Every Internet user automatically receives an IP address from their provider, the house number of their own Windows 11 computer, so to speak. Sometimes it is helpful to know your own IP. We’ll show you how to view the IP address.
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In the private space, you are assigned a random IP address by the provider. However, this often changes.
© AVM
There are always two IP addresses to be distinguished in the network: the public and the local IP address. The public IP address is the one with which you are browsing the Internet. It can be displayed on the Internet router or determined using a web service such as www.whatismyip.com/de/. The router distributes the local IP address to the devices. A Fritzbox has the IP 192.168.178.1, a PC receives the 192.168.178.1 and a printer the 192.168.178.3. The router handles the distribution via DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol).
Note:
Usually two IP addresses are displayed – one IPv4 and one IPv6. Read what this is all about in the box below.
Show local IP address
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With the on-board tools of Windows 11 you can display the IP addresses of network devices. All you have to do is show an additional column in the network view in the Explorer window.
The quickest way to find out the local IP address is to use the Windows 11 command prompt. Press Windows + R keys and enter
cmd
a. A window will open. Tap
ipconfig
in the command line and confirm with Enter. The local IP address is displayed in the “IPv4 address” line. If IPv6 is activated, you will see a second local IP in the corresponding line.
Show IP addresses of devices
Under Windows 11 you can display all network devices involved – but only in list form. For a graphical view there are free tools like Netgear Genie. To view with standard tools, start the Explorer with the key combination Windows + E. In its window click on “Network” in the column on the left. Then go to “View” in the menu bar at the top left and then to “Details”. Now click in the header over “Other devices” with the right mouse button on “Name” to open a context menu. Check the box for “IP address”. The “IP address” column is now also displayed in the list view. You can now see the devices in the network with their respective IP addresses at a glance.
More on the subject:
Windows 11: This is how the network structure works
Windows 11: This is how network settings change
Network tuning in Windows 11 – this is how it works
Basics: IPv4 and IPv6
Windows 11 and modern Internet routers support the classic Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) as well as the newer version IPv6 – at the same time. IPv6 is a new standard for data transmission in networks. Compared to the older IPv4, it supports many more different IP addresses, namely 340 sextillion. These are used for worldwide addressing of devices.
IPv4 can manage a maximum of 4.3 billion IP addresses – too little for the rapidly growing number of network devices. To quickly check whether you can go online using IPv6 from your home network, simply go to an IPv6 website such as ipv6.google.com. Since Windows Vista, IPv6 has been integrated into Windows and activated automatically. Please note: The so-called “link-local IPv6 address” beginning with “fe80” is only used for communication between devices in the same network. The router does not forward data packets with this address to the Internet.
