topic Re: IP address geolocation significantly wrong in Broadband

IP address geolocation significantly wrong

aks10 — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 21:19:30 GMT

I've read a few threads raising this issue, now I would like to report the issue affecting my connection. I've tried rebooting the router, leaving the router off for a short while like 10 minutes, but the geolocation remains incorrect.

Google search shows location as 'Bedford', however I'm about 30 miles away. How do I get this corrected?

Re: IP address geolocation significantly wrong

TimmyBGood — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 21:50:17 GMT

@aks10 wrote:

Google search shows location as 'Bedford', however I'm about 30 miles away. How do I get this corrected?

Essentially you don't through Sky. ISPs aren't providing that information themselves (which would mostly be illegal) : it's extrapolated from all sorts of information which users either deliberately or inadvertently give away.

https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/179386

The single biggest collation point is Google because it turns out that having both browser dominance and access to a few billion mobile devices with both built-in GPS and local wireless access point SSID scanning helps quite a bit when mapping the planet and its inhabitants.

https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/179386

Re: IP address geolocation significantly wrong

aks10 — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 21:54:31 GMT

I thought, from what I read, Sky would provide general location, i.e. local town, obviously not my precise billing address.

The location has worked fine in the past, only recently has it become off. I'll read the pointers you shared and see if I can get better location accuracy.

Thanks

Re: IP address geolocation significantly wrong

TimmyBGood — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 06:50:58 GMT

@aks10 wrote:

I thought, from what I read, Sky would provide general location, i.e. local town,

No, they don't. From them it's either nothing at all, or actual address on production of an appropriate legal authority (i.e. warrant or court order) and there's no mechanism by which location could be retrieved from ISP subscription information without human intervention.

If a user chooses to give away their location, particularly from a device with GPS, cellular functionality and/or WiFi then all bets are off.

https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/geolocation/overview

Re: IP address geolocation significantly wrong

aks10 — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 12:16:59 GMT

What I've found is when solely the IP address is used, geolocation is at a Sky exit point, whnich is as @TimmyBGood explained.

Of course if I use a device with GPS, i.e. phone, and share location, then results are personalised, again as expected.

Annoyingly, Google and other online retailers use the Sky geolocation when browsing from my computers that don't have GPS.

Anyhow, it seems not solvable, so thanks for helping me understand the issue.