In an upcoming blog I expect to write about configuring a home router, which requires logging on to it. This, in turn, requires knowing the IP address of the router. Non-techies typically don't know anything about IP addresses, let alone the one assigned to their router. Since I expect the upcoming blog to be fairly long, I decided to start with this cheat sheet for learning the IP address of a router.
All routers have a web-based interface and, thus, are configured with a web browser. While some routers can be accessed by name (they typically intercept DNS queries), they all can be accessed by their IP address.
Full access to the router requires a userid and password, but to even get prompted for this, you need to know the IP address.
An IP address is written as four numbers separated by periods. Typical home networks use IP addresses that start with 192.168. Often the router will have an IP address such as 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.2.1.
If your Internet Service Provider (ISP) installed your router, they know both its IP address and the userid/password for it. In my experience, the ISP never tells the customer any of this information up front.
With a self-installed router, you can get the IP address (assuming it wasn't changed at installation) from the manufacturer's documentation. Sometimes it is on a label on the bottom of the router.
Once a network has been set up, each computing device on the network knows the IP address of the router and will spill the beans if you know the secret handshake. Terminology can get in the way however.
Apple devices refer to the router as "Router". Windows refers to it as the "Default Gateway", a term borrowed from TCP/IP. Chrome OS refers to the router as "Gateway". Android won't tell you the IP address of your router, forcing you to install an app.