Get the Client Ip Address Using PHP

Get the client IP address using PHP

The simplest way to get the visitor’s/client’s IP address is using the $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] or $_SERVER['REMOTE_HOST'] variables.

However, sometimes this does not return the correct IP address of the visitor, so we can use some other server variables to get the IP address.

The below both functions are equivalent with the difference only in how and from where the values are retrieved.

getenv() is used to get the value of an environment variable in PHP.

// Function to get the client IP address
function get_client_ip() {
    $ipaddress = '';
    if (getenv('HTTP_CLIENT_IP'))
        $ipaddress = getenv('HTTP_CLIENT_IP');
    else if(getenv('HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR'))
        $ipaddress = getenv('HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR');
    else if(getenv('HTTP_X_FORWARDED'))
        $ipaddress = getenv('HTTP_X_FORWARDED');
    else if(getenv('HTTP_FORWARDED_FOR'))
        $ipaddress = getenv('HTTP_FORWARDED_FOR');
    else if(getenv('HTTP_FORWARDED'))
       $ipaddress = getenv('HTTP_FORWARDED');
    else if(getenv('REMOTE_ADDR'))
        $ipaddress = getenv('REMOTE_ADDR');
    else
        $ipaddress = 'UNKNOWN';
    return $ipaddress;
}

$_SERVER is an array that contains server variables created by the web server.

// Function to get the client IP address
function get_client_ip() {
    $ipaddress = '';
    if (isset($_SERVER['HTTP_CLIENT_IP']))
        $ipaddress = $_SERVER['HTTP_CLIENT_IP'];
    else if(isset($_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR']))
        $ipaddress = $_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR'];
    else if(isset($_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED']))
        $ipaddress = $_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED'];
    else if(isset($_SERVER['HTTP_FORWARDED_FOR']))
        $ipaddress = $_SERVER['HTTP_FORWARDED_FOR'];
    else if(isset($_SERVER['HTTP_FORWARDED']))
        $ipaddress = $_SERVER['HTTP_FORWARDED'];
    else if(isset($_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']))
        $ipaddress = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];
    else
        $ipaddress = 'UNKNOWN';
    return $ipaddress;
}

How to get Real IP from Visitor?

Try this php code.

<?PHP

function getUserIP()
{
    // Get real visitor IP behind CloudFlare network
    if (isset($_SERVER["HTTP_CF_CONNECTING_IP"])) {
              $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] = $_SERVER["HTTP_CF_CONNECTING_IP"];
              $_SERVER['HTTP_CLIENT_IP'] = $_SERVER["HTTP_CF_CONNECTING_IP"];
    }
    $client  = @$_SERVER['HTTP_CLIENT_IP'];
    $forward = @$_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR'];
    $remote  = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];

    if(filter_var($client, FILTER_VALIDATE_IP))
    {
        $ip = $client;
    }
    elseif(filter_var($forward, FILTER_VALIDATE_IP))
    {
        $ip = $forward;
    }
    else
    {
        $ip = $remote;
    }

    return $ip;
}


$user_ip = getUserIP();

echo $user_ip; // Output IP address [Ex: 177.87.193.134]


?>

PHP most accurate / safe way to get real user IP address in 2017

Short answer:

$ip = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];

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As of 2021 (and still) $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']; is the only reliable way to get users ip address, but it can show erroneous results if behind a proxy server.

All other solutions imply security risks or can be easily faked.

Get client IP using PHP

When using REMOTE_ADDR, you are getting that users public IP address, hence why you get the same for 2 devices on the same network. What you could do is set a cookie to state if they've been on your website. Then, when a user visits your website, check for the cookie, and if they don't have it, then you have another unique hit. If they do have that cookie, ignore it.

I hope this is helpful. If not, just DM me

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