The ipconfig command is used to display information about your network configuration and refresh DHCP and DNS Settings. By default, the ipconfig command displays your IP Address, Subnet Mask, and default gateway. But with correct parameters, you can get a lot more information out of it. In this article, I will explain the ipconfig command and the different options that you can use. How to use ipconfig command So let’s first start with something simple, how to use the ipconfig command. Press Windows key + X or Right Click on the start menu To use the IP config command we will need to open Command Prompt or PowerShell To use the IP config command we will need to open Command Prompt or PowerShell Select Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt Type ipconfig and press enter This will show you the basic network information from your network adapters This will show you the basic network information from your network adapters As you can see in the screenshot above, the command will return information about each network adapter on your computer. In this case, we have an ethernet adapter (for our wired network connection) and a wireless network adapter. If you are using a VPN client, then this will also be listed as a network adapter. Ipconfig /all command Without the use of any parameter, the command shows only the basic network information. But information about the DNS and DHCP servers isn’t displayed by default. To show all the information about your network adapter, you will need to use the /all parameter. This will return the following information for each network adapter in your device: The ipconfig /all command is often used to troubleshoot network connection problems. But which information is important and do you need to look at? If we take a closer look at the results of ipconfig /all then we can indicate 4 items that are important to look at: IPv4 Address – This is your IP Address Default Gateway – The router or modem to which you network package are sent DNS servers – Used to translate domain names to IP Addresses DHCP Enabled – Needs to be Yes in most cases. No means that you have manually enter an IP Address Ipconfig /release Command The ipconfig command doesn’t only show your information about your network settings, but it can also be used to reset or refresh your network settings. When you have DHCP enabled on your network card, you can request a new IP Address from the DHCP server. Learn more about DHCP The first step to do this is to release the current IP Address. This means that we will inform the DHCP server that we don’t want to use the assigned IP Address any longer. By default, the command will release the IP Addresses for all network adapters. You can also specify a single network adapter. To do this you will need to enter the name of the adapter that you find here in the results of ipconfig: For example, if you only want to release the IP Address of your wireless network adapter, you can type: This will release the IP Address of all adapters where the name starts with “Wireless”. Ipconfig /renew Command After you have released the IP Address you will need to request a new one from the DHCP Server. We can do this with the Ipconfig /renew command: When the renew was successful you will see the same output as the ipconfig command, an overview of your new IP Address, subnet mask, and gateway. Again, we can specify a single network adapter by specifying the name of the adapter. Ipconfig /DisplayDNS Your computer keeps a local cache of all DNS records that it’s has visited. This cache is used to quickly translate the domain names to the correct IP Address. This way your computer doesn’t have to contact the DNS server every time when you visit Google.com for example. To view the content of the DNS cache you can use the command ipconfig /displaydns . This will show every DNS record in your DNS cache: You often don’t need to go through the records, but let me explain a little bit about what we are seeing here: Flush DNS Command Sometimes your DNS Cache contains outdated records, which can result in DNS-related errors (unable to reach websites for example). You can solve this often by using the flush dns command: The command ipconfig /flushdns clears out your DNS Cache. You can do this without any risk, your computer will simply request new, and up-to-date DNS records from the DNS servers. Ipconfig on Linux The equivalent for ipconfig on Linux is the ifconfig command. Ifconfig will show you the basic network information of your adapters in Linux. View DNS servers on Linux The ifconfig command doesn’t show the DNS servers that are used. To view the DNS servers on Linux we need to open a configuration file. This will give you an idea of which DNS servers are used on your Linux machine. Renew IP Address on Linux On Linux, you can’t use the ifconfig command to renew or release your IP Address just like with Ipconfig. To renew your IP Address on Linux you will need to use the following command: The ipconfig command is the most used command on Windows to troubleshoot network issues. It gives you information about your current network configuration and it has the ability to renew your Ip addresses and DNS cache. If you have any questions, just drop a comment below. Enjoying the article but hate the ads? Join the Insiders for a clean, ad-free experience ($1) , or go Elite ($3) to get priority answers and more. You may also like the following articles

September 2026 update Break RDS – How to Fix From PowerShell Scripts to Building an Automation Platform Free OST to PST Conversion Online: Stellar Converter Review 18 thoughts on “How To use the IPConfig Command and Options Explained” I want to flush my DNS cache and following advice open the command prompt to run as administrator I type in the command ipconfig /flush dns. That shows on the screen but there is no reaction. Why? I use Windows 11 on my laptop. Can you help. it’s ipconfig /flushdns I want to flush my DNS cache and following advice open the command prompt to run as administrator I type in the command ipconfig /flush dns. That shows on the screen but there is no reaction. Why? I use Windows 11 on my laptop. Can you help. it’s ipconfig /flushdns it’s ipconfig /flushdns Is there a command I can use to see all the names of the pcs/devices on my home domain along with their IP addresses? Thanks. No, not with a command. A better/easier option is to use a free tool like Advanced IP Scanner or the UniFi WiFiMan app Is there a command I can use to see all the names of the pcs/devices on my home domain along with their IP addresses? No, not with a command. A better/easier option is to use a free tool like Advanced IP Scanner or the UniFi WiFiMan app No, not with a command. A better/easier option is to use a free tool like Advanced IP Scanner or the UniFi WiFiMan app I appreciate the breakdown and the thorough explanation of the ipconfig command. I appreciate the breakdown and the thorough explanation of the ipconfig command. Hi, How can I stop the disappearing of the info-window I reveive, before I can read it? Regards: Jack. Make sure that you first open PowerShell before you type ipconfig. So press Windows key + X, choose PowerShell and type ipconfig How can I stop the disappearing of the info-window I reveive, before I can read it? Make sure that you first open PowerShell before you type ipconfig. So press Windows key + X, choose PowerShell and type ipconfig Make sure that you first open PowerShell before you type ipconfig. So press Windows key + X, choose PowerShell and type ipconfig clears the mystery about ipconfig clears the mystery about ipconfig Is there a way to do an IPCONFIG /all ….. to report back only the Macaddress of Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi 2: Not with IPConfig, but you can use Get-Adapter for this: Get-NetAdapter | where {$_.Name -eq 'Ethernet 2'} | select MacAddress Is there a way to do an IPCONFIG /all ….. to report back only the Macaddress of Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi 2: Not with IPConfig, but you can use Get-Adapter for this: Get-NetAdapter | where {$_.Name -eq 'Ethernet 2'} | select MacAddress Not with IPConfig, but you can use Get-Adapter for this: Get-NetAdapter | where {$_.Name -eq 'Ethernet 2'} | select MacAddress Hi, I get the following email and have no idea what it means. What do you suggest? “We are continuously receiving ping back requests from your computer. Our network security team alerted us to notify you about an IP breach happened on your computer. IP breach can leave your computer unprotected, signalling with potential breaches of your passwords, compromised credit card or bank account information. Please talk with our techs to rectify the same before your passwords are compromised. We need to take an immediate action and renew your IP address of your computer. Chat support link http://www.msuschat.com . Our techs will completely check and ensure if everything is safe on your computer. Should I follow your instructions and just renew my IP address. Renewing your IP Address won’t work. But MSUChat looks a bit like a scam to me. Make sure that you have a decent anti-virus program, like Sophos for example. And if you don’t trust it, contact a local IT computer shop. Hi, Thanks for taking the time to reply. I’m using the anti-virus program Malwarebytes Premium to scan and it found nothing yet. I also have Webroot antivirus to try yet. Cedric You should be fine, probably just a phishing mail. Hi, I get the following email and have no idea what it means. What do you suggest? “We are continuously receiving ping back requests from your computer. Our network security team alerted us to notify you about an IP breach happened on your computer. IP breach can leave your computer unprotected, signalling with potential breaches of your passwords, compromised credit card or bank account information. Please talk with our techs to rectify the same before your passwords are compromised. We need to take an immediate action and renew your IP address of your computer. Chat support link http://www.msuschat.com . Our techs will completely check and ensure if everything is safe on your computer. Should I follow your instructions and just renew my IP address. Renewing your IP Address won’t work. But MSUChat looks a bit like a scam to me. Make sure that you have a decent anti-virus program, like Sophos for example. And if you don’t trust it, contact a local IT computer shop. Hi, Thanks for taking the time to reply. I’m using the anti-virus program Malwarebytes Premium to scan and it found nothing yet. I also have Webroot antivirus to try yet. Cedric You should be fine, probably just a phishing mail. Renewing your IP Address won’t work. But MSUChat looks a bit like a scam to me. Make sure that you have a decent anti-virus program, like Sophos for example. And if you don’t trust it, contact a local IT computer shop. Hi, Thanks for taking the time to reply. I’m using the anti-virus program Malwarebytes Premium to scan and it found nothing yet. I also have Webroot antivirus to try yet. Cedric You should be fine, probably just a phishing mail. Thanks for taking the time to reply. I’m using the anti-virus program Malwarebytes Premium to scan and it found nothing yet. I also have Webroot antivirus to try yet. You should be fine, probably just a phishing mail. You should be fine, probably just a phishing mail. very powerful and easy to understand. very powerful and easy to understand. Thanks for the detailed explanations, really helpful Thanks for the detailed explanations, really helpful Thank you for that article. It is very straightforward and easy to understand. I have a better understanding now of how ipconfig works. Thank you for that article. It is very straightforward and easy to understand. I have a better understanding now of how ipconfig works. An excellent article to help simplify things. An excellent article to help simplify things. Enjoying the article but hate the ads? Join the Insiders for a clean, ad-free experience ($1) , or go Elite ($3) to get priority answers and more. Leave a Comment Cancel reply So, about that AdBlocker... Will you consider disabling it? Yes, ads can be annoying. 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