IP vs Hardware Geolocation: Why is my city wrong?
If you've ever opened a map on your desktop computer and noticed it thinks you are 50 miles away in a major city, you've experienced the flaw of IP Geolocation.
1. What is IP Geolocation?
Every device connected to the internet is assigned an IP (Internet Protocol) address. Databases exist that map these IP addresses to physical locations. However, these databases rarely point to your house.
Instead, they point to the geographic location of your Internet Service Provider's (ISP) routing hub. If you live in a rural area, your internet traffic might be routed through a server rack in a city two hours away. This is why IP geolocation is functionally useless for emergency services or precise navigation.
2. What is Hardware Geolocation?
Hardware geolocation (used by TellMyLocation) bypasses your internet connection entirely. It asks your device's internal GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) chip to speak directly to satellites in medium Earth orbit.
This method calculates your position based on the time it takes radio signals to travel from space to your phone, resulting in accuracy down to a few meters.
This tool plots what your ISP tells the internet vs. where your GPS chip actually is.
3. The VPN Effect
If you use a Virtual Private Network (VPN), the gap between IP location and Physical location becomes extreme. A VPN intentionally masks your IP, making your network traffic appear to originate from the VPN server. You could be sitting in Texas, but your IP geolocation will show you in Switzerland.
If you are trying to use a browser-based GPS tool and it shows you in the wrong country, turn off your VPN to allow the browser to request hardware-level coordinates.