How to Find Your IP Address and MAC Address on Any Device

Whether you’re setting up a printer, configuring your router, or giving information to an IT support team, sooner or later you’ll need your IP address or MAC address. Here’s what they are and how to find them on every common device.

IP address vs MAC address

• An IP address is a network address used to route traffic, a bit like a postal address. It can change depending on which network you join.
• A MAC address (media access control address) is a hardware identifier for a network adapter, written as six pairs of characters such as 3C-52-82-1A-7F-09. It’s used on your local network only.

There are also two kinds of IP address:

Your router has a public IP address on the internet and shares it among all the devices in your home, each of which has its own private IP.

Find your public IP address

The simplest way is to search for “what is my IP” in a search engine, or visit a reputable IP lookup site. Your router’s admin page or app usually shows it too (often labelled WAN IP or Internet IP).

If you’re using a VPN, you’ll see the VPN server’s address rather than your own.

Windows 11

Using Settings:

1. Open Settings › Network & internet.
2. Select Wi-Fi (or Ethernet), then your connected network’s properties (or Hardware properties).
3. Scroll down to see IPv4 address and Physical address (MAC).

Using Command Prompt:

ipconfig /all

Look under your active adapter for IPv4 Address and Physical Address. Our guide to network troubleshooting commands explains the other fields. getmac /v lists MAC addresses for all adapters.

macOS

1. Open System Settings › Network.
2. Select Wi-Fi or Ethernet, then click Details next to the connected network.
3. The TCP/IP tab shows the IP address; the Hardware tab shows the MAC address.

Android

Menu names vary by manufacturer:

1. Open Settings › Network & internet › Internet (or Connections › Wi-Fi on Samsung).
2. Tap the gear icon next to the connected network.
3. Look for IP address (you may need to expand Advanced or View more).
4. The MAC address used for that network is shown on the same screen. The device’s hardware MAC address is under Settings › About phone (sometimes in Status or Status information).

iPhone and iPad

1. Open Settings › Wi-Fi.
2. Tap the ⓘ next to the connected network.
3. You’ll see the IP Address and the Wi-Fi Address (the MAC address used on that network).

Private, random MAC addresses

To protect your privacy, modern devices often use a different, randomly generated MAC address for each Wi-Fi network:

• iPhone and iPad: Private Wi-Fi Address in each network’s settings.
• Android: Privacy › Use randomised MAC (wording varies) in each network’s settings.
• Windows 11: Random hardware addresses in Settings › Network & internet › Wi-Fi.

This is good for privacy, but it can confuse routers that use MAC filtering or parental controls tied to devices. If needed, turn off the private address for your own home network only.

What about IPv6 addresses?

Alongside the familiar IPv4 addresses (four numbers separated by dots), most networks now also use IPv6, which looks like 2a00:23c5:1234:5600::1a2b – longer groups of hexadecimal characters separated by colons. Windows shows these in ipconfig as IPv6 Address, Temporary IPv6 Address and Link-local IPv6 Address.

• Temporary IPv6 addresses change regularly for privacy, so don’t use them in configuration.
• Link-local addresses begin with fe80:: and only work on the local network segment.
• If you’re asked for “your IP address” for something like printer or router setup, the IPv4 address is almost always what’s needed.

Give a device a fixed IP address (DHCP reservation)

Printers, network storage and home servers are easier to manage when their IP address never changes. The cleanest way to do this is a DHCP reservation on your router, rather than typing a static address into the device itself:

1. Find the device’s MAC address using the steps above. For phones and laptops, make sure you use the address shown for your Wi-Fi network if private addresses are turned on.
2. Sign in to your router’s app or admin page (the address is often printed on a label on the router).
3. Look for a section called DHCP, LAN, Address reservation or Static leases.
4. Add a reservation linking the MAC address to the IP address you want – usually something within your router’s address range, such as 192.168.1.50.
5. Restart the device or reconnect it so it picks up the reserved address.

Reservations keep all address management in one place and avoid conflicts where two devices end up with the same address – a common cause of intermittent connection problems.

IP address conflicts

If Windows warns that another device on the network is using your PC’s IP address, two devices have the same address – usually because one was given a static address inside the router’s automatic range. Set the device back to obtain an address automatically, or use a reservation as described above, then run ipconfig /release and ipconfig /renew.

Find devices on your network

Your router’s admin page or app usually lists all connected devices with their names, IP addresses and MAC addresses. This is helpful for spotting unknown devices – if you find one you don’t recognise, change your Wi-Fi password.

Conclusion

Your private IP address and MAC address are in your device’s network settings, and ipconfig /all shows both on Windows. Your public IP is shown by your router or a quick “what is my IP” search. Remember that phones and computers may use private, random MAC addresses on each Wi-Fi network – that’s a privacy feature, not a fault.