How to find a Raspberry Pi IP address

What is a Raspberry Pi IP address?

Every device on a network, including the Raspberry Pi, is assigned a unique IP address (Internet Protocol address). This IP address identifies your Raspberry Pi device on the internet or a local network and allows it to communicate with other devices. Similar to how a street address helps deliver mail to your home, an IP address helps route data to and from your Raspberry Pi within a network.

Raspberry Pi is a small but powerful computer that you can use for countless projects, such as learning programming or automating your home. However, for many of these projects, you need to be able to remotely access and manage the device, which is why it’s important to know your Raspberry Pi’s IP address.

6 ways to find the local IP address of a Raspberry Pi

Finding your Raspberry Pi’s IP address is usually straightforward, but it all depends on whether you have access to the device. If you can get to the device and it’s connected to a screen, getting the IP address is simple. However, if your Raspberry Pi is headless (without a monitor, keyboard, or mouse) or in a hard-to-reach location, finding the IP address can be a bit trickier. Luckily, you can get the local IP address of your Raspberry Pi in several ways. Let’s take a closer look at each of them.

Use the Raspberry Pi GUI

If you’re using the desktop version of Raspberry Pi OS, you can find your Raspberry Pi’s IP address quickly through the graphical user interface (GUI):

1. Look for the “Network” icon in the taskbar. It’s usually at the top-right corner of the screen.
2. Hover your mouse over it to see a tooltip. This tooltip will show all important network details, including the connected network name and your Raspberry Pi’s local IP address.

This method works on Raspberry Pi OS. If you are using a different Linux-based OS, you should click on the “Network” icon to see the tooltip.

Use Raspberry Pi’s Terminal

You can also use Terminal to find the IP address of your Raspberry Pi device:

1. Open Terminal by clicking on the “Terminal” icon on the desktop or press the “Ctrl” + “Alt” + “T” combination on your keyboard.
2. Once it’s open, type in the following command to find your Pi’s IP address — “hostname -I.” However, this command will display only the IP address of your Raspberry Pi. If you want more detailed information about your network, use the “ifconfig” command for older versions of Linux or “ip addr” for newer ones.

Use Raspberry Pi’s network settings

If you’re using Raspberry Pi OS with a desktop, you can also find the IP address in the network settings:

1. Click on the “Network” icon in the top-right corner of the screen to open the “Network” menu.
2. Select “Advanced options” from the drop-down menu, then “Connection information.” You’ll find various network details there, including your Raspberry Pi’s local IP address.

Check your router’s settings

If you have a headless setup for your Raspberry Pi, one of the easiest ways to retrieve your device’s IP address is through your router devices list:

1. To access your router’s settings, open a web browser of your choice and type your router’s local IP address into the address bar.
2. Log in to your router using your credentials. You can find this information printed on the router itself or in the manual. If you don’t know your login credentials, you may need to reset your router or use another method to find the Pi’s IP address.
3. Look for the list of devices connected to your router. It might be called “Connected devices,” “Device list,” “DHCP clients,” or something similar.
4. Find the Raspberry Pi in the device list. Look for a device with the hostname “raspberrypi.” The IP address associated with this device is your Raspberry Pi’s IP.

Use network discovery tools

A network discovery tool, or a network mapper, can help you quickly scan your network and find the IP addresses of all the devices within your network, including your Raspberry Pi. They typically come as mobile apps or desktop software, and the process of using one is fairly simple:

1. Start by installing a network scanning tool of your choice on your phone, tablet, or computer. These tools are available on most platforms, including Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux OS.
2. Connect your Raspberry Pi and the device running the network discovery tool to the same network. Network discovery tools can only detect devices that are on the same network.
3. Once you install the tool, launch it and run a scan of your network. The network mapping tool will search for all devices connected to your network.
4. After the tool completes the scan, it will display a list of connected devices. Look for the device with the hostname “raspberrypi.” The IP address listed next to it is the IP address of your Raspberry Pi.

Use another computer

You can retrieve your Raspberry Pi’s IP address using the “ping” command from another computer connected to the same network:

1. Connect your Raspberry Pi device to the same network as the other computer you’ll be using.
2. Open your computer’s “Command line” or “Terminal” window. On Windows, press “Windows + R,” type in “cmd,” and hit “Enter.” On macOS, press “Command” + “Space,” type “Terminal,” and hit “Enter.” On Linux, open your terminal from the application menu or press “Ctrl” + “Alt” + “T.”
3. In Terminal, type “ping raspberrypi” or “ping raspi.”
4. If the ping is successful, you’ll see responses that include your Raspberry Pi’s IP address, formatted like “Reply from 192.168.x.x.”

How to find Raspberry Pi’s public IP address

To access your Raspberry Pi from outside your local network, you will need its public IP address. The methods we discussed before focused on finding the private IP address that is used within your network. However, there are differences between public and private IP addresses. The public IP address identifies your device on the internet and allows it to communicate with external networks.

Several methods exist to find your Raspberry Pi’s public IP address. One of the easiest ways is to use the “curl” command with a third-party website on Terminal. These websites can detect your IP when your device connects to them. Many third-party websites are available to find your IP, but one you can try is “ifconfig.me”:

1. Open Terminal on your Raspberry Pi. You can do so directly or by connecting from another device using SSH or another remote terminal application.
2. Type in the command “curl http://ifconfig.me” and press “Enter.” This command will show your public IP address.

Common issues affecting Raspberry Pi network connectivity

You might face a few common issues you’ll need to troubleshoot when trying to connect to your Raspberry Pi through its IP address:

• DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) problems. If your Raspberry Pi doesn’t have a static IP address, your router (using DHCP) may assign it a new IP each time it restarts or if the network changes. This way, it might be difficult to connect to your Raspberry Pi remotely because you won’t always know what its current IP address is. Log in to your router’s settings to see how long the IP has been assigned to your device, or DHCP lease time. You can renew the DHCP lease to help your Raspberry Pi keep the same IP address longer, which will make access to it simpler without checking for a new IP each time.
• Incorrect network configuration. Sometimes, your Raspberry Pi’s network configuration may be wrong. Check if you’ve entered the Wi-Fi SSID (network’s name) and password correctly.
• Firewall restrictions. A firewall on your computer or router may block communication with your Raspberry Pi. Temporarily disable the firewall to see if it resolves the issue. If it does, you may need to create exceptions in the firewall settings for your Raspberry Pi.
• Incorrect router configuration. Issues with the DHCP server can affect how IP addresses are assigned. Check the list of devices on your router to make sure the DHCP server is on and that no devices have the same assigned IP address.
• Physical connection issues. Ensure you’ve securely plugged in the Ethernet cable at both ends or check the Wi-Fi signal strength. If the signal is weak, try moving the Raspberry Pi closer to the router.

Do you need a static IP for your Raspberry Pi?

While it’s not necessary to set up a static IP address for your Raspberry Pi, doing so can make accessing it remotely much easier. Without a static IP, your Raspberry Pi might receive a different IP address from your router each time it reconnects, which can make it harder to access it consistently.

Setting up a static IP address on your Raspberry Pi is helpful for projects that need stable access to your network, such as a web server or home automation system, or when using Raspberry Robin to create a VPN router.

Plus, now that you know how to find your device’s IP address, you can secure your Raspberry Pi with a VPN to ensure a safer connection while you work on your projects.