Located in a country outside of Switzerland although I am in Switzerland

[Huiu]

Several websites (sky.ch, netflix) and even the app store (e.g. sky app Switzerland does not appear) locate me in a country outside of Switzerland. Apple-ID settings, language, and country are set to Switzerland. I do not use a VPN (I also tried a VPN with a server in Switzerland, but the result is the same). However, when I use a ‘where is my IP location website’ I am always situated in Switzerland, although in a wrong city. I have spoken to my internet provider who says that everything seems to be fine. I have spoken to both sky and netflix, and neither has any solution nor idea why they locate me in another country. I am on a Macbook Pro with 12.1. In general, I am blocked from all Switzerland-only contend.

Does anyone has an idea what the problem might be?

 

[Marco Klobas]

Have you already tried to restart you modem (assuming your provider gives you a dynamic IP)?

Already tried to change the DNS or open the affected website in private mode?

 

[Huiu]

The modem changes the IP every time I restart. I have tried restarting several times, but the problem stays. Interestingly, the IP that is displayed on fast.com is different from the one shown in my network settings. Is this unusual?

With private mode, the same problem appears. I have not changed DNS.

 

[jsamuelson]

The modem changes the IP every time I restart. I have tried restarting several times, but the problem stays. Interestingly, the IP that is displayed on fast.com is different from the one shown in my network settings. Is this unusual?

With private mode, the same problem appears. I have not changed DNS.

Try changing the setting for Private Relay if you are using that - or disable it. Toggle between the two. Sometimes my IP is correct but I appear to be in the US somewhere.

• Maintain General Location allows sites to show you localized content in Safari, while your IP address stays hidden
• Use Country and Time Zone uses a broader location for your IP address, still within your country and time zone

You could also change the DNS on your router. Anycast geolocation can sometimes go wrong. Try Google DNS or Cloudflare.

PS have you tried the Sky beta app? It’s soooo much better.

 

[Marco Klobas]

Hope that the suggestion by jsamuelson is helpful.

I add OpenDNS to the DNS list: 208.67.222.222 – 208.67.220.220

 

[bogdanw]

Apple: "You can also turn off Private Relay just for a specific network. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Network and select the network from the list to see more options. "
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212614
An AppleScript to easily change the DNS for Ethernet https://github.com/b0gdanw/AppleScripts/blob/master/ChangeDNS.scpt

 

[Huiu]

Thank you for all the suggestions. I tried it both with Private Relay on and off – both times it did not work.

Is changing DNS unproblematic?

In my other home with the same Mac and the same internet provider, the problem does not appear. Maybe the problem is not the setting on my Mac but something with the network itself?

 

[Wolf1701]

Thank you for all the suggestions. I tried it both with Private Relay on and off – both times it did not work.

Is changing DNS unproblematic?

In my other home with the same Mac and the same internet provider, the problem does not appear. Maybe the problem is not the setting on my Mac but something with the network itself?

Try with your phone (wifi)

 

[adrianlondon]

This does sound like an IP address problem (external IP address, not anything internal).

I'm with UPC/Sunrise and this gives the correct address (as confirmed within the modem/router):

https://www.whatismyip.com/ip-address-lookup/

 

[rehkram]

Read the link adrianlondon posted, the notes describe the many reasons location may be reported incorrectly. Then contact your ISP and explain your need for it to be accurate, and to at least get the country right.

Mine is often wildly off; frankly I prefer it that way in this age of flagrant privacy breaches.

 

[bogdanw]

Thank you for all the suggestions. I tried it both with Private Relay on and off – both times it did not work.

Is changing DNS unproblematic?

In my other home with the same Mac and the same internet provider, the problem does not appear. Maybe the problem is not the setting on my Mac but something with the network itself?

If the same Mac works with a different router from the same provider, the problem might be the DNS servers that the router is sending to your Mac. Manually setting the DNS in your Mac, should clear this problem.
See Apple's instructions: Use DHCP or a manual IP address on Mac https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/use-dhcp-or-a-manual-ip-address-on-mac-mchlp2718/mac
and Change DNS settings in Network preferences on Mac https://support.apple.com/guide/mac...network-preferences-mac-mh14127/12.0/mac/12.0
Alternate DNS servers to use:
Google
8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4
Cloudflare
1.1.1.1, 1.0.0.1
Quad9
9.9.9.9
OpenDNS
208.67.222.222, 208.67.220.220

 

[NoBoMac]

Mine is often wildly off

Ditto.

A number of websites I visit think I'm in the next state over and 300 miles away. Yet Apple's "Find My" is pretty spot on.

As mentioned, basically, whatever database the service is using to geo-locate based on specific wifi, provider IP info, etc can be messed up. And IP relays. And guess: not at Mac now, but privacy settings for Safari might be contributing.

 

[jsamuelson]

It's definitely Private Relay affecting me. Amazon just sent me a warning that I signed in from the US (I'm also in Switzerland)! I imagine this will improve as the service comes out of beta and the pool of available IP addresses gets larger.

 

[jsamuelson]

Have you had a look to see what https://www.fastly-debug.com says? For me, it shows two IP addresses, the client and the resolver. With Private Relay enabled this is Cloudflare in the US although the client IP does show as being in Zurich, the resolver is in the US.

Which provider are you using? UPC or Swisscom?

 

[bogdanw]

Have you had a look to see what https://www.fastly-debug.com says?

That information is not accurate, https://ipleak.net , https://www.dnsleaktest.com and others give the real country of a DNS server.
VPN in Switzerland with Cloudflare & Google DNS

 

[jsamuelson]

That information is not accurate, https://ipleak.net , https://www.dnsleaktest.com and others give the real country of a DNS server.
VPN in Switzerland with Cloudflare & Google DNS
View attachment 1935578

It’s accurate. I’m not sure why you would say otherwise apart from you prefer the services you linked to…

There are generally three geographical locations. The location of your IP. The location of the resolver or the datacentre. And the location of the company that owns it. Companies use all of these plus other data to geolocate you.

 

[bogdanw]

It’s accurate. I’m not sure why you would say otherwise apart from you prefer the services you linked to…

Because it gives this result and 162.158.85.153 is not in US

 

[jsamuelson]

Because it gives this result and 162.158.85.153 is not in US View attachment 1935589

So better to say it's not accurate for you? It is correct here (at least today!)...

 

[bogdanw]

So better to say it's not accurate for you? It is correct here (at least today!)...

Sure, whatever.
I only followed this topic because I have the opposite problem. I frequently use a VPN server located in Switzerland and I get redirected to pages in French or German, instead of the English version.
Usually, when clicking on a https://www.netflix.com/title/__ link I get redirected to https://www.netflix.com/ch/title/__
Apple is kind enough to ask

Anyway, it just a small nuisance for me, and it actually means that I have set up my VPN and DNS servers correctly, webpages really thinking that I am in Switzerland
Good luck with your problem.

 

[jsamuelson]

Sure, whatever.
I only followed this topic because I have the opposite problem. I frequently use a VPN server located in Switzerland and I get redirected to pages in French or German, instead of the English version.
Usually, when clicking on a https://www.netflix.com/title/__ link I get redirected to https://www.netflix.com/ch/title/__
Apple is kind enough to ask
View attachment 1935631
Anyway, it just a small nuisance for me, and it actually means that I have set up my VPN and DNS servers correctly, webpages really thinking that I am in Switzerland
Good luck with your problem.

I don't have the problem, I'm not the OP...

 

[Huiu]

I am now back again in my other home and now I suddenly have the same problem here. I spoke again with my provider (Swisscom) and they apparently don't have an idea. The IP shown in ‘network’ is different from the one they see and the one shown in whatismyip-kind of sites is different as well. I tried changing the DNS, it worked shortly, then the same problem appeared. Sometimes it works when Private Relay is on, other times it doesn't work even though Private Relay and ProtonVPN is off.

 

[bogdanw]

The IP shown in ‘network’ is different from the one they see and the one shown in whatismyip-kind of sites is different as well. I tried changing the DNS, it worked shortly, then the same problem appeared. Sometimes it works when Private Relay is on, other times it doesn't work even though Private Relay and ProtonVPN is off.

Unless the equipment (modem, router, PON etc) from your Internet provider is capable of NAT, the IP shown in Network will always be different from the real IP that a website sees.
My suggestion is to disable Private Relay and test with different DNS servers until you find the configuration that works for you.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_address_translation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address#Public_address
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_network

 

[jsamuelson]

I am now back again in my other home and now I suddenly have the same problem here. I spoke again with my provider (Swisscom) and they apparently don't have an idea. The IP shown in ‘network’ is different from the one they see and the one shown in whatismyip-kind of sites is different as well. I tried changing the DNS, it worked shortly, then the same problem appeared. Sometimes it works when Private Relay is on, other times it doesn't work even though Private Relay and ProtonVPN is off.

With the same device? Are you using Swisscom's device to route or do you have your own?

There are a ton of variables here so it's quite hard to troubleshoot. Are you sure you don't have a command line client redirecting DNS (eg cloudflared) or making a VPN connection? Have you installed any apps which might install a DNS profile (on iOS have a look in Settings > General > VPN & Device Management and see what shows under DNS)? This could be Blokada or DNSCloak?

I have ProtonVPN and it does not interfere with my regular connectivity (or with Private Relay when the VPN is not active). Make sure the app's kill switch is not enabled and interfering with your connection.

You could try resetting network settings as well, just to have a fresh start - just make sure you have all your wifi network passcodes to hand as you will have to set them up again.