Network Home Address
Find the IP address of your router | Computerworld
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Defensive Computing is for people who use computing devices for work, not play. Rather than focus on the latest news or devices, this blog aims to be educational. Heavy on facts, light on opinions.
Use this cheat sheet for learning the IP address of a router.
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In an upcoming blog I expect to write about configuring a home router, which requires logging on to it. This, in turn, requires knowing the IP address of the router. Non-techies typically don’t know anything about IP addresses, let alone the one assigned to their router. Since I expect the upcoming blog to be fairly long, I decided to start with this cheat sheet for learning the IP address of a routers have a web-based interface and, thus, are configured with a web browser. While some routers can be accessed by name (they typically intercept DNS queries), they all can be accessed by their IP address. Full access to the router requires a userid and password, but to even get prompted for this, you need to know the IP address. An IP address is written as four numbers separated by periods. Typical home networks use IP addresses that start with 192. 168. Often the router will have an IP address such as 192. 1. 1 or 192. 2. 1. If your Internet Service Provider (ISP) installed your router, they know both its IP address and the userid/password for it. In my experience, the ISP never tells the customer any of this information up front. With a self-installed router, you can get the IP address (assuming it wasn’t changed at installation) from the manufacturer’s documentation. Sometimes it is on a label on the bottom of the router. Once a network has been set up, each computing device on the network knows the IP address of the router and will spill the beans if you know the secret handshake. Terminology can get in the way however. Apple devices refer to the router as “Router”. Windows refers to it as the “Default Gateway”, a term borrowed from TCP/IP. Chrome OS refers to the router as “Gateway”. Android won’t tell you the IP address of your router, forcing you to install an app.
Home Network Addressing
All devices connected to a home network require an IP (Internet Protocol)address.
This is no different from telephones requiring a telephone number, or a house requiring an address.
Just like house numbers have a particular format e. g. 25, King street, etc and phone numbers have a structure like area code+local number then so to do IP addresses.
Currently home networks use the IPv4 protocol although you will also see IPV6 addresses assigned, but not really used.
Because IPv4 addresses are what home networks currently used we will concentrate on these addresses in this tutorial.
IPV4 Addresses
An IP address (IPv4) consist of 4 numbers separated by a dot and look like this:
192. 168. 1. 1
each number has a maximum value of 255.
All IP addresses on a network need to be unique which is important to note if you need to manually allocate them.
The right most number is the important number as far as most people are concerned, and will be different for each device on the home network
The screen shot below shows a device map with the IP address allocation for part of my home network. Notice which part of the address changes.
Home Network IP address Assignment
IP address can be assigned:
Manually
Automatically
Manual Assignment
Manually assigned addresses are known as static addresses.
When assigning a static IP address you will also need to enter other important address information.
The screen shot below shows the static address assignment on my Windows 10 computer however all devices have a similar form for the IP address assignment.
Notes:
1. My home network use the network address 192. 1 (first three numbers) also common is 192. 0 and 10. x. x
2. The default gateway is the address of your home router. This is assigned to the router as a static IP address. Common addresses uses the first or last addresses of the range which are 1 and 254.
3. The subnet mask is important as is usually 255. 255. 0
4. You need the address of 1 DNS server to access websites on the Internet. The Google DNS server is available to use for free but you can use your ISP DNS servers.
5. You can choose to manually assign the DNS addresses and automatically assign the IP address or vice versa.
6. Make a note of the addresses you assign so as to avoid address conflicts.
Automatic Assignment
This is the default configuration on most devices.
This is what it looks like on my Windows 10 computer.
In this configuration when you start your machine it gets it’s IP and DNS address from a DHCP server on the local network.
On home networks this service is provided by the home router which has DHCP enabled by default.
If no DHCP server is available Windows machines (some versions) will auto assign an address. This address starts with 169. 254
e. 169. 254. 0. 1
No DNS server address will be allocated which means that you will not have access to the internet unless you know the IP address of the server.
Finding Your IP Address, Gateway Address etc?
You may need to find out what DNS servers you are using or the IP or MAC address of:
Your Home Router.
Your own computer/tablet/phone
The main tool you use is the ipconfig (windows) or ifconfig (linux) tool.
The screen shot below shows the ipconfig command use with the /all switch. i. e. ipconfig/all
Common Questions
Q- What Happens if DHCP fails?
A- Because IP addresses are leased from the DHCP server your client machine will keep its existing address until the lease expires usually 1 day. and so will run normally for a while.
New machines joining the network will not get an IP address and may auto assign one depending on the device.
They will not work with existing machines and because they don’t have a DNS server address they wont be able to access the Internet.
Q -How do I know if I have a static IP address or a automatically assigned one?
A- You can look at the network adapter properties or on Windows open a command line and type
ipconfig /all
If you see the entry DHCP Enabled.. No then you are using a static IP address.
Q- What happens if a have two DHCP servers on my Home Network?
A- This may cause strange behaviour and is to be avoided. On home networks the home router provides the DHCP service by default. If you try to reuse old routers as Wireless access points then you can run into this problem
Q -What is The IP address of my router or default gateway?
A- You can find it using the ipconfig command line tool (ifconfig on Linux) as shown above. When viewing your configuration some devices refer to it as the default router whereas other use the term default gateway.
In the screen shot above it is 192. 254
Your home router generally comes with a static IP address assigned. Common addresses are:
192. 254 and 192. 1
However you can change it if you want, but because this is the main device on the home network I would leave it as it is. If you do change it you will need to make changes on any devices that use a static IP address.
Q- What happens if I assign the same IP address to two separate devices?
A- You get an IP address conflict and the devices wont work.
Q- Do I need to subnet my Home Network?
A- Almost certainly no. See Home network Subnet masks explained.
Related tutorials and Resources
How to Setup and Configure your Home Router
Setting Up Static IP Addresses on Windows 10
Understanding DHPC on Home Networks
Name Resolution on Home Networks
Setting Up A DNS Server using DNSMasq
Understanding Multicast DNS
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How to Find Your Router’s IP Address on Any Computer
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If you’ve ever needed to access your router’s setup page to make some configuration changes, you know you need your router’s IP address to gain access. If you’ve forgotten what that IP address is, here’s how to find it on just about every platform.
In the networking world, a default gateway is an IP address that traffic gets sent to when it’s bound for a destination outside the current network. On most home and small business networks—where you have a single router and several connected devices—the router’s private IP address is the default gateway. All devices on your network send traffic to that IP address by default.
Windows devices call this the “default gateway” in the interface. Macs, iPhones, and iPads simply call it “router” in their interfaces. And on other devices, you may just see “gateway” or something similar.
The IP address for your router is important because that’s the address you’ll have to type into your browser in order to locate your router’s web-based setup page where you can configure its settings.
RELATED: 10 Useful Options You Can Configure In Your Router’s Web Interface
Find Your Router’s IP Address on Windows
Your router’s IP address is the “Default Gateway” in your network connection information on Windows. If you prefer using the Command Prompt, you can find the default gateway for any connection quickly by using the ipconfig command.
If you prefer, you can also find the default gateway address through the graphic interface. First, open the Control Panel. Just click Start, type “control panel, ” and then hit Enter.
In the “Network and Internet” category, click the “View network status and tasks” link.
In the upper right corner of the “Network and Sharing Center” window, click the name of your network connection.
In the “Ethernet Status” window, click the “Details” button.
In the “Network Connection Details” window, you’ll find your router’s IP address listed as “IPv4 Default Gateway. ”
RELATED: 10 Useful Windows Commands You Should Know
Find Your Router’s IP Address on Mac
If you’re using a Mac, finding your router’s IP address is pretty straightforward. Click the “Apple” menu on the bar at the top of your screen and select “System Preferences”. In the “System Preferences” window, click the “Network” icon.
Select your network connection—for example, a Wi-Fi or wired connection—and then click the “Advanced” button at the bottom of the screen.
In the “Network” window, select the “TCP/IP” tab. You’ll see your router’s IP address listed simply as “Router. ”
Find Your Router’s IP Address on iPhone and iPad
On an iPhone or iPad, just head to Settings > Wi-Fi, and then tap the name of your Wi-Fi network. You’ll see the router’s IP address listed as “Router”.
Find Your Router’s IP Address on Android
Oddly enough, Android doesn’t provide a way to view network connection information out of the box.
Many third-party Android apps will show this information, including Wi-Fi Analyzer, which also provides an excellent way to choose the ideal Wi-Fi channel for your router’s Wi-Fi network. If you have another network information app, just look for the “Gateway” IP address.
If you use Wi-Fi Analyzer, tap the “View” menu and then select “AP List. ” At the top of this screen, you’ll see a “Connected to: [Network Name]” header. Tap that and a window will appear with more information about your network. You’ll find the router’s address listed as “Gateway. ”
Find Your Router’s IP Address on Chrome OS
If you’re using a Chromebook, click the notification area on the right side of your taskbar, choose the “Connected to [Network Name]” option in the list that pops up, and then select the name of the wireless network you’re connected to.
When the network information appears, click the “Network” tab and you’ll see the router’s address listed as “Gateway. ”
Find Your Router’s IP Address on Linux
Most Linux desktops have a network icon in their notification area. Typically, you can click this network icon and then select “Connection Information”—or something similar. Look for the IP address displayed next to “Default Route” or “Gateway. ”
And now that you know generally what to look for and where, you should also be able to find your router’s IP address without too much trouble on devices we haven’t covered, too. Any device that allows you to connect to the network and view information about the network connection should display it. Just look under the network connection settings for anything listing a gateway, router, or default route address.
The Best Wi-Fi Routers for Holiday 2021
Asus AX6000 (RT-AX88U)
TP-Link Archer AX3000 (AX50)
Asus GT-AX11000 Tri-Band Router
ASUS ZenWiFi AX6600 (XT8) (2 Pack)
Google Nest Wifi (2 Pack)
NETGEAR Nighthawk CAX80
Linksys WRT3200ACM
TP-Link Archer AC1750 (A7)
TP-Link AC750
Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000
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