Is your IP white or gray
The check answers one question: does your address accept incoming connections. We look at whether it falls into the CGNAT range and try to reach it from the outside. The verdict appears instantly — no need to touch your router settings.
The address type decides whether you can reach a home device directly. A gray one closes off that access, a white one opens it.
Checking your address…
What to do with the result
If the address is gray, port forwarding will not help by definition — an incoming request never reaches your router. You can reach the device either with a white IP from the provider (usually a paid service) or with proxied access, which works even on a gray address. A breakdown of every path is in the article on white and gray IP.
If the address is white but keeps changing, that is exactly the case for dynamic DNS: the name will follow the address, three hosts free. To be sure the port you need is open from the outside, check it separately with the port checker.
Frequently asked questions
How does a gray IP differ from a white one? A white address is unique and accepts incoming connections — you can be reached from the outside. A gray one is handed out from the provider's shared network behind CGNAT: right now the same address is assigned to hundreds of neighbors, and it does not accept incoming connections.
Why does the check say «public, but incoming is closed»? It means the address is not in the CGNAT range, but it did not respond on the probe ports. This happens both with a white IP that has a closed firewall and with a gray one. A precise answer comes from checking the specific port you open on the device.
Does the tool read the address from my router? No. We see the public address your connection uses to reach the internet. The router's WAN address cannot be read from the browser, so there is no need to dig into its settings.
Is a gray IP a bad thing? From the outside you are less exposed, and that is a plus. There is one downside: you cannot connect directly to a home camera, server, or NAS. To get around it, you need a white address from the provider or proxied access.