Quick answer
Why does my proxy show a different city or country?
Your proxy shows a different city or country because IP geolocation databases guess locations from registry records, routing data and operator feeds, and they often place a datacenter IP at the network's head office. RackProxies sells dedicated datacenter IPv4 in 22 countries, from $1.29 per IP, and replaces an IP in the same country when its location is wrong for your lawful use. No KYC, crypto only.
IP geolocation at a glance
| What a geolocation database is | A table that maps IP ranges to a country, region and city, sold or shared by a private company |
|---|---|
| Main inputs | Registry records (RDAP/WHOIS), routing data, network measurements, operator geofeeds (RFC 8805) and user corrections |
| Usually right | The country of most IPs |
| Often wrong | The city, especially for datacenter and mobile IPs |
| Same IP, different answer | Normal: each database has its own sources and update schedule |
| RackProxies position | Datacenter IPs are registered to hosting networks, not to home internet providers. IP geolocation databases can place the same IP in a different city, or even a different country, from the datacenter that announces it |
| If the location is wrong for your use | If an IP does not work or is unusable for a lawful use, write to support: we fix it or replace it with an IP in the same country, subject to stock |
How do IP geolocation databases decide where an IP is?
A geolocation database combines several imperfect sources and keeps the answer it trusts most. No central authority publishes the physical location of an IP, so each vendor builds its own map.
The usual inputs:
- Registry records. The five regional internet registries publish who holds each block and that holder's country. A database starts from this, which is why a block can show the holder's head-office country.
- Routing data. Which network announces the prefix, and from which exchange points. This hints at a region but rarely at a city.
- Measurements. Round-trip times from probes in known cities. Light in fiber covers about 200 km per millisecond, so a 2 ms answer rules out anything farther than about 200 km.
- Geofeeds. Network operators can publish a CSV file that states the location of each of their prefixes (RFC 8805). RFC 9092 explains how to link that file from the registry record, so databases can find it.
- Corrections. Most vendors accept correction requests from network operators and users, and some use location data from apps and websites.
Why do datacenter IPs show the head office or a different country?
Datacenter IPs move more than home IPs, and their registry records describe the company, not the building. A hosting company registered in one city can announce the same block from a datacenter in another city, or in another country, without changing the registry record.
Common causes:
- Head-office address. With no better signal, the database uses the holder's registered address.
- Recently moved block. A block was announced in Amsterdam last year and in Frankfurt this month; the database has not caught up.
- Leased addresses. IPv4 blocks are often leased between companies. The registry record may show the owner while another network routes the block elsewhere.
- No geofeed. Without an RFC 8805 feed from the operator, vendors fall back to the head office or to measurements.
Datacenter IPs are registered to hosting networks, not to home internet providers. IP geolocation databases can place the same IP in a different city, or even a different country, from the datacenter that announces it. This is a property of datacenter IPs in general, not a defect of one provider.
Which data source gives which answer?
| Source | What it really tells you | Why it can mislead |
|---|---|---|
| RDAP / WHOIS country | Country of the organization that holds the block | The block can be used in other countries |
| BGP routing (ASN, prefix) | Which network carries the traffic today | Large networks announce prefixes from many cities |
| Latency from probes | A maximum distance from each probe | Gives a radius, not a street address |
| Geofeed (RFC 8805) | The operator's own statement per prefix | Only as current as the operator keeps it |
| Commercial database | A best guess that combines all of the above | Vendors update on different schedules |
What does an RFC 8805 geofeed look like?
A geofeed is a plain CSV file with one line per prefix: the prefix, the ISO 3166 country code, an optional ISO 3166-2 region code and an optional city. RFC 8805 (August 2020) defines the format; a fifth field for the postal code is deprecated. A line for a Frankfurt block, with a documentation prefix, reads:
203.0.113.0/24,DE,DE-HE,Frankfurt am Main,
Vendors that read geofeeds update their records from these lines on their own schedule. A geofeed is a statement, not a proof, so databases may still weigh it against their measurements.
What should I do when my proxy shows the wrong location?
Start with the simplest fix.
Find out which database matters
A site uses one database, not all of them. If you test your own site, you know which one. For other sites, compare two or three public lookups and look at what the site itself shows (currency, language, store).
Check the IP's network
Run the datacenter IP check: RDAP holder, announcing ASN and reverse DNS. A head-office country in RDAP explains most mismatches.
Ask for a replacement
If an IP does not work or is unusable for a lawful use, write to support: we fix it or replace it with an IP in the same country, subject to stock. Tell support which database and which location you need; we cannot promise a city in every database.
Pick the country, then the city
Most sites act on the country. Choose the datacenter city for speed once the country is right.
Can a website see my real location through a proxy?
A proxy changes only the IP address a website sees. The website can still read what your browser or program sends: the language header, the time zone exposed to scripts, cookies from earlier visits and any location you allowed. If those point to another country, a site may show content for that country even when the IP is right.
For QA of your own site, set the language and locale you want to test in your test browser profile, then load the page through the proxy. The geo QA use case gives a checklist.
IP geolocation questions
Why do two IP lookup sites give different cities for my proxy?
Each lookup site uses its own database, built from different sources and updated on a different schedule. For datacenter IPs the city is the weakest part of the estimate. The country usually agrees across databases; when it does not, the registry record often shows a holder in another country. Check the database your target uses.
Can RackProxies guarantee the city that databases show?
No, and no provider can do so honestly, because the databases belong to third parties. Datacenter IPs are registered to hosting networks, not to home internet providers. IP geolocation databases can place the same IP in a different city, or even a different country, from the datacenter that announces it. If an IP shows a location that makes it unusable for your lawful job, support will fix or replace it in the same country, subject to stock.
How long do geolocation databases take to update?
It depends on the vendor. Some publish updates weekly, others more or less often, and a correction request can take more than one cycle. Geofeeds speed things up only for vendors that read them. There is no single date when every database agrees, which is why we suggest testing with the database your target uses.
Does the proxy's country change the price or language a site shows?
Often, yes. Many shops pick currency, language and catalog from the country their database returns for your IP. Your browser settings can override that on some sites. Test with a clean browser profile, set to the language of the target market, to see what local users see.
Is the location in RDAP the location of my proxy?
Not necessarily. The RDAP country is where the holder of the address block is registered. A US-registered company can run a block in Germany. Use RDAP to identify the network, then the datacenter city shown in your RackProxies account for the physical location.
Do I need ID to change the country of my IPs?
No. No KYC: no ID, no selfie, no documents to sign up, top up or buy. A replacement in the same country goes through support. To move to another country, buy a new rental for that country from your crypto balance; plans start at $1.29 for one IP for 30 days. See pricing.
Pick a country, then test the IP
22 countries and 34 datacenter cities with a page. No KYC, paid in crypto.
Sources (5)
- RFC 8805: A Format for Self-Published IP Geolocation Feeds — IETF (2026-10-19)
- RFC 9092: Finding and Using Geofeed Data — IETF (2026-10-19)
- RFC 9083: JSON Responses for RDAP — IETF (2026-10-19)
- RFC 5737: IPv4 Address Blocks Reserved for Documentation — IETF (2026-10-19)
- RIPEstat Data API — RIPE NCC (2026-10-19)