How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac: Settings, Terminal and Public IP

Your Mac shows its IP address in System Settings > Wi-Fi > Details, in the Wi-Fi menu when you Option-click it, and in Terminal with ipconfig getifaddr en0. All three show the local (private) IP that your router assigned, such as 192.168.1.23. The box below shows your public IP, the address websites see. The steps cover macOS 27 Golden Gate back to macOS Ventura 13, with a note for older versions.

Which IP address on your Mac do you need?

Local IPv4 addresses start with 192.168, 10, or 172.16 to 172.31 and work only inside your network; local IP addresses explained covers the details. For phones, PCs and other devices, see how to find your IP address on any device.

How to find your IP address on a Mac in System Settings

These steps work in macOS 27 Golden Gate, Tahoe 26, Sequoia 15, Sonoma 14 and Ventura 13.

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings.
2. Click Wi-Fi in the sidebar.
3. Click Details next to the network you’re connected to.
4. Read IP address. Router is your router’s local address.

Click TCP/IP in the sidebar of the same window for the subnet mask and IPv6 address. Apple explains the options on that pane in Change TCP/IP settings on Mac.

Find the IP address of an Ethernet connection

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Network in the sidebar.
2. Click your wired service: Ethernet, or the name of your adapter or dock, such as USB 10/100/1000 LAN.
3. Click Details, then click TCP/IP.
4. Read IP address and Router.

Wi-Fi and Ethernet each get their own local IP address.

macOS Monterey 12 and earlier

Choose Apple menu > System Preferences > Network, then select Wi-Fi or Ethernet in the list. The status text shows the IP address. For the router and subnet mask, click Advanced, then TCP/IP.

How to check your IP address from the Wi-Fi menu

Hold the Option key and click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar. Below the network you’re connected to, macOS shows the IP Address and Router, plus the channel, band and security type, as Apple’s Wi-Fi status menu guide describes.

No Wi-Fi icon? In macOS 27 and Tahoe 26, open System Settings > Menu Bar and select Wi-Fi. In Ventura to Sequoia, open System Settings > Control Center and choose Show in Menu Bar next to Wi-Fi.

How to get your IP address on a Mac in Terminal

Open Terminal (press Command-Space bar, type Terminal, press Return) and run:

ipconfig getifaddr en0

It prints the IPv4 address of the interface en0, such as 192.168.1.23. No output means en0 has no IPv4 address, usually because it isn’t your active connection.

en0 or en1: which interface is yours?

On a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, Wi-Fi is usually en0, and en1 is often a Thunderbolt port that prints nothing. On Macs with a built-in Ethernet port, such as Mac mini and Mac Studio, Ethernet is usually en0 and Wi-Fi en1. Adapters and docks get higher numbers. To see the names on your Mac, run:

networksetup -listallhardwareports

Each block pairs a Hardware Port, such as Wi-Fi, with its Device, such as en0. Or let macOS use whichever interface carries your internet traffic:

ipconfig getifaddr "$(route -n get default | awk '/interface:/{print $2}')"

Mac IP address Terminal commands

ipconfig on a Mac vs. Windows

The Mac’s ipconfig isn’t the Windows tool. It needs a subcommand such as getifaddr, and ipconfig /all doesn’t exist; use ifconfig or networksetup -getinfo "Wi-Fi" instead. On a PC, follow how to find your IP address on Windows.

How to find your public IP address on a Mac

Your public IPv4 address belongs to your router, so System Settings and ipconfig never show it. The box at the top of this page does. In Terminal, this command asks a DNS server to return the address your request came from:

dig -4 +short myip.opendns.com @resolver1.opendns.com

Keep the -4: on a network with IPv6, dig otherwise asks over IPv6, and OpenDNS then returns no IPv4 address, so the command prints nothing.

For scripts that also need the country or time zone, our IP lookup API answers for the caller’s own IP when you leave out the ip parameter:

curl -H "apikey: YOUR_API_KEY" "https://api.iplookupapi.com/v1/info?fields=ip,location.country.alpha2,timezone.id"

A free API key includes 150 requests a month, and the info endpoint documentation lists every field. With a VPN or iCloud Private Relay on, websites see a different address.

IPv6 addresses on a Mac: why there are several

On a network with IPv6, TCP/IP shows an IPv6 address, and ifconfig en0 inet6 lists several. That’s normal:

• fe80:: addresses are link-local and work only on your local network.
• Addresses marked temporary change regularly for privacy. macOS prefers them for outgoing connections, so websites usually see one of these.
• The address marked secured without temporary stays the same while your Mac is on that network.
• Addresses that start with fd are private, like 192.168 addresses in IPv4.

Global IPv6 addresses, which usually start with 2, are public. That’s why the box above can show IPv6 on one network and IPv4 on another.

MAC address vs. IP address: what’s the difference?

A MAC (media access control) address is the hardware ID of a network interface, such as your Mac’s Wi-Fi chip. The name has nothing to do with Mac computers: PCs, phones and printers have MAC addresses too. An IP address is the network address your router or provider assigns, and it can change.

On macOS Sequoia 15 and later, your Mac can join Wi-Fi with a Private Wi-Fi address instead of its hardware MAC address. In the Details window, Wi-Fi address shows the address the network sees, and the Private Wi-Fi address menu offers Off, Fixed and Rotating. Apple explains each option in Use a private Wi-Fi address on Mac.

How to change your IP address on a Mac

Set a manual (static) IP address

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Network in the sidebar.
2. Click Wi-Fi and then Details next to your network, or click your Ethernet service and then Details.
3. Click TCP/IP.
4. Open the Configure IPv4 menu and choose Manually.
5. Enter the IP address, Subnet mask and Router.
6. Click OK.

To set a fixed address but still get the router and DNS settings from DHCP, choose Using DHCP with manual address and enter only the IP address. Pick an address outside the router’s DHCP range. With Manually, if websites stop loading, add a DNS server, such as your router’s address, in the DNS pane. Static vs. dynamic IP addresses explains when a fixed address is worth it and why a router reservation is often simpler.

The Terminal equivalent asks for your password; the second command switches back to DHCP:

sudo networksetup -setmanual "Wi-Fi" 192.168.1.50 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.1
sudo networksetup -setdhcp "Wi-Fi"

Get a new local IP address

In the same TCP/IP pane, click Renew DHCP Lease, review the message, then click Apply. The button appears only when the connection uses DHCP. The router may hand back the same address, which is normal.

Change your public IP address

Your provider assigns the public IP to your router, so no Mac setting changes it. If the address is dynamic, restarting the router may bring a new one; otherwise, ask your provider. A VPN or iCloud Private Relay changes only the address that websites see.

Troubleshooting: Mac has a self-assigned IP address (169.254)

An address that starts with 169.254 means your Mac got no answer from the router’s DHCP server and gave itself a link-local address. With it, your Mac can’t reach the internet. Try these steps in order:

1. Turn Wi-Fi off and on in the Wi-Fi menu, or unplug and replug the network cable.
2. In TCP/IP, check that Configure IPv4 is set to Using DHCP, click Renew DHCP Lease, then click Apply.
3. Restart the router and wait until it’s fully back online.
4. In the Wi-Fi Details window, click Forget This Network, then join the network again with its password.
5. If the router blocks unknown devices by MAC address, set Private Wi-Fi address to Fixed or Off, or add the Mac’s Wi-Fi address to the router’s allowed list.
6. If other devices also get 169.254 addresses, the router’s DHCP server is off or out of addresses. Check it on the router’s admin page; find your router’s IP address first if you don’t know it.

The 169.254 IP address guide covers more causes, including cables, adapters and router settings.

If macOS warns that another device is using your IP address, two devices have the same address, usually because one was set manually. Switch Configure IPv4 back to Using DHCP, or pick an unused address.