Guide
How to find your router's IP address
Find your router's IP address on Windows, macOS, Linux, iPhone and Android, learn the common defaults like 192.168.1.1, and fix the page that will not load.
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Your router's IP address — technically the default gateway of your local network — is the door to its settings: Wi-Fi name and password, port forwarding, firmware updates and the client list that shows what is connected. Here is how to find it on any device in about thirty seconds.
What the router's IP address actually is
Your router has two addresses. The public one faces the internet and belongs to your ISP — it is what the IP checker shows. The private one faces your devices, and every device on your network uses it as its gateway out. That local gateway is almost always in one of the reserved private ranges: 192.168.0.0/16, 10.0.0.0/8 or 172.16.0.0/12 — see what a local IP address is.
Find it on any device
- Windows: open Command Prompt and run
ipconfig. Read the Default Gateway line under your active adapter (Wi-Fi or Ethernet) — for example192.168.1.1. The graphical route: Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi/Ethernet → your network → Properties, where it is listed as Default gateway. - macOS: terminal command
route -n get defaultprints the gateway. Or System Settings → Network → Wi-Fi/Ethernet → Details… → TCP/IP, where it appears as Router. - Linux:
ip route(or the olderroute -n) shows a line beginningdefault via .... With NetworkManager,nmcli device showlistsIP4.GATEWAY. - iPhone/iPad: Settings → Wi-Fi → tap the (i) beside the connected network → Router.
- Android: Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi → tap the connected network → scroll to Gateway or Router. The exact labels vary by manufacturer.
- Chromebook: Settings → Network → Wi-Fi → the connected network → Gateway.
A quick alternative on any device with a browser: most routers also answer to a hostname such as routerlogin.net, tplinkwifi.net or fritz.box.
Common default addresses
| Address | Usually seen on |
|---|---|
192.168.1.1 | Most ISP-supplied and consumer routers |
192.168.0.1 | D-Link, Netgear, many mesh systems |
192.168.1.254 | Some BT, TalkTalk and fibre gateways |
10.0.0.1 | Xfinity/Comcast, some ASUS and business kit |
10.0.0.138 | Older BT Home Hubs |
Never guess the password from a search engine result: default admin credentials (admin/admin, admin/password) differ per model and are printed on the router's label. If you have never changed them, change them now — an unsecured admin panel is worse than a wide-open port.
Open the admin page
- Type the address into the browser's URL bar with
http://, nothttps://, and press enter. Consumer routers almost never serve HTTPS on the local panel. - Sign in. If you cannot remember the password and the label's default does not work, a factory reset is the reliable last resort — it also wipes your ISP login, so have those details ready.
- Change the essentials: admin password, Wi-Fi password (WPA2/WPA3), disable WPS, and check which devices are connected — see how to tell if someone is using your Wi-Fi.
If 192.168.1.1 will not load
- Wrong subnet. Your device may be on a guest network, a mesh node or a different VLAN with another gateway. Re-run the commands above on the network that is actually connected.
- VPN is on. A full-tunnel VPN can route your local network too. Disconnect it and retry.
- Router is in bridge or modem mode. Then the "router" is the ISP's device further upstream and the local gateway may not be the admin page at all.
- CGNAT. If your router's WAN address starts with
100.64–100.127, your ISP shares one public address among customers — you can still open the local panel, but you cannot reach it from the internet. See what CGNAT is. - Stale DNS or captive portal. Try a different browser, or
pingthe gateway address to confirm it responds at all.
Quick sanity check: the gateway address is not your public IP. If the two look the same, you are reading the wrong line — the checker shows the internet-facing one, and ipconfig, ip route or your Wi-Fi settings show the local one.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my router's IP different from my public IP address?
They are two ends of the same device. The private router address (for example 192.168.1.1) is the gateway your devices use inside your home; the public address belongs to your ISP and is what websites see. NAT connects the two.
What if 192.168.1.1 does not load?
Check the exact gateway value on the connected network, turn off any VPN, and try http:// rather than https://. If the router is in bridge mode, the admin page lives on a different device.
Does rebooting the router change its IP address?
Its local gateway address almost never changes. Its public address often does, because your ISP hands out a new one from its pool when the DHCP lease is renegotiated — see why your IP changes.
Keep reading
- How to find your IP address on a computer
- How to find out who owns an IP address
- How to find a website's IP address
- How to trace an IP address
- What can someone do with my IP address?
- MAC address vs IP address
- How to fix an IP address conflict
- What is a local IP address?
- Is an IP address personal data?
- Check your IP address from the command line
- How to change your IP address
- How to hide your IP address
- Browse all IP guides
- Check my public IP address
Check any other IP address
Investigating a suspicious login, a spam email header or a server log entry? Run any IPv4 or IPv6 address through the same geolocation and proxy checks.