How to Find IP Address on Windows 11: Settings, CMD & More

Windows 11 gives you three built-in ways to find your IP address, and none of them will show you what you might actually need. That's not a bug it's a distinction worth understanding before you start clicking around. The methods built into the OS return the local (private) address your router assigns to your device. The public address, which belongs to the router itself and is what the outside internet sees, lives somewhere else entirely. This guide covers how to find IP address on Windows 11 using Settings, Command Prompt, and PowerShell for the local address, and how to check the public one when that's what the task actually requires.

The local address lets your devices talk to each other inside the network. The ISP assigns a separate public address to the router, and every device on that network shares it, per RepairWin. Windows Settings is for the local address, not the public one. Getting the public address means querying an outside service, covered in the final section.

Knowing your local IP is useful for configuring network devices, troubleshooting connectivity, and setting up local software or routers, per WhatIsMyIP. The public IP is what you need for remote access, VPN verification, and whitelisting on an external service.

Prerequisites: An active Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection.

Local vs. public IP: which one do you actually need?

The local (private) IP belongs to the device. It's assigned automatically by the router's DHCP server, and every device on the network gets its own, per Pureinfotech and RepairWin. All three Windows-native methods below return this address.

The public (external) IP belongs to the network's internet connection. The ISP assigns it to the router, not to any individual device, and it's visible to any server outside the home network, per RepairWin. Checking it requires querying an external service, covered in the final section.

Use this table to pick the right method before you start:

If any method returns an address starting with 169.254, the adapter didn't get a normal local address from the network. That signals a DHCP or connectivity problem, not a valid IP, per WhatIsMyIP.

Method 1: find your local IP address in Windows 11 Settings

The Settings route requires no terminal. It's the right choice for an occasional manual check on a single adapter.

Microsoft Support documents the path: navigate to your active connection type, then look under Properties for the IPv4 address.

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.
2. Click Network & Internet in the left sidebar.
3. Select Wi-Fi or Ethernet based on your active connection.
4. For Wi-Fi: click the name of the connected network. For Ethernet: click the adapter name.
5. Scroll down to the Properties section. The IPv4 address is listed there.

That view shows the local IP and subnet mask, but stops there it omits the default gateway, DNS servers, and DHCP server, per Pureinfotech. If you need the router's address or the full adapter picture, use the alternate path below.

For full adapter details:

1. Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Advanced network settings.
2. Under More settings, click Hardware and connection properties.
3. This view shows the complete configuration for all adapters, including the IPv4 default gateway (your router's address), DNS servers, and DHCP server, per Pureinfotech.

Method 2: find IP address using Command Prompt on Windows 11

ipconfig is the most direct route for most lookups. One command, immediate output, and the router's address appears in the same result.

Microsoft Learn confirms that ipconfig, run without parameters, displays the IPv4 address, IPv6 address, subnet mask, and default gateway for every network adapter, and it applies across all current Windows 11 editions.

1. Press Windows + S, type cmd, and press Enter to open Command Prompt.
2. Type ipconfig and press Enter.
3. Find the adapter block for your active connection. It will be labeled Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi or Ethernet adapter Ethernet, per Pureinfotech.
4. Read the IPv4 Address line. The Default Gateway line shows your router's address.

ipconfig lists every adapter on the machine, not just the active one. Skip blocks marked "Media disconnected." Skip any address starting with 169.254 that's a self-assigned fallback, not a working local address. The block with a standard four-part IPv4 address is the one you want.

Need DNS server details, MAC address, or DHCP lease information? Run ipconfig /all instead. It outputs the full configuration for each adapter, per Microsoft Learn.

Method 3 (advanced): how to check IP address in Windows 11 with PowerShell

For a single lookup, ipconfig is faster. PowerShell earns its place when you're scripting, need structured output, or want to filter results programmatically.

Pureinfotech uses Get-NetIPConfiguration -detailed as the readable PowerShell option. It returns IPv4Address, IPv6LinkLocalAddress, and IPv4DefaultGateway per adapter in a structured block.

1. Open Start, type PowerShell, press Enter.
2. Run: Get-NetIPConfiguration -detailed
3. Locate the adapter block for your active connection.
4. Read the IPv4Address value. IPv4DefaultGateway shows the router's address.

When you need only IP addresses across all active adapters in a format you can pipe elsewhere Microsoft Learn documents this CIM-based command:

Each adapter returns multiple addresses in the output. That's expected: the IPAddress property is an array, per Microsoft Learn, so you'll see an IPv4 address alongside several IPv6 entries. Addresses beginning with fe80:: are link-local and don't route beyond the local network segment. The IPv4 address, four numbers separated by dots, is what most tasks require.

How to find your public IP address on Windows 11

The public IP is assigned by the ISP to the router and is visible to any server outside the home network, per RepairWin. Every device on that network shares it. Windows doesn't surface this address in the same places it shows the local one, so both methods below send a request to an external service.

Browser method:

1. Open any browser and navigate to ifconfig.me.
2. Your public IP appears under the "Your Connection" section, per Pureinfotech. Searching "what is my IP" in Google or Bing returns the same answer at the top of the page.

Command Prompt method:

1. Open Command Prompt.
2. Run: nslookup myip.opendns.com. resolver1.opendns.com
3. The public IP appears under "Non-authoritative answer," per Pureinfotech. This sends a DNS query to OpenDNS's resolver rather than opening a web page, but it still contacts an external server to get the answer.

If the public IP looks unfamiliar while connected to a VPN, that's the VPN doing its job: traffic is routing through the VPN's exit point, so the address returned belongs to the VPN provider, not the home connection.

Both approaches make an outbound request to an external server. For a one-off manual check, that's standard. For automated scripts in corporate or sensitive environments, verify that the external service meets your organization's requirements before deploying.

Which method to use

The right choice depends on what you're actually doing. Printer setup, router configuration, and local device troubleshooting all need the local IP Settings or ipconfig will get you there. If an external service is asking for an address it can reach over the internet, skip the Windows menus entirely and check the public IP through a browser or the nslookup command instead.

Among the local IP methods, ipconfig in Command Prompt handles the widest range of tasks in the fewest steps: it shows the local address, the router's address, and covers all current Windows 11 editions, per Microsoft Learn. Settings is fine for occasional use. PowerShell is the right tool when the output needs to go somewhere.