Tutorial to find and renew Windows IP address in command prompt using ipconfig and its options. To access information on the Internet, a Windows PC needs a unique address that can be used to find the desired content.
This address is called the Internet Protocol Address, i.e. IP Address. To find an IP address on Windows 10 or Windows 11 PCs, there are mainly two methods. The first with the MS-DOS command prompt and the second with the graphical interface from the Windows settings.
What is an IP address ?
First of all, an IP address is a unique string of numbers that identifies a computer network, device or other resource connected to the internet. When you enter a domain name or website URL into your browser, it automatically looks up the IP address of that domain and displays it for you.
Indeed, a Windows PC uses IP addresses to route data packets over networks. They can be used to identify a user’s location on the Internet. They are therefore an important part of the infrastructure and security of the Internet.
To display the IP address of a PC on Windows with MS-DOS, simply run the command ipconfig. This method also works with Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 11.
Table of Contents
1. Find the IP addresses of all active network cards
To get all active cards adresses, follow the 3 simple steps below:
- Next to the Start button, press the Search button (or use the Windows + R shortcut)
- Type cmd or Command Prompt, then press Enter.
- In the black window of the command prompt, type the command ipconfig and press Enter.
This command displays the status of all enabled cards on the PC.
For example, if the Wi-Fi network card is disabled, then it will not appear in the list.
ipconfig
Version 4 IP Address (v4)
A v4 IP address uses a format like this, 4 numbers separated by dots:
192.168.0.1 (local address)
Version 6 IP Address (v6)
Whereas a V6 IP address has a different format, so it’s 8 groups of numbers in hexadecimal, separated by colons:
2002:0db9:0000:84a4:0000:0000:ab1d:7001
Abbreviated V6 IP address
In this example, it is also possible to abbreviate the V6 IP address like this:
2002:db9:0:84a4:0:0:ab1d:7001
You may also like: MS DOS commands are also very powerful for deleting files and folders recursively.
2. Display Windows IP address and card options in command prompt
Next, to display the IP address and other settings of the PC’s network cards (wifi, Bluetooth, and Ethernet), use the /all option. The additional settings displayed are for example :
- Is DHCP enabled ?
- The physical address of the card or MAC address.
- The description.
- Is autoconfiguration enabled ? Versus manual address configuration.
ipconfig /all
It’s a good start to find and display the IP address on Windows. But sometimes you need to renew it with a cmd command to refresh the internet connection and fix connectivity issues.
3. Renew PC’s IP addresses
With a Windows PC, to renew the IP addresses using DHCP, use the ipconfig command and add the /renew option. This option renews only the cards already connected, because it is the DHCP protocol that gives a new IP address.
ipconfig /renew
Indeed, in some cases Windows users can face Wifi configuration errors like this one:
wifi doesn t have a valid ip configuration.
4. Empty the Windows 10 DNS cache in cmd
Sometimes you have problems connecting to the Internet and network configurations are changing. In some cases, IT and network specialists recommend clearing the DNS (Domain Name System) server cache to refresh it.
ipconfig /flushdns
The Domain Name System or DNS is a service that translates human readable domain names into IP addresses.
This naming system allows users to connect to websites by typing in the URL of their favourite sites rather than their IP address. Which is much less easy to remember. Like for example:
www.google.fr instead of 172.217.169.4
The Domain Name System (DNS) therefore translates human readable domain names into corresponding IP addresses to be found on the network. This conversion process takes place every time someone visits a website.
DNS servers are therefore the backbone of the internet. Without them, we would have no easy way to access websites. DNS servers have authority over websites and web services. They are the ones who control domain names and root servers. The hierarchy of the Internet system is a pyramid with DNS root servers at the top.
For example:
- com (managed by root servers)
- is above google.com
- which is above www.google.com
Get IP address in cmd helps for troubleshooting
To conclude, know how to find and renew a Windows IP address with cmd is a useful knowledge. The network address is an important element for debugging or configuring an internet connection.
Here is another Windows tutorial, on how to copy files recursively with PowerShell.
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