Is your home IP static or dynamic? A simple test

Quick answer

Not sure whether your home connection has a static (fixed) or dynamic (changing) IP? You don’t need to call your ISP — a simple observation over a few days usually answers it. Here’s the test.

The quick test

Note your current public IP from our homepage. Then check it again at three moments: after restarting your router, after your connection has been idle overnight, and a few days later. If the address is identical every time, it’s likely static. If it changes at any point, it’s dynamic — which most home connections are.

Use the IP history log

Our homepage keeps a local IP history log (stored only in your browser) that records each address it sees, so you can watch for changes over time without manually noting them. If the log accumulates different addresses, you have a dynamic IP; if it stays on one, that points to static.

Why the router-restart step matters

Restarting the router is the most reliable trigger for a dynamic change — many ISPs assign a new address from their pool when your connection re-establishes. A static IP survives the reboot unchanged. So a restart that yields a different IP is strong evidence of dynamic; one that yields the same IP is suggestive (but not proof) of static.

The certain answer

The only definitive confirmation is your ISP, because a static IP is normally a paid add-on you would have explicitly ordered. If you never requested one, you almost certainly have a dynamic IP — static addresses don’t come by default. If you did order static service, it’ll be fixed regardless of what the test shows.

Why it matters

It matters mainly if you host services: a dynamic IP breaks anything pointed at a fixed address when it rotates, which is why people running game servers or remote access use Dynamic DNS or pay for static. For everyday browsing, it makes no difference at all.