Why does my IP show a different city than where I live?

Geolocation services map your public IP to a registered region in a database. That is often accurate at country or metro level but can miss your exact town, especially near borders or on mobile networks. VPNs intentionally show another region.

Is IP location the same as GPS?

No. IP lookup does not use satellite GPS; it infers location from ISP routing data. Browser geolocation with permission is separate and more precise.

Blog · Location

Why is my IP location wrong?

Direct answer: IP geolocation guesses your area from who owns the IP block and how ISPs route traffic. It is not exact GPS. What Is My IP Address IP shows third-party estimates—treat city names as approximate.

Common mismatches

Mobile data — IPs may register to a carrier hub in another city.
VPN — location follows the VPN server; see VPN and IP.
ISP reassignment — databases update on a delay.