How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac

October 2022 ยท 3 minute read

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...

Method 1 of 4:

Finding Your Internal IP (OS X 10.5 and Newer)

  • Picture 1 of How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac

    Click on the Apple icon on the upper-left corner of the screen.

  • Picture 2 of How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac

    Scroll down and select System Preferences.

  • Picture 3 of How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac

    Click Network. This should be on the third row.

  • Picture 4 of How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac 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.

    • Method 2 of 4:

    Finding Your Internal IP (OS X 10.4)

  • Picture 5 of How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac

    Click on the Apple icon on the upper-left corner of the screen.

  • Picture 6 of How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac

    Scroll down and select System Preferences.

  • Picture 7 of How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac

    Click Network. This should be on the third row.

  • Picture 8 of How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac

    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.

  • Picture 9 of How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac

    Click the TCP/IP tab. Your IP address will be listed in the settings window.[1]

    • Method 3 of 4:

    Finding Your Internal IP Using the Terminal

  • Picture 10 of How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac

    Open the Terminal. This can be found in the Utilities section of your Application folder.

  • Picture 11 of How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac 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.
  • Picture 12 of How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac

    Copy your IP address. Your IP address will be displayed next to the 'inet' entry.

    • Method 4 of 4:

    Finding Your External IP

  • Picture 13 of How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac 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
  • Picture 14 of How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac 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.
  • Picture 15 of How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac

    Google search 'ip address'. The first result displayed will be your external, or public, IP address.

    • Lesley Montoya Lesley Montoya

    Update 04 March 2020

    ncG1vNJzZmismaXArq3KnmWcp51ktbDDjK2mZp6Zo7Fuxc6uqWahoGKupbDRnqqsZZ%2BjeqJ5zJqa