Find Your IP Address on a Mac

When your Mac is connected to a network, it is assigned an address on the network called an IP address. The IP address is four sets of digits separated by periods, with up to three digits per set. If the Mac is connected to a network as well as the internet, then it will have an internal IP address which marks its location on the local network, and an external IP, which is the IP address of your internet connection. Follow this guide to find both.

Steps

Finding Your Internal IP (OS X 10.5 and Newer)

  1. Click on the Apple icon on the upper-left corner of the screen.
  2. Scroll down and select System Preferences.
  3. Click Network. This should be on the third row.
  4. Select your connection. Typically you will be connected to the network via AirPort (wireless), or Ethernet (wired). The connection you are using will say Connected next to it. Your IP address will be listed directly beneath your connection status, in smaller print.
    • Your active connection will typically be selected by default.

Finding Your Internal IP (OS X 10.4)

  1. Click on the Apple icon on the upper-left corner of the screen.
  2. Scroll down and select System Preferences.
  3. Click Network. This should be on the third row.
  4. Select your connection. You can select the connection that you want the IP address for in the Show dropdown menu. If you have a wired connection, choose Built-In Ethernet. If you have a wireless connection, choose AirPort.
  5. Click the TCP/IP tab. Your IP address will be listed in the settings window.[1]

Finding Your Internal IP Using the Terminal

  1. Open the Terminal. This can be found in the Utilities section of your Application folder.
  2. Use the ifconfig command. The normal ifconfig command will result in a lot of data displayed that is not necessary and a little confusing. The following command will remove most of the unnecessary stuff and display your internal IP address:ifconfig | grep "inet " | grep -v 127.0.0.1[2]
    • This command removes the 127.0.0.1 entry, which will always appear regardless of the machine you are using. This is the feedback loop, and can be ignored when looking for the IP address.
  3. Copy your IP address. Your IP address will be displayed next to the “inet” entry.

Finding Your External IP

  1. Open your router’s configuration page. Almost all routers can be accessed through a web interface where you can see and adjust settings. Open the web interface by entering the router’s IP address into a web browser. Check your router’s documentation for the specific address. The most common router addresses are:
    • 192.168.1.1
    • 192.168.0.1
    • 192.168.2.1
  2. Open your Router Status. The location of the external IP address will vary from router to router. Most have it listed in the Router Status or WAN (Wide Area Network) Status.[3]
    • Under Internet Port in the Router Status, your IP address should be listed. The IP address is 4 sets of digits, with up to three digits per set.
    • This is the IP address of your router. Any connections made out of your router will have this address.
    • This IP address is assigned to you by your internet service provider. Most external IP addresses are dynamic, which means they change from time to time. This address can be masked using proxies.
  3. Google search “ip address”. The first result displayed will be your external, or public, IP address.

Tips

  • When you are finished with the terminal, you can type exit, but this will not close the window. To do that, you need to use the top menu bar, Terminal -> Close.
  • If you want the Terminal window to be more handy, drag it to the tool dock.
  • To figure out your IP address on Windows, see Related Articles.

Warnings

  • When using an IP information site from an ISP that uses a transparent web proxy (such as AOL), be aware that the reported IP address may be that of the ISP's web proxy and not your actual IP address.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ https://kb.wisc.edu/helpdesk/page.php?id=6526
  2. ↑ http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_do_i_figure_out_my_ip_address_on_a_mac.html
  3. ↑ http://superuser.com/questions/150802/find-extenal-my-ip-without-website-possible-in-windows-vista
Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Find_Your_IP_Address_on_a_Mac&oldid=277178"