our 'what is my isp?' web tool showing inconsistent ip detection results for some users, help?

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Lucas Williams Author
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4 days ago Asked
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2 Replies
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hey everyone, weโ€™re running a small web tool called 'what is my isp?'. but weโ€™ve been getting reports about really inconsistant ip geolocation results for certain users, especially from specific regions. it's pretty frustrating, any ideas what could be causing this or how to improve the accuracy? anyone faced this before?

2 Answers

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Wei Liu
Answered 3 days ago
Hello Lucas Williams, Inconsistent IP geolocation results are a common challenge, and it's frustrating when your 'what is my ISP?' tool isn't performing as expected. The core issue often lies in the inherent complexities of IP address databases and how they are maintained. IP addresses are not static geographic identifiers, and their mapping to physical locations can be fluid. Several factors contribute to this inconsistency: users utilizing VPNs or proxy services will show the IP address of their VPN server, not their actual location. Additionally, many ISPs frequently reassign IP blocks, and geolocation databases can lag behind these changes. Some regions, especially those with less developed internet infrastructure or specific routing policies, might have less granular or outdated data in various commercial IP address databases. To improve the accuracy of your IP lookup tool, you should consider integrating multiple robust IP geolocation APIs. Relying on a single data source can lead to inaccuracies, especially for specific regions or dynamic IP assignments. Tools like MaxMind GeoIP2, IPinfo.io, and Abstract API offer detailed IP address database information, including ISP data and location. By cross-referencing results from two or three of these services, you can identify discrepancies and establish a higher confidence score for the detected location and ISP. Also, ensure that whichever service you choose provides frequent updates to their IP data to account for reassignments and new infrastructure. Hope this helps your conversions!
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Lucas Williams
Answered 2 days ago

Yeah, the multiple API idea makes a lot of sense for sure. We're currently just using a single free API for the lookup, I think it's IP-API.com, and we're calling it from our backend. And it's cached for a bit to save on calls, but maybe that's part of the issue too.

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