IP Address Lookup: IP Location, ISP and ASN

IP address lookup tool

What an IP address reveals, and what it does not

Every device that talks to the internet does so from a public IP address. Websites, mail servers and APIs see that address on every request, so it is worth knowing what it gives away.

A lookup can usually tell you the country, often the region and city, the network operator (ISP) that announces the address, and the time zone of that area. It can also show whether the address belongs to a residential broadband line, a mobile network or a data centre, which is a strong hint about whether a person or a server is behind it.

What it cannot reveal is just as important. An IP address does not identify a named individual, a home address or a specific device. Many households, offices and mobile users share one public address through NAT, and ISPs rotate addresses regularly. Only the ISP can link an address to a subscriber at a given moment, and it will only disclose that to authorities with the appropriate legal basis.

How IP geolocation works, and why it can be wrong

There is no GPS inside an IP address. Geolocation providers build databases by combining several sources: the regional internet registries (RIPE NCC, ARIN, APNIC, LACNIC and AFRINIC) that record which organisation holds each block, routing data showing where blocks are announced, network latency measurements, and corrections supplied by ISPs and users.

Because of that, accuracy varies a great deal:

Country is correct in the vast majority of cases.
City is often right for fixed broadband but can be off by tens or hundreds of kilometres, especially in rural areas.
Mobile networks route traffic through a few central gateways, so a phone in Manchester may appear to be in London.
VPNs, proxies and corporate networks show the location of the exit server, not the user.
Recently reassigned blocks can carry the old owner’s location until the databases catch up.

The map above therefore shows an approximate point, usually the centre of a city or region. Treat it as a guide rather than a precise position.

IPv4 and IPv6 explained

IPv4 addresses are written as four numbers from 0 to 255, such as 203.0.113.10. There are only about 4.3 billion of them, and they ran out at the registries years ago, which is why addresses are now traded and shared behind NAT.

IPv6 addresses are longer, written as eight groups of hexadecimal digits, such as 2001:db8:85a3::8a2e:370:7334, where :: stands in for a run of zeros. The address space is vast, so devices can have globally unique addresses again. Many connections now have both: if you see an IPv6 result for your own IP, your network prefers IPv6, and websites that support it will see that address rather than your IPv4 one. This tool accepts either format, and when you enter a domain name it resolves both A (IPv4) and AAAA (IPv6) records, preferring IPv4 for the lookup.

Understanding ISP, organisation, ASN and reverse DNS

The ISP is the company providing connectivity for the address, such as a broadband provider or hosting company. The organisation is the customer or division the block is registered to, which can differ: a business with its own range may appear here while the ISP is its upstream carrier.

The ASN (autonomous system number) identifies the network that announces the address on the internet’s routing system, BGP. Large networks have their own AS number, for example AS15169 for Google. Looking up an ASN is a reliable way to see who really operates an address, even when the reverse DNS or organisation field is vague.

Reverse DNS is the hostname returned when you look up an IP rather than a name, stored in a PTR record. Broadband addresses often have generic names that encode the area or line type, while servers usually have a custom hostname set by their owner. A matching reverse DNS entry is essential for a mail server, as many receiving systems reject mail from addresses without one.

Putting the results to work

A few practical ways to use an IP lookup:

Checking a server’s location before you buy. If your audience is in a particular country, latency and search visibility both benefit from a local address. Ask a provider for a test IP and run it through this tool to confirm the country and network. Every ServerSlot plan comes with a country-specific IP in the location you choose, whether you pick a virtual private server, a Windows RDP server or dedicated hardware.
Troubleshooting. Confirm which public address your office or server is actually using, check that a domain points where you expect after a DNS change, or verify that a VPN is routing traffic through the right country.
Spotting proxies and automated traffic. Sign-ups, logins or orders from addresses flagged as hosting or proxy networks deserve a closer look, particularly if the location does not match the billing country. Treat the flags as one signal among several, as legitimate users also browse through VPNs.
Reading server logs. Looking up unfamiliar addresses in access or firewall logs helps you tell genuine visitors from scanners and decide what to block.

Privacy and data sources

The lookup tool does not keep its own record of the addresses you search for. To stay within our data providers’ limits, results for each IP are held in a short-lived server cache for up to six hours and then discarded, and a temporary counter limits how many lookups one connection can make in ten minutes. Nothing is linked to an account or used for marketing, although, as on any website, our web server may keep standard access logs for security purposes.

Location, network and connection-type data comes from third-party geolocation databases (currently ip-api.com, with ipwho.is as a backup) and the map is provided by OpenStreetMap. We do not control those databases and cannot guarantee their accuracy. If the location of your own address looks wrong, the provider of the database is usually the right place to request a correction.

Frequently asked questions

Can someone find my home address from my IP address?

No. An IP lookup shows an approximate area, usually a city or region, and the network operator. Only your ISP can link the address to your account, and it will only share that with authorities that have a lawful basis to ask.

Why does the tool show the wrong city for my IP?

Geolocation databases estimate locations from registry, routing and network data. Mobile networks, VPNs, corporate gateways and recently reassigned address blocks often appear in a different city, sometimes a different country, from where you really are.

Why can’t I look up 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x addresses?

These are private ranges reserved for local networks, so the same addresses are reused in millions of homes and offices. They never appear on the public internet and therefore have no location. The same applies to loopback, link-local, carrier-grade NAT and documentation ranges.

Can I look up a website instead of an IP address?

Yes. Enter a domain such as example.com and the tool resolves its A and AAAA records, then shows details for the first public address. Sites behind a CDN will show the CDN’s nearest edge network rather than the origin server.

What does “Hosting / data centre: Yes” mean?

It means the address belongs to a hosting provider or cloud network rather than a home or mobile connection. That is normal for servers, VPNs and proxies. Seen on a website visitor, it suggests the traffic is coming through a VPN, a proxy or an automated tool.

How can I get an IP address in a specific country?

Rent a server located in that country. A VPS, RDP or dedicated server comes with an IP registered to its data centre, so websites and services see that country. You can confirm the location by entering the server’s IP into this tool.

Using IP Data to Plan Where to Host

An IP lookup tool is useful well before you buy a server. If you run a website or shop, look up the addresses in your access logs or analytics to see which countries and networks your visitors actually come from. Clusters of traffic from one region suggest that hosting there would make pages load faster for most people. The ISP and ASN fields show whether visitors arrive mainly through mobile operators, home broadband or corporate networks, which hints at the kind of connections your site must cope with. Combined with latency tests, this simple analysis helps you choose a location based on evidence rather than guesswork. Repeat the exercise every few months, because audiences shift as marketing campaigns, partnerships and search rankings change, and a second location may start to make sense.

Why Different Lookup Services Disagree

It is common to see one service place an address in one city and another service place it somewhere else. Each provider builds its database from different sources, such as registry records, information supplied by network operators, measurements and user corrections, and they update on different schedules. When an ISP moves a block of addresses to another region, some databases catch up within days while others take weeks. Mobile networks and large corporate networks often route traffic through a central gateway, so many users appear to be in one city. Treat the city field as an estimate, and rely on the country and network details for anything important. If a service you rely on misplaces your server, contacting that provider with the correct details is usually the quickest fix, since most of them accept correction requests from network owners.

IP Reputation and Email Deliverability

If you plan to send email from a server, the reputation of its IP address matters as much as the content of your messages. Before configuring a mail server, check that the address is not listed on common blocklists and that its reverse DNS can be set to a name matching your domain. Publish SPF, DKIM and DMARC records so receiving servers can verify that mail really comes from you. Start with low volumes and increase gradually, because a new address that suddenly sends thousands of messages looks suspicious. For newsletters and bulk mail, a specialist sending service is often a better choice than a general purpose server. Watching bounce messages and feedback loops during the first weeks shows quickly whether major mailbox providers are accepting your mail or quietly filtering it.

Confirming a New Server's Location After Delivery

When you receive a new VPS, remote desktop or dedicated server, it is worth checking how the outside world sees its address. Enter the server IP in the tool above and confirm that the country matches the location you ordered. If you need a particular city for a local service, note what the main databases report. Newly assigned addresses occasionally appear under an older location until geolocation providers refresh their data, which usually resolves within a few weeks. Some services allow you to submit a correction directly. Running this check early means you can raise any lasting mismatch with support straight away. It is also worth checking the reverse DNS and ASN fields, which show the network your server belongs to and help when you configure firewalls, allowlists or email settings.