IP-Based Geolocation Accuracy
The Geolocation lookup tools provided an estimate of where the IP address may be located. The data comes from a few IP-Based Geolocation providers, and their accuracy varies depending on how quickly they update their database when changes occur. Since many Internet users are getting their dynamic IP address from ISPs, and most ISPs serve their customers in multiple regions causing Geolocation lookup to be accurate to the region they serve. For example, AT&T in the United States serves their customers in the entire USA, and the accuracy may be limited to the Country level. Other ISPs may be serving smaller areas, and some ISPs create subnetworks to serve their customers in smaller regions. For this reason, the IP-based Geolocation will be about 99% accurate at the country level, while the accuracy of State and City may be at a much less accurate level, somewhere around the 50% range.
Key reasons why your IP location might be wrong:
- Outdated data: The database used by the geolocation service might not be updated with the latest information about your IP address, especially if you recently switched ISPs or got a new IP address.
- Geolocation limitations: Geolocation technology isn’t perfect and can sometimes provide a general area rather than a precise location.
- ISP reporting errors: Sometimes, your ISP might be providing incorrect location data to geolocation services.
How to update IP-Based Geolocation information
To update your IP geolocation information, the first step is to go to the IP Lookup page of any IP Lookup service like (whatismyip.com or iplocation.net) and search for your IP address in the IP Lookup Tool. This tool shows the geolocation data provided by various third-party IP address databases. To update the IP address information, contact each third-party database directly. Check the information for each database – IP2Location, IPData, and MaxMind – and contact them accordingly.
