guide
IPv4 vs IPv6: what your results mean
IP Version describes the address you looked up. It does not prove that your own connection supports both protocols.
Recognizing the address version
IPv4 addresses use 32 bits and are commonly written as four decimal groups, such as 8.8.8.8. IPv6 uses 128 bits and hexadecimal groups separated by colons, such as 2001:4860:4860::8888. A double colon compresses a run of zero groups.
IPTestor validates and normalizes an address before looking it up. The IP Version field describes that normalized address. The public resolver addresses above are examples of address syntax, not your personal IP addresses.
Checking an IPv6 address is not an IPv6 connectivity test
You can enter an IPv6 address into this tool while your browser reaches the website over IPv4. The server queries its database; your browser does not need a direct IPv6 connection to that address.
Likewise, one detected IPv4 address does not prove that IPv6 is unavailable. A dedicated dual-stack connectivity test requires separate reachable IPv4-only and IPv6-only endpoints. IPTestor currently reports the address observed for this request and supports manual lookups; it does not run that separate test.
Why an IPv6-looking input can return IPv4
IPv4-mapped IPv6 notation represents an IPv4 address inside an IPv6-shaped value. For example, IPTestor normalizes ::ffff:8.8.8.8 to 8.8.8.8 and reports IPv4. That is intentional address normalization, not a failed IPv6 lookup.
Try these two inputs and compare the displayed IP and IP Version. The result should identify the same underlying IPv4 address. The September 2026 reproducibility report records this exact check.
Public versus private addresses
Your router can assign a private address such as 192.168.1.1 inside a local network. That address is not globally unique. IPTestor rejects private and loopback inputs for public geolocation rather than placing them on a map.
If you want to compare network exits, note the automatically detected public address, then repeat after changing the connection. Neither an IPv4 label nor an IPv6 label establishes that a connection is anonymous, safe or free of leaks.