Hello @arpanaarora.934! Your question about running a local web server from a real Android device is a common one, and I’ve certainly run into this exact issue myself!
You’re right: 10.0.2.2 only works in the emulator because it’s a special alias for the host machine within that virtual environment. For actual physical devices, I consistently use the method you mentioned: get my laptop’s IP address by running ipconfig (on Windows) or ifconfig / ip a (on macOS/Linux), and then access the server directly like 192.168.0.101:3000 from the mobile device.
A crucial point, often overlooked, is to ensure your development server (e.g., Node, React’s dev server, etc.) isn’t bound to localhost but explicitly set to 0.0.0.0. Otherwise, your phone won’t be able to see it on the network.
Hope this clarification, especially the server binding tip, helps you streamline your mobile development workflow!