You use wifi for years but have no idea about the IP address 192.168.1.1 and always have to ask for help whenever having wifi-related problems. This article is for general knowledge about IP.
What is an IP address?
IP is the abbreviation for “Internet Protocol” and IP address is Internet Protocol address. This term is popular for Internet-users. Simply understanding, when you are about to connect with other devices, an identifying number of IP address is a must as the Internet is a type of IP network.
Why do we need IP addresses?
The IP address is like the address of your home, but is not virtually. Source: PCMag
As you know, many devices are joining the Internet and IP addresses are what differentiate each networked device from others. If you have not understood its concept, you can think of IP address as an address for your house. This address cannot be seen virtually, which is a difference from your house address. When you want to send a gift to your friend, for instance, you need to write her detailed address. And then, the post-office is responsible to bring this gift to the right address. This is the same thing happening with an IP address.
When sending data through the internet, your devices use DNS servers to look up hostnames, finding the IP addresses. Take a simple example, when you type an URL into the web browser, the DNS servers, after receiving your request, will research for the needed web browser hostname to find the needed web.
Types of IP address
You might have heard that there are different types of IP address, but how many types and what the most common types are is a little bit confusing. First of all, you need to know that all IP address come in number format and despite this, each of them serves a particular purpose. Second, IP addresses could be divided into public and private. For public address, it is called “static” and for private address, it is called “dynamic”.
The private address is the address for inside network users. It means those different devices, including tablets, wifi cameras, desktops,…can be used to run the IP addresses for home-usage. Private IP address allows you to communicate with the wifi router and other devices currently connected to the private network. A public address is the one for external usage and is assigned by your ISP.
In general, IP addresses could be explained as access for your devices at home or business devices reach the ISP and then the outside.
How to find your IP address?
If you are about to look for your IP address, you need to consider the different devices you are using to do so, the operating systems and also the types of IP address.
To find your public IP addresses: There are several ways used to look for the public IP address, in which two of these followings are the most popular thanks to its quick speed and similarity.
- Several websites can immediately show your public IP address, including IP Chicken, WhatsMyIP.org or icanhazip.com. The result does not depend on the devices you use, whether it is smartphones, laptops or desktops.
- For windows: open Command Prompt window, type “ipconfig” and click enter, you can see the IP address easily
- For iOS: open the wifi menu, go to “Setting app” and the IP address will appear in your devices.
- For Android: it also depends on the Android versions, but generally, you can figure out the IP address by going to Network and Internet in Settings, choosing wifi settings and then wifi. Then, tapping the network you are in and done, the IP address will appear.
IPv4 and IPv6
IPv4 stands for Internet Protocol version 4 and IPv6 stand for Internet Protocol version 6. The version is newer than the version. Do you wonder why people invented version 6 to replace the old one? While the IPv4 only can provide 4.3 billion addresses, version 6 can provide up to 340 trillion IP addresses.
The IP address 192.168.1.2
192.168.1.2 is the most popular IP address. Source: Router Username and Passwords
The IP address 192.168.1.2 is so popular that even someone having no idea about IP address hears about it at least one time. 192.168.1.2 is a private IP address, meaning that it is not unique across the internet but rather the local network. Besides, this IP address is often assigned to individual devices within a home network when the wifi has a router address of 192.168.1.2.
Why is the most popular?
192.168.1.2 is a very popular IP address for several reasons. First of all, things are associated with manufacturers of mainstream broadband routers and access points. They must use an IP address within the private range. Usually and technically, the private IP address starts with 192.168.0.0. However, as most people think that a number of the sequence should start with 1, the IP address of 192.168.1.1 becomes the beginning of a home network address range.
If you want to get the full authorization, it is needed to log in to the user interface. Many adjustable features are available in your router’s administrative panel, including proxy setting, security options, network management, WLAN configurations, LAN, DSL, WPS block and IP QoS. And as the router manufacturers will always update the software to command the control panel distantly when getting access to the command panel, you can make the changes that you think necessary to protect your local network. The IP address of 192.168.1.2 is useful in case your devices have problems relate to connection or when setting the router at the first-time and when changes in a router are necessary.
Connect to 192.168.1.2
