What is a local IP address?
Your local IP address allows access from the inside of your home router to a device inside or connected to your home router. Where as your public IP address is accessible from outside of your home network. When using port forward rules your essential linking your public IP address to a specific port attached to your Helium miners local network IP address. For example, 243.74.78.25:44158 (Public IP Example) is accessible from outside your home network but will link to your hotspot miner inside your home network at 192.168.1.101:44158 (Local IP Example). Using a local IP address you can communicate with different devices inside your home network or WIFI.
Remember, the local IP address can't be accessed from outside your home network only a public IP address can be.
How can I find my local IP address?
Finding your local IP address is simple however, you need to follow some rules to get the correct address.
You must be connected to your home network be that via ethernet cable to your computer or WIFI connection from your computer or phone.
It's very important that your are connecting to the same router your hotspot miner is connected to when finding your local IP address.
When your ready, there are a few ways to do this:
- Use the helium phone app. Simply open the app, find your miner, click the settings or gear button, then select Diagnostics. Don't forget to press the miners Bluetooth button on the back so the miner shows in the list.
- Using you routers configuration page to find the DHCP client IP address (Advanced)
- Using an app on your phone like "Fing" to automatically search for local IP addresses on your WIFI.
Quick heads up: A lot of times the miner will be named something like "Miner" "HeliumHotspot" "RAK" etc. These are called hostnames and will make it easier for you to find the exact IP address for your hotspot miner.
We will update this guide later down the road with photos to make it easier to find.
Is a local IP address private information?
No. Local IP addresses are safe to put online when asking for help since it's useless to those that are not connected to your home network WIFI. These IP addresses cannot be accessed from outside your home network. Providing the local IP addresses to online users for help will make it a lot easier for them to explain. Remember although its safe to share your local IP address you should NOT share your public IP address with anyone.
Do I need to know my miners local IP address?
Yes you will need this for the port forwarding process as well as a few other things. This would be a good time to right this down and save it for later.
