This is the method that I use, and it validates an IPv4 input:
// Get user IP address
if ( isset($_SERVER['HTTP_CLIENT_IP']) && ! empty($_SERVER['HTTP_CLIENT_IP'])) {
$ip = $_SERVER['HTTP_CLIENT_IP'];
} elseif ( isset($_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR']) && ! empty($_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR'])) {
$ip = $_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR'];
} else {
$ip = (isset($_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'])) ? $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] : '0.0.0.0';
}
$ip = filter_var($ip, FILTER_VALIDATE_IP);
$ip = ($ip === false) ? '0.0.0.0' : $ip;