Written 24 Aug 2026. This is a how-to, not a product card. Buy links are not tagged yet.

Find the leftover box on the house network

The leftover box has a number on your house network. You need that number to SSH from the couch. You do not need a new router.

You installed the OS. The leftover box is on. To type commands from the couch you need its number on the house network. That number is the address. The install is your first weekend. Next is SSH from the couch. This page is for when you cannot find that number.

What this is

Every gadget on Wi-Fi or ethernet has a number. The leftover box has one too. That number is the address, sometimes called an IP. Think of it as a house number on the street. SSH uses that number. It is not the password. It is not a website.

Two ways

If a screen is still plugged in, stay at the leftover box. That is the default. If the box is already headless in a closet, use the router device list.

1. On the leftover box

Screen still plugged in. Log in locally, the way you did at install. Then run:

hostname -I

The first number that looks like 192.168.something or 10.something is the one. Write it down.

2. On the router

Open a browser on your normal computer. Try the address printed on the router sticker, often 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1. Log in. That password is on the sticker, or the one you set. Find the device list, client list, or DHCP list. Look for the leftover box name: lab, closet, office, or ubuntu. The number next to it is the address.

Ethernet vs Wi-Fi

Ethernet is calmer. If both are connected you may see two numbers. Use the ethernet one if you plugged a cable.

The number can change

Write the number down. Try SSH. If it fails tomorrow, look again. The number can change after a reboot. A DHCP reservation, telling the router to always give this box the same number, is later. The first useful thing on the leftover box covers that in one sentence.

You do not need a static IP tutorial, a VLAN, or a new UniFi gateway for this.

What next

SSH from the couch, with that number. That is SSH from the couch.

Skip

Skip buying a new router. Skip UniFi for "visibility." Skip scanning the network with Angry IP Scanner as the first move. Skip exposing the leftover box to the internet. Skip changing LAN subnets on day one.

Sources

Router login is on the sticker. hostname -I is on Debian and Ubuntu. Debian: hostname man page. Ubuntu: hostname man page. Official pages only. For the leftover box install, see your first weekend. Next job: SSH from the couch. A DHCP reservation is later, in the first useful thing on the leftover box.

Also on this topic

Your first weekend with the leftover boxInstall the OS, name it, and reach it from the couch. That is a home lab. SSH from the couchType commands on the leftover box from your laptop, on the house network. Password login first. Do not open this to the internet. Start with what you already haveDo not buy anything yet. Old laptop first, or a retired OptiPlex from Marketplace.