What is Default Gateway, what does it mean and how do you find its IP address to use to set up a network
Il gateway it is a very important parameter for configuring the internet connection on your computer. The name gateway refers to the device that allows devices to communicate with devices on another network.For example, if your computer requests to view a web page, the request first goes through the default gateway before leaving the local network to reach the Internet. It can be considered in a simple way the default gateway as an intermediate device between the local network and the Internet.
Although internal gateways also exist for communication within a local network, the default gateway often connects the local network to the Internet and is used to route traffic from all clients on a network.
In the following guide we will show you how to retrieve the gateway address of the network in usewhich is almost always the same in every network in the world: 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.1.254 (although in rare cases it can also take on other IP addresses).
READ ALSO -> General guide on Wi-Fi networks, LANs and internet access
Retrieve the default gateway IP address
On your home or business network this is important if you want to properly troubleshoot a network problem or access web interface-based router management. In most cases, The default gateway IP address is the private IP address assigned to the routerwhat the router uses to communicate with the LAN network.
The IP address of the default gateway it is stored in Windows network settings and it really is easy to locate in any version of Windows. The instructions below will only work for finding the default gateway IP address on wired and wireless networks and small enterprise networks. Larger networks, with more than a single router and simple network hubs, may have more than one gateway and more complicated routing.
1) Windows 11 e Windows 10
On Windows 11 and Windows 10 we can recover the gateway by pressing the keys WIN+E on the keyboard, typing the path in the address bar Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center and, in the new window of Control Panelby pressing on the clickable item next to Connections (we can find both the voice Wi-Fi be the voice Ethernet).
In the new screen we press on Details and we identify the gateway next to the entry Gateway default IPv4. If no gateway is indicated, it means that the connection is down.
2) Mac e MacBook
To retrieve the IP address of the gateway from a Mac or MacBook, press the icon at the top right Wi-Fi and we press on Wi-Fi settings.
In the new screen we press on the button Details (next to the name of the Wi-Fi network in use) and identify the Gateway by pressing on the menu TCP/IP and checking the address next to the item Router.
3) Android e iPhone
To quickly obtain the Gateway on Android let’s take the path Settings -> Wi-Fiwe press on the network to which we are connected and check the voice Router o Gateway present on the screen.
If instead we use an iPhone we can obtain the IP address of the Gateway by opening the app Settingsby pressing on the menu Wi-Fiby pressing the “i” button next to the name of the network to which we are connected and checking the IP address next to the entry Router.
4) Command prompt and terminal
Who knows how to use the command prompt, you can use it to quickly know the IP address of the gateway, without having to open a thousand system windows. To proceed, press on the Start menu and search cmdlet’s open the Command Prompt and we type:
ipconfig
This command allows you to see the default gateway IP directly. If we are using a Mac we can use a similar command by opening the Launchpad, searching for the app Terminal and typing the command:
netstat -nr | grep default
We will thus obtain information relating to our line and the Gateway used.
Conclusions
As can be seen from the previous chapters the default gateway IP it’s always the same for almost every router and 99% of the time it’s one of these: 192.168.1.1, 192.168.0.1 o 192.168.1.254; writing the gateway address on a web browser such as Chrome or Firefox accesses the router’s management interface.
If you don’t change your router’s IP address, or if your computer connects directly to a modem to access the Internet, the default gateway IP address that Windows uses will never change.
You may need to know the IP address of the default gateway in case of network problems, in case you need to configure the network manually by setting a fixed IP on the PC or if so you need to make changes to the router.
To learn more we can read our guide on how Default password and login for all Routers.