certified technologist with more than 6 years' experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

A home broadband router uses two IP addresses. One is its private address on the local network. The other is the external, public IP address that communicates with outside networks on the internet.

This article includes instructions for some popular router brands, but that the specific steps will vary depending on your router.

How to Find the Router's External IP Address

The external facing address managed by a router is set when it connects to the internet service provider with a broadband modem. This address can be seen from web-based IP lookup services such as IP Chicken and also from the router.

It's a similar process with other manufacturers, but on Linksys routers, you can see the public IP address on the Status page in the Internet section. NETGEAR routers might call this address the Internet Port IP Address and have it listed in the Maintenance > Router Status screen.

Screenshot of router configuration page showing external IP address

How to Find the Router's Local IP Address

Home routers have their local address set to a default, private IP address number. It's usually the same address for the other models from that manufacturer, and it can be found in the manufacturer's documentation.

You can also check this IP address in the router's settings. For example, most Linksys routers list the private address, called the Local IP Address, in the Setup > Basic Setup screen. A NETGEAR router might call it a Gateway IP Address on the Maintenance > Router Status page.

Some routers are accessible only via a mobile app, such as Google Wifi. With that app, you can open the Network & General > Advanced networking > LAN page to see the router's local IP address.

Screenshot of router configuration page showing local IP address

Here are the default local IP addresses for some of the most popular brands of routers:

Administrators have the option to change this IP address during the router setup or at any time later in the router's administrative console.

Unlike other IP addresses on home networks that usually change periodically, the router's private IP address remains static (fixed) unless someone manually changes it.

Alternatively, find the local IP address of the router in Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems by verifying the default gateway address.

More Information on IP Addresses

The public IP address of a home network changes periodically because the ISP assigns dynamic addresses to most customers. These change over time because each IP address is reallocated from the company's address pool.

These numbers apply to the traditional IPv4 addressing commonly used on networks. The new IPv6 uses a different numbering system for its IP addresses, although similar concepts apply.

On corporate networks, network discovery services based on Simple Network Management Protocol automatically determine the IP addresses of routers and other network devices.

Was this page helpful?