You can think of an IP, or Internet Protocol, address the same way you think of your personal home address – it’s unique to you and no one else outside of your household has it. That’s the same way an IP address for computers works, each computer has its own unique identifier. An IP address is crucial so that you can connect to Wi-Fi and then Wi-Fi can send and receive data to your device.

An IP address has two parts, just as your personal address. They have a street name and a house number, or for an IP address, the network address and host ID. Each IP address is made up of 32 bits. A bit is a single position within an IP address. You can imagine how long these addresses would be! Because of this, these are broken down into decimals that are easier to use and understand. An IP address may look something like this: 47.155.39.89.

So, why is this important for you to know? When it comes to troubleshooting and managing your Wi-Fi connection, it can be useful to know that it may be an IP-related issue. While troubleshooting at Socket is free, this may save you some money in the long run if your current provider doesn’t offer free troubleshooting.

If you’re curious as to what your IP address is, it can be found in your settings or simply search “what is my IP address” into Google and it will show it.

Interested in a more in-depth look at IP addresses? Check out our resource, AllConnect.

Wondering what services Socket provides at your address? Click here.