Out of the box, when you connect a device to your home network with either Wi-Fi or Ethernet, it’s assigned an IP address automatically. This system is ideal for most people, since it simplifies the connection process and generally works just fine with the services they use. If you’re more interested in local networking, however, needing to look up an IP address before making a connection could make it more of a pain than it’s worth. While some people don’t need static IPs at all, there are still several reasons someone setting up a local network should set dedicated IPs for at least some of their devices.

Network storage and file transfers

Easily access files from anywhere on your network

It’s not that common for average users to use local networking beyond casting videos to a TV, or streaming video games from a console or PC, so the use case for this is pretty narrow. That doesn’t mean local networking can’t be extremely useful if you know how to use it. Just look at how cumbersome and expensive moving a file from one device to another has become using cloud services or external drives, when you could simply send it over the network at gigabit or higher speeds.

While local network support may seem slim in modern operating systems, they all support it by default, including Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Android and iOS even support it in their default file management apps. Of course, networking support in Linux goes without saying. One thing that’s annoyingly complex is moving a file, like a large 4K video, from your smartphone to your computer.

Many cheaper or older phones, like all iPhones prior to the 15 Pro, and quite a few Android models, still ship with slow USB 2.0 USB ports. That means a maximum transfer speed of 480Mbps on a good day, which could mean a long time tethered to your computer. Cloud solutions rely on your internet’s upload speed, which can be quite low on cable, 5G, and FWA providers, and require you to pay for the storage. Plus, you’ll have to download it on the target device, which can be a problem if you don’t have unlimited data.

With a fairly modern router, like one of the best Wi-Fi routers, and a decent Ethernet cable, you could send files over your home network at much faster speeds without requiring any cloud data or clogging up your home internet connection. Best of all, it’s fairly straightforward to set up, if you’ve got local IPs configured.

If you’re setting up a network-attached storage (NAS) system, you can use it like any other drive on your PC, but you’ll need to map the drive to your computer using its hostname or IP address. Finding the IP address of a device on your network only takes a few seconds if you know where to look, but setting a fixed IP can make setup a lot easier, especially if you’re setting up multiple devices. There's also the problem that if your router restarts or updates, it could assign a new IP to your NAS which would require you to add the drive back on all relevant devices.

Easier local networking

Fewer failed connections with the right IP

If you need to set up port forwarding, you’ll need to set a static IP address for that device. There are a variety of reasons you may need to forward ports, such as setting up a game server, where setting an IP can help make sure connections work properly. Also, if you’re trying to access something like a networked printer from multiple devices, a static IP can make it easier to get connected, and if one gets disconnected, it should be easy to reestablish connection.

If you’re using a remote desktop connection to use your primary PC from a laptop or tablet, having that PC use the same IP address every time can make it quick and easy to get connected again.

Clever software makes local networking easier

While setting up static IPs can certainly make getting connected easier, a lot of applications and operating systems have been integrating local networking features that require little or no setup. For example, Samsung’s My Files and Android’s File Manager can scan and detect available networked devices, so you don’t need to know the IP at all. On iOS, however, you’ll need the IP or at least the hostname of the target device.

Another example is the popular gaming application Steam, which allows you to download games from one PC to another. If, for example, you’re heading out on a trip, and you want to download a game to your laptop, you can do so at much higher speeds than most internet connections using Steam's game transfer feature. All you need to do is enable the feature in Steam’s settings and sign in on both computers. Similarly, Windows Update on modern versions of Windows can share updates over the network. If you’ve got a slower connection and multiple Windows PCs at home, this feature can save data and speed up the update process.

You can stream your own video with a Plex Server, or even use a NAS as an alternative to Google Photos. Streaming video games is another popular option with Steam, Nvidia, Xbox, PlayStation, and more supporting game streaming over a network. Even Meta Quest can use your Wi-Fi network to stream the video signal if it's set up correctly.