How to find and change your IP address in Windows 10

Estimated read time 5 min read

Although in recent years the configuration of network devices has been greatly simplified thanks to the appearance of wizards and, above all, to the standardization of the DHCP protocol, it never hurts to learn basic tasks that can save you from more than one hurry. Today, we will teach you to find and modify the IP address of a Windows 10 computer.

Before we start, let’s take this opportunity to remember that an IP address is a unique number that is assigned to a device (in this case your PC) to uniquely identify it when it connects to a network. You have probably heard of public IP and private IP, so it is important to know how to distinguish between them:

  • A private IP It is the one used by each device within its local network. As a general rule, your router, as the main base of your network infrastructure, assigns itself the address 192.168.0.1 (sometimes also 192.168.1.1) and the rest are assigned from that range.
  • The public IP It is the address that is shown to the devices that are outside your local network (such as the server from which we show you MuyComputer) and that you normally share as a gateway to the Internet with many other computers, assigned by your ISP (of course, it is possible to contract an exclusive public IP address, but it is a topic that we will not deal with in this article).

How to find my private IP address

The easiest way is to access the dashboard Settingoption Network and Internet and, in the panel on the left, select the option that we are using at that moment. Under the legend properties you will see a lot of useful information about your connection and the private IP that identifies you, called IPv4 address.

Another way, more direct, is through the command console. type the command cmd and press Enter in the search bar to launch the console. When you see the window open, type the command ipconfig and press Enter to see something similar to the following screenshot. Again, your private IP is identified as IPv4 address (IPv4 Address in English).

How to change my private IP address

At the beginning of the article we have commented that, currently, most network configurations for home users are made automatically, using the DHCP protocol. Simplifying, this solution makes the router automatically assign an IP address to each device that connects, avoiding possible conflicts and errors.

The problem is that every time we restart the router or if we have a power outage, the process starts again and sometimes this can cause problems. Therefore, it is always good to know how to assign the IP you want to your team. you must go to Network connectionsselect Ethernet (wired) or WiFi and click on Properties. On the next screen select Internet Protocol version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click Properties to get to a screen similar to the one below.

By default, the option will be checked. Obtain IP address automatically. If you change to Use the following IP address you can put the one you want, always within the range and making sure that it is not busy. Thus, it should always start with the sequence 192.168.0… (remember, 192.168.0.1 is reserved for the router) and followed by a number between 2 and 254. If you want to avoid problems, it is usually good advice to assign them from 192.168 .1,100. After saving the changes, the private IP of your PC will no longer change even if we restart the router.

An advice: do not make these changes lightly or without knowing what you are doing because you can cause your network to not work well. In case of problems, reset the router and put the IP assignment back on automatically to return to the initial scenario. Some devices require configuration changes to work with static IPs, so it doesn’t hurt to check the manufacturer’s instructions before making changes.

How to find my public IP address

The easiest way to find your public IP is to use websites like https://cual-es-mi-ip-publica.com/ , http://www.vermiip.es/, or https://www.iplocation .net/find-ip-address (there are many more), which will show you a screen with some information about it. Do not panic if you see location data or if the browser you are using detects you; it is information that it shows to all users and it is not easy to protect yourself, unless you are under a proxy or use a browser like Tor. In any case, it is not advisable to fall into paranoia and you have to be aware that it is very difficult to browse the Internet without leaving a trace.

How to change my public IP address

Most users who contract a connection have a dynamic IP, which is automatically assigned by their ISP and shared with others. Normally, it is changed automatically every time you reboot the router and you shouldn’t worry about itit is a normal behavior that does not affect the quality of your connection.

If you see that the public IP does not change, you can force it via command console. Access by typing the cmd command in the browser and, once you have the Command Prompt screen, type ipconfig /release followed by Enter to release the address and ipconfig /renew plus Enter to force a new one to be assigned to you. Keep in mind that you must turn off and on the router to see the changes and check how your public IP has been modified.

You May Also Like

More From Author