News

185.63.253.300 – What Is It? Your Simple Guide to IP Addresses & Internet Errors

0 4 13 minutes read

Have you ever been typing in a web address, fiddling with network settings, or staring at an error message, and come across a jumble of numbers like 185.63.253.300? Your brain might have registered it as just another techy code, something for the experts. But if you paused for a second, you might have wondered, “What does this actually mean? Is this a secret code? A server location? Why am I seeing it?”

I remember the first time I encountered a similar string of numbers. I was trying to set up a simple home printer to be accessible over my Wi-Fi, and the manual referred to an IP address. I typed it in wrong, just like “185.63.253.300” is wrong, and nothing happened. I felt frustrated and a little stupid, to be honest. I thought, “This should be simple. What am I missing?”

That feeling is exactly why I’m writing this guide. That string of numbers, 185.63.253.300, is a perfect starting point to unravel one of the most fundamental concepts of the internet: the IP address. And here’s the first big reveal: 185.63.253.300 is an invalid, non-functional IP address. It cannot exist on the internet as we know it.

But why? To understand that, we need to take a friendly journey into the world of internet protocols, digital addresses, and how information actually travels across the global network. I promise to use simple words, clear analogies, and plenty of real-life examples. By the end of this, you won’t just know why “300” is a problem; you’ll understand how the internet finds your device among billions, and you’ll be equipped to troubleshoot common problems with confidence. Let’s dive in.

What Exactly is an IP Address? Your Digital Home Address

Let’s start with the most basic question. What is an IP address?

Think of your home. To receive mail, you need a unique address: your house number, street name, city, and postal code. Without that address, the postal service would have no idea where to deliver your letters and packages. The internet works in a very similar way. Every device that connects to the internet—be it your laptop, your smartphone, your smart TV, or even a smart light bulb—needs a unique “address” so that other devices know where to send information. This address is called an Internet Protocol address, or IP address for short.

An IP address is a unique string of numbers that identifies a device on a network. When you type “www.google.com” into your browser, your computer is essentially asking a global directory, “What is the IP address for Google.com?” It gets the answer (a real IP address, something like 142.251.16.100), and then it sends a request directly to that “digital home address” asking for the Google search page. Google’s servers then send the webpage data back to your device’s IP address.

It’s a continuous, lightning-fast conversation of “Here’s my address, send the data here.” Without these addresses, the internet would be chaos. Data would be sent out into the void with no destination, and nothing would work. So, an IP address isn’t just a random number; it’s a fundamental part of the internet’s plumbing, the essential ingredient that makes connectivity possible.

The 185.63.253.300 Mystery: A Tale of Four Numbers and a Simple Rule

Now, let’s get back to our mystery number: 185.63.253.300. Why is this particular string invalid? It looks like it has the right parts—four numbers separated by dots. It seems structured. So what’s the problem?

The issue lies in a very specific, but simple, rule for the type of IP address this is trying to be: IPv4.

IPv4 stands for Internet Protocol version 4. It’s the fourth version of the protocol, and it’s been the workhorse of the internet since its inception. An IPv4 address is always made up of four numbers, each separated by a dot (.). This is called “dotted-decimal notation.” But here’s the critical part: each of those four numbers is called an “octet,” and it must be a value between 0 and 255.

Why 255? It’s because of how computers count. Humans use a decimal system (base-10, with digits 0-9). Computers at their lowest level use a binary system (base-2, with digits 0 and 1). Each of the four numbers in an IPv4 address is represented by 8 binary digits (bits). The largest number you can represent with 8 bits is 255 (which is 11111111 in binary).

So, the rule is absolute: No part of an IPv4 address can be greater than 255.

Looking at 185.63.253.300, we can see that the first three numbers—185, 63, and 253—are perfectly valid. They all fall within the 0-255 range. But the last number, 300, is not. It is 45 units higher than the maximum allowed value of 255. Therefore, any device or software that understands internet protocols will immediately reject “185.63.253.300” as an invalid, non-routable address. It’s like trying to mail a letter to “House Number 300” on a street that only has houses numbered 1 through 255. The postal worker would look at it, mark it “Undeliverable,” and send it back.

You might have encountered this number because of a simple typo. Perhaps someone meant to type “185.63.253.30” or “185.63.253.130” and accidentally added an extra zero. Maybe it was a misprint in a manual or on a website. Whatever the source, now you know the first thing to check if you see an IP address error: make sure every number between the dots is 255 or less.

How IP Addresses Actually Work: The Internet’s Postal Service in Action

Understanding the “why” behind the invalid address is a great first step. Now, let’s peel back the curtain a bit more on how these valid addresses actually function. How does data get from Google’s servers in some far-off data center to the screen of your phone in your living room?

The process is a marvel of modern engineering, but we can break it down into a few simple steps using our postal service analogy.

You Write a Letter (The Request): You decide you want to visit a website. You type the URL (e.g., www.example.com) into your browser and hit enter. This is like writing a letter. The letter says, “Please send me your homepage.”
You Look Up the Address (DNS Query): You don’t know the IP address of www.example.com. So, your computer asks a special, internet-wide directory known as the Domain Name System (DNS). You can think of DNS as the internet’s phonebook. Your computer asks the DNS server, “What is the IP address for www.example.com?” The DNS server replies with a numerical IP address, let’s say 93.184.216.34. Now you have the correct destination address.
You Mail the Letter (Sending the Packet): Your computer takes your request (“send me the homepage”), puts it in a digital “envelope” called a packet, and writes the destination IP address (93.184.216.34) on it. It also writes its own IP address (your public IP address, which we’ll discuss later) in the “return address” field.
The Letter Travels (Routing): This packet doesn’t travel directly. It’s passed from your home router to your Internet Service Provider’s (ISP) network, and then through a series of larger and larger networks, like regional and global hubs. At each point, a device called a router looks at the destination IP address and decides the most efficient “next hop” for the packet. It’s like the postal service sorting mail at different distribution centers, sending it closer and closer to its final destination.
The Letter is Received and a Reply is Sent (The Response): The packet finally arrives at the server with the IP address 93.184.216.34. That server opens the packet, understands the request, and gathers all the data needed to display the homepage (the text, images, code, etc.). It then packages this data into new packets, writes your IP address as the destination, and sends them back across the internet to you.
You Receive the Reply (Rendering the Page): The packets arrive at your router, which directs them to your specific computer. Your browser then assembles all the packets, like putting together the pages of a book, and displays the fully-formed website on your screen.

All of this happens in a fraction of a second. This process is happening millions of times per second for every single person using the internet, and it all relies on those unique, valid IP addresses. If any address in the chain is invalid, like our friend 185.63.253.300, the process fails immediately at step one. Your computer wouldn’t even know where to start looking for the path.

Finding Your Real IP Address: A Quick and Easy Guide

Now that you know what an IP address is for, you’re probably curious about what your own IP address looks like. It’s easy to find, and I’ll show you how on different devices. It’s a useful piece of knowledge for basic troubleshooting.

It’s important to know that you have two main types of IP addresses: a public one and a private one.

Public IP Address: This is the address that the entire internet sees. It’s the address assigned to your entire home or office network by your Internet Service Provider (ISP—like Comcast, Verizon, etc.). From the perspective of any website you visit, the traffic is coming from this single public IP address. All the devices in your house share this one public address when communicating with the outside world.
Private IP Address: This is the address assigned to each individual device within your local network. Your router gives a unique private IP address to your laptop, your phone, your smart TV, etc. This is how your router can tell which device requested a website and make sure the response gets to the right screen.

How to Find Your Public IP Address:
The easiest way is to simply ask a website. Because websites see your public IP address when you visit them, several sites exist to simply echo it back to you. Just open your browser and go to one of these:

Go to whatismyipaddress.com
Or simply type “what is my IP” into Google search. It will show it to you right at the top of the results.

You’ll see a string of four numbers, similar to the examples we’ve used, but it will be your unique one. It might look something like 74.125.224.72 or similar.

How to Find Your Private IP Address:

On Windows 10/11:
1. Click the Start menu and type cmd to open the Command Prompt.
2. In the black window, type ipconfig and press Enter.
3. Look for the line that says “IPv4 Address” under your Wi-Fi or Ethernet adapter. That number (e.g., 192.168.1.15) is your computer’s private IP address on your local network.
On a Mac:
1. Go to System Preferences > Network.
2. Select your connected network (Wi-Fi or Ethernet) on the left.
3. Your private IP address will be displayed on the right.
On an iPhone/iPad:
1. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi.
2. Tap the (i) icon next to the network you’re connected to.
3. Your private IP address is listed under the “IPV4 ADDRESS” section.
On an Android Phone:
1. Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Internet.
2. Tap the gear icon next to your network name.
3. Scroll down, and you’ll find your private IP address listed.

See? It’s not so mysterious once you know where to look. The addresses you find will all follow the rules we’ve discussed—every number will be between 0 and 255.

Beyond IPv4: The Vast New World of IPv6

We’ve been focusing on IPv4 addresses, which have four numbers. But there’s a problem I hinted at earlier. The internet has grown beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. The IPv4 system allows for about 4.3 billion unique addresses. That sounds like a lot, but with the world’s population and the explosion of internet-connected devices (the “Internet of Things” or IoT), we’ve simply run out of new IPv4 addresses.

This is where IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) comes in. It’s the next generation, designed to replace IPv4 and solve the address exhaustion problem for good.

An IPv6 address looks completely different. It’s much longer and uses hexadecimal characters (0-9 and A-F) to allow for a mind-bogglingly large number of addresses. Here’s an example of an IPv6 address:
2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334

To give you a sense of scale, IPv6 provides over 340 undecillion addresses. That’s a number so large it’s difficult to comprehend—it’s more than enough for every grain of sand on Earth to have its own IP address, with trillions upon trillions left over.

The key takeaway is that IPv6 is not bound by the “0-255” rule. It’s a different system with a different structure. While IPv4 and IPv6 are running in parallel right now (a situation called “dual-stack”), the transition is ongoing. For most home users, this happens seamlessly in the background. But as a tech-savvy person, it’s good to know that when you see a long, colon-separated address with letters and numbers, you’re looking at the future of the internet.

Common IP-Related Problems and How to Fix Them

Knowing about IP addresses isn’t just academic; it’s incredibly practical. Let’s talk about some common network problems you might face and how to solve them, now that you have a better understanding of what’s going on.

1. The “This Site Can’t Be Reached” or “Server IP Address Could Not Be Found” Error.

What it means: Your browser cannot find the IP address of the website you’re trying to visit. The DNS lookup failed.
Simple Fixes:
- Refresh the page. Sometimes it’s a temporary glitch.
- Check your internet connection. Make sure Wi-Fi is on or your Ethernet cable is plugged in.
- Restart your router. Unplug it from power, wait 30 seconds, and plug it back in. This clears its memory and gets a fresh IP address from your ISP. This fix works more often than you’d think.
- Try a different device. If the website works on your phone but not your laptop, the problem is with your laptop’s network settings.
- Flush your DNS cache. This clears out old, potentially corrupted address records on your computer. In the Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (Mac), you can type ipconfig /flushdns (Windows) or sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder (Mac) and press Enter.

2. “IP Address Conflict” on Your Network.

What it means: Two devices on your local network have been assigned the same private IP address. Your router is getting confused about where to send data.
Simple Fixes:
- Restart the devices. Simply restart the computer or phone that’s showing the error message. This will force it to request a new IP address from the router.
- Restart your router. This is the nuclear option for local network issues, but it almost always works. It reassigns fresh addresses to all devices.

3. Can’t Connect to a Specific Device (Like a Printer) on Your Network.

What it means: You might be trying to use an invalid or outdated private IP address for that device.
Simple Fixes:
- Find the device’s current IP address. Most modern printers have a menu option to display their network status and IP address. Check it and make sure you’re using the correct one.
- Use the device’s network name. Instead of the IP address, you can often use a name like \\PRINTER-NAME on Windows or http://printer-name.local on a Mac.

4. Being Blocked from a Website or Service.

What it means: The website administrator has banned your public IP address or a range of addresses, often due to suspicious activity or because of your geographical location.
Simple Fixes:
- Contact the website owner. If you believe it’s a mistake, you can try to contact them.
- Use a different network. Connecting from a different Wi-Fi network (like a coffee shop) will give you a different public IP address.
- Use a VPN. A Virtual Private Network assigns you a different public IP address from a server in a location of your choice, which can circumvent such blocks.

The key to troubleshooting is to start simple. Before you dive into complex settings, try turning things off and on again. It sounds like a cliché, but it works because it resets the IP address assignments and connection states.

Conclusion: From a Simple Error to a Deeper Understanding

We started with a simple, invalid string of numbers—185.63.253.300—and used it as a key to unlock the fascinating world of internet addressing. We learned that this number is invalid because of a fundamental rule of IPv4: no octet can be greater than 255. We then explored what IP addresses are, using the analogy of a postal address to understand how data finds its way across the globe to our screens.

We distinguished between your public IP address (your network’s face to the world) and your private IP address (your device’s identity within your home). We peeked into the future with IPv6, a system designed to provide an almost limitless supply of addresses. And finally, we armed ourselves with practical knowledge to troubleshoot common network problems, moving from a position of confusion to one of confidence.

The next time you see an IP address, whether in a error message or a settings menu, you won’t see a mysterious code. You’ll see a structured, logical identifier. You’ll know to check if its numbers are within the valid range. You’ll understand the role it plays in the grand, invisible conversation that is the internet. Technology is best when it demystifies, and I hope this guide has done exactly that for you. The internet is a human-built system, and with a little patience, its core concepts are within everyone’s grasp.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Is 185.63.253.300 a virus or malware?
A: No, the number 185.63.253.300 itself is not a virus. It is simply an invalid IP address. You might see it referenced in an error message because of a typo or misconfiguration. The error itself is harmless, though it indicates a connection problem.

Q2: What is a valid IP address that looks similar?
A: A valid IP address would replace the 300 with a number 255 or less. Examples could be 185.63.253.30, 185.63.253.130, or 185.63.253.200. Without knowing the original intent, we can’t say which one is correct, but any of these would be syntactically valid.

Q3: Why does my IP address sometimes change?
A: For most home users, your public IP address is “dynamic,” meaning your ISP assigns it to you temporarily and it can change every few days or when you restart your router. Your private IP address can also change when your device reconnects to your Wi-Fi, unless you set a “static” address for it in your router’s settings.

Q4: Can someone find my physical location from my IP address?
A: They can find an approximate location, typically your city or region, but not your precise home address. IP address geolocation is used to show you local news or weather, but it’s not precise enough for pinpointing a specific building.

Q5: Should I be worried about hiding my IP address?
A: For everyday browsing, your IP address is a normal part of how the internet works and is not a significant security risk on its own. However, if you are concerned about privacy or want to access geo-blocked content, using a reputable VPN service is a common way to mask your public IP address.