how to find ip address on android phone

Need to find your phone's IP address? You might know how to find your IP address on your Mac or Windows computer, but what about on your phone?

We're here to help you find your iPhone or Android phone's IP address. Let's look at how to view both your public and private IP address on your phone, what these addresses mean, and how to keep them private.

What Is an IP Address?

First, we should explain what an IP address is so you know how to make use of the information you find. IP stands for Internet Protocol; an IP address is a numbered label assigned to every device that connects to a network. Thus, if you're wondering whether your phone has an IP address, the answer is "yes" as long as you're online.

Checking the IP address of a device helps you identify it on both your home network and the internet at large. In fact, there are two IP addresses that identify each device, including your phone:

A public IP address (or global IP address) is how the rest of the internet sees any device on your network. Because this is network-specific, your global IP will be the same whether you're using your phone, desktop PC, or other device at home.
A private IP address (or local IP address) identifies a device on your own network. Only one device can have a certain address on a network, but that same address can be used on other private networks too.

In addition, when you check your IP address, you'll likely see both an IPv4 and IPv6 address. IPv4 addresses are shorter, but due to the enormous number of internet-connected devices, the world is running out of them. IPv6 address aren't as easy to read, but there are enough of them to go around for a long time.

In most cases, IPv4 is still the primary address, but IPv6 will phase these out over time.

How to Find Your Phone's Private IP Address

As discussed above, there are both public and private IP addresses. Here's how to find your mobile phone's private IP address on your home network.

How to Find the IP Address of Your Android Phone

Below are the steps to find your Android phone's IP address, shown on a Pixel device running Android 11. The location and menu names may differ slightly depending on your Android phone:

Open Settings and browse to Network & internet > Wi-Fi.
If you're not already connected to your Wi-Fi network, tap its name and confirm that you've joined.
Tap the network's name and expand the Advanced section.
Here, you'll find your IP address and other information under Network Details. If available, the IPv6 addresses appear at the bottom of the page.

How to Find the IP Address of Your iPhone

To find your IP address on an iPhone, here's what to do:

Head to Settings > Wi-Fi.
If you're not already connected to your home network, tap it and connect now.
Tap your network's name to open its options and view more information.
Here, you'll see the IP Address field listed under the IPv4 Address header.

Depending on your network, you may see an IPv6 Address header below this, containing the alternate address for your device.

How to Check Your Phone's Public IP Address

Now that you know your phone's private IP address on your network, let's look at how to check your global IP address.

Your public IP is easy to find, because any device on the internet can see it. Thus, you can visit a multitude of websites that will show your public IP address instantly, right on your phone.

Open Chrome on your Android phone or Safari on your iPhone (or whatever other browser you use). Then navigate to a public IP checker website, such as:

IP.ME
WhatIsMyIP
What Is My IP Address

You'll notice that some of these sites also display your location, ISP name, and similar info. This is because your IP address carries this information with it. You can't figure out someone's name and exact address from their IP address, but it does narrow their location down to a city.

Similar sites allow you to trace any IP address to see its location. We'll discuss more about IP privacy below.

Understanding Dynamic and Static IP Addresses

It's worth mentioning that most of the time, both the public and private IP addresses you found for your phone are not set in stone. In both cases, your phone probably uses a dynamic IP address.

This means that after some time or when a device restarts, that device or your whole network will get a new IP address. Conversely, a static IP does not change over time like this.

Dynamic public IPs are simpler for your ISP (like Comcast or Verizon) to manage. You can request a static IP from your ISP, but these often cost an additional fee. They're not necessary for home users unless you're hosting a server that others access from outside.

For private IP addresses, your router hands them out dynamically to devices on your network using DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). In practice, this means that when you connect a new device to your home Wi-Fi, you don't have to manually assign an IP address and keep track of everything yourself.

You can assign static private IP addresses using your router and settings on various devices if you want to. But again, this is only really something advanced users need to worry about. Doing it incorrectly could cause major issues, like IP conflicts, and become more trouble than it's worth.

After finding your current IP and learning that it reveals your location, you might be worried about the privacy implications of this. If so, the best solution is to start using a VPN (virtual private network).

Essentially, connecting to a VPN provider lets you route all your traffic through its servers. To the outside world, it looks like your traffic is coming from another location. This masks your IP and can make it harder to connect your browsing to you or your location.

Keep in mind that there are other ways to hide your location while browsing the web, too.

Now You Know How to Find Your Phone's IP Address

No matter what phone you use, it's easy to see your IP address. While you might not need to check it often, it's a good skill for any user to understand. Knowing your device's IP address can help when you're troubleshooting all kinds of network issues.

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