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How to Check Your Own IP Address

Your device actually has more than one IP address at once — here is how to find the one that matters for most everyday checks, and what it means.

  1. Open an IP checker to see your current public IP

    A checker run from any browser reads the address your connection presents to the outside internet, which is the number most support tools and services ask for.

  2. This is your public address, not your device’s local address

    Your router shows a different “local” address like 192.168.x.x to devices on your own network — that number is only visible inside your home or office, never to outside sites.

  3. Check whether both an IPv4 and IPv6 address are shown

    Many connections have both active at once; most everyday services use whichever one your device and the destination both support, without you needing to choose.

  4. Refresh the check if you’ve recently restarted your router

    Many home connections use a dynamic address that can change on reconnect, so a lookup done today may show a different result than one from a few days ago.

  5. Compare the result against a VPN’s location if you’re using one

    If a VPN is active, this address reflects the VPN server’s location, not your actual one — checking with the VPN off, briefly, confirms whether it’s working as expected.

Why your device shows a different number to your router than to the internet

Nearly every home network uses NAT (Network Address Translation), which lets a router hand out private local addresses to every connected device while presenting a single shared public address to the outside internet. That’s why the number your phone shows in its own Wi-Fi settings almost never matches the number an outside IP checker reports — they’re describing two different layers of the same connection.

A changing public address is normal, not a problem

Most residential internet plans assign a “dynamic” address that can change when your router restarts, reconnects after an outage, or simply after enough time passes, depending on the provider. This is a deliberate way providers manage limited address space, not a sign anything is wrong — only certain business or server setups need a fixed “static” address that never changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does an IP checker show a different address than my router’s settings page?

Your router’s own settings page usually shows the private, internal address it uses on your home network. An outside IP checker instead shows the public address your provider assigned to your whole connection — two different, equally correct numbers describing different parts of the same setup.

Does checking my IP address reveal anything a website doesn’t already see when I visit it?

No — any website you visit already receives your public IP address automatically as a basic part of how the connection works. Checking it yourself just shows you the same information a site would already have.