ipconfig - Windows Command Line Utility GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Software & Apps > Windows 173 173 people found this article helpful

ipconfig - Windows Command Line Utility

How and When to Use ipconfig in Windows

By Bradley Mitchell Bradley Mitchell Writer Massachusetts Institute of Technology University of Illinois An MIT graduate who brings years of technical experience to articles on SEO, computers, and wireless networking. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on December 2, 2020 Reviewed by Chris Selph Reviewed by Chris Selph Chris Selph is a CompTIA-certified technology and vocational IT teacher. He also serves as network & server administrator and performs computer maintenance and repair for numerous clients. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Windows The Ultimate Laptop Buying Guide In Windows, ipconfig is a console application designed to run from the Windows command prompt. This utility allows you to get the IP address information of a Windows computer. It also allows some control over your network adapters, IP addresses (DHCP-assigned specifically), even your DNS cache. Ipconfig replaced the older winipcfg utility.

Using ipconfig

From the command prompt, type ipconfig to run the utility with default options. The output of the default command contains the IP address, network mask, and gateway for all physical and virtual network adapters. The ipconfig command supports several command line options. The command ipconfig/? displays the set of available options.

Ipconfig all

This option displays the same IP addressing information for each adapter as the default option. Additionally, it displays DNS and WINS settings for each adapter as well as a whole host of additional information.

Ipconfig release

This option terminates any active TCP/IP connections on all network adapters and releases those IP addresses for use by other applications. Ipconfig/release can be used with specific Windows connection names. In this case, the command affects only the specified connections, not all connections. The command accepts either full connection names or wildcard names. Examples: ipconfig /release "Local Area Connection 1"
ipconfig /release *Local*

Ipconfig renew

This option re-establishes TCP/IP connections on all network adapters. As with the release option, ipconfig /renew takes an optional connection name specifier. Both /renew and /release options only work on clients configured for dynamic (DHCP) addressing. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Use an IP Address to Find a MAC Address How to Find Your Default Gateway IP Address How to Change DNS Servers in Windows What Is the Windows Terminal & How Does It Work? How to Perform a Netsh Winsock Reset How to Share Internet Access How to Use the Netstat Command How To Run the Bash Command Line in Windows 10 What Is an IP Address? How to Open Command Prompt (Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, etc.) How to Share Your Internet Connection on Windows Vista What Is a Command for Computers? How to Change Your IP Address How to Find Your IP and MAC Addresses in Windows How to Set Up Port Forwarding What Is a Command Line Interpreter? Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies