What is my IP address

We will determine the public IP address seen by our servers - that is, the same address seen by any website or server you are currently connecting to.

What is an IP address

An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a numerical identifier currently assigned to your device or home router within the internet network. Without it, no two devices on the internet could exchange even a single data packet; it functions similarly to a postal address but for data traffic. The address shown above is typically assigned by your internet provider and may change (for example, after restarting the router) unless you have a fixed/static IP agreed upon.

IPv4 and IPv6

IPv4 is the older and still most widespread format - four numbers separated by dots, e.g. 195.113.0.1. The IPv4 address space is limited (approximately 4.3 billion addresses), so most households today share it via NAT - multiple devices share a single public IP address externally. IPv6 is a newer protocol with a much larger address space (addresses look like 2001:db8::1), which gradually addresses the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses and allows each device to have its own public address without NAT. Many internet providers now offer both simultaneously (so-called dual-stack).

Why the hostname reveals the internet provider

Hostname (reverse DNS record, technically PTR) is a text name assigned to an IP address - the opposite of standard DNS translation, which goes from name to address. Internet providers typically name their IP ranges according to their own scheme (e.g. containing the company name or location), so the hostname often reveals at first glance who manages the address - even without manually looking up the owner of the IP range. Not every IP address has a PTR record set, so for some providers the hostname is missing.

What next

Apart from the IP address, you may also be interested in how fast and with what response time you are actually connected, run a speed test or measure the response (ping test) itself. And if you want to know who provides internet at your address, try the coverage search by address.