Why Does My IP Location Show the Wrong City?

A geolocation provider combines network information into a best estimate. Address blocks can move between networks, and updates do not reach every website at the same time.

A VPN, proxy or relay changes the address a website receives. Mobile networks can route many subscribers through a gateway far from their phones. City-level results are less dependable than broad regional context.

1. Note the public IP and whether it is IPv4 or IPv6 on ShowIP. Compare the same address when checking another lookup service; two address families can have different records.
2. Check whether the affected browser or app uses a VPN, proxy or privacy relay. Different apps can take different network paths.
3. If practical, compare Wi-Fi with mobile data. A changed result means the network path changed; it does not validate either city estimate.
4. If the same address is consistently wrong, report it to the geolocation provider or the affected website. Include the address, approximate correct city/country and date; avoid sending an exact home address unless a provider specifically needs it.

ShowIP uses MaxMind GeoLite2 data locally. MaxMind's support site explains how to submit GeoIP corrections. A website using another provider needs that provider's correction process instead.

After a provider accepts an update, sites must refresh their own databases. A correction is not an immediate or universal change. Restarting a router, clearing cookies or changing DNS does not directly rewrite a geolocation database.

A browser may ask permission to estimate device location using its location service. That is separate from the network lookup here. An IP map marker should never be read as a person's house, precise device position or proof of identity.

• MaxMind: Understanding IP geolocation accuracy
• MaxMind: Geolocation accuracy
• MaxMind: GeoIP support and correction resources
• Apple: Private Relay and IP address location