- The address type and carrier are revealed by the network owner, the ASN: for a mobile proxy it is a carrier, not a hosting company
- Geolocation databases differ, and the city for mobile addresses is almost always approximate
- Because of CGNAT, thousands of subscribers go online through gateways in a few large cities
- Check in two or three databases and always look at what the website itself sees: IP, country, WebRTC, time zone
- The carrier, region and city are set in the generator's advanced mode; traffic with precise geo is counted double
You bought a mobile proxy and want to make sure it is really a carrier's address, not a datacenter's. And at the same time find out which carrier it is and which city it is in. The check takes a few minutes if you know where to look.
Below: how to read IP check data, why the city in databases often "wanders", how to check your browser and how to order the carrier you need right away.
What a "mobile address" actually means
A mobile proxy routes your traffic through a 4G/5G carrier's address. To a website, the request looks as if it was sent by a phone on a cellular network. Websites are more careful about blocking such addresses, because ordinary subscribers are often behind one IP.
The network owner helps you understand the address type. Every block of addresses is assigned to an autonomous system with an ASN number. For a mobile address the owner will be a carrier, for a home address an internet provider, for a datacenter address a hosting company or datacenter.
Step 1. Look at the network owner
Open the IP lookup on the My IP page, or another IP check service, and enter the proxy address. We are interested in three fields: the ASN number, the organization name and the network type. The organization name usually tells you right away which carrier it is.
| What the organization field shows | Address type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A mobile carrier | Mobile | Kyivstar, lifecell, Vodafone Ukraine, Orange Polska |
| A home internet provider | Residential | A local cable or fiber internet provider |
| Hosting, cloud, datacenter | Datacenter | Companies that rent out servers |
| A large carrier with several networks | Look at the network type | One ASN can serve both mobile and home subscribers |
The last row matters. Some carriers, for example Deutsche Telekom in Germany, keep both a mobile and a home network under one company. In that case, look at the network type field (mobile, cellular) and at separate ASNs: the mobile side often has its own number.
Step 2. Check the reverse DNS
Many addresses have a reverse DNS record: a name the network gives the address. IP check services show it in the hostname or PTR field. Sometimes the name contains hints: the carrier's name, the words mobile, gprs, lte or a region code.
This is a hint, not proof. Some mobile addresses have no reverse record at all, others have one shared by the whole block. If the name looks like a hosting server, be cautious, but the network owner is still what decides.
Step 3. Do not trust one database for the city
The city is the least accurate field in any IP check. Geolocation databases collect data from different sources: registries, carrier data, latency measurements. So the same address will be in Kyiv in one database, in Dnipro in another, and the third will show only the country.
Mobile addresses have their own reason. Carriers use CGNAT: thousands of subscribers go online through shared gateways under one external address. There are few such gateways, and they are located in a few large cities. A subscriber may be in Zhytomyr while their address "lives" in Kyiv in the databases, where the gateway is.
A practical rule: consider the country and carrier reliable if two or three databases confirm them. The city is a guide, not a fact.
Step 4. See what the website itself sees
Databases are the opinion of third parties. What matters more is what the platform you work on will see. Connect the proxy in your browser or program and open the my IP page. It will show the address, country and WebRTC data the way an ordinary website gets them.
If the address on the page does not match the proxy address, the traffic is bypassing the proxy. Check the settings of your program or extension.
To check from the command line, curl and any public service that returns address data in JSON will do. Insert the username and password from your plan:
curl -x "http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@gw.prokso.com:823" https://ipinfo.io/jsonThe response will contain the address, city, region, country and the org field with the ASN number and the network owner's name. Port 823 gives a new address for every request, so several runs in a row will show different addresses, which is handy for assessing the pool.
Step 5. Check the browser, not just the address
Even the right mobile address will not help if the browser gives away a different location. Check three things.
- Time zone. If the address is Polish but the browser clock shows Kyiv time, the website will notice. In antidetect browsers, the time zone is usually taken from the IP: make sure this option is turned on.
- WebRTC leak. This technology can tell a website your real address, bypassing the proxy. Take the WebRTC leak test: the result should show only the proxy address.
- Browser language. It does not have to match the country, but an odd combination raises more questions on strict platforms.
How to order the carrier and city you need
If you need not just a mobile address in a country but a specific carrier or region, set this when creating the lines. The dashboard generator has an advanced mode: in it you choose a region, city, ZIP and carrier by ASN. More about how location selection works in the glossary: geo-targeting.
- Choose a country, for example Ukraine, Poland or Germany.
- Turn on the advanced mode and specify the carrier: Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine or lifecell.
- If needed, add a region or city.
- Choose the mode: "Rotating (new IP per request)" for data collection or "Sticky session" for working in an account.
- Check the first addresses using the steps above.
Keep usage in mind. Traffic with precise geo (city, region, ZIP or ASN) is counted double. Choosing only a country costs nothing extra. So specify the carrier and city where the task really needs them. Prices per gigabyte are on the pricing page.
And remember a feature of mobile addresses: a sticky IP may change earlier than planned if the device goes offline. The port will get a new address in the same country, but the carrier and city may be different if you did not set them.
When you really need a specific carrier
Paying double for precise geo does not always make sense. Here are the tasks where the carrier or city affects the result:
- checking ads and search results that a platform shows to subscribers of a specific carrier or residents of a city;
- testing a mobile website or app that behaves differently on different carriers' networks;
- working with an account that has always logged in from one carrier's network: a sudden change of network may trigger a check;
- local delivery, taxi and classifieds services, where the content depends on the region.
For collecting general data across a country, checking prices or working with websites without local search results, choosing a country is enough. Precise geo there will only double usage and add almost nothing.
What to do if the check does not add up
The network owner is a hosting company. Check that your program uses the username of the mobile plan, not the datacenter one. In Prokso each type has its own plan and its own username, and they are easy to mix up if you have several plans.
The country is wrong. Look at what is set in the generator. If the address was issued correctly but a database shows a different country, compare in two more services: outdated records happen, especially after a carrier moves a block of addresses.
The carrier is wrong. Without an explicit ASN choice, the generator gives any mobile address in the country. If you need a specific carrier, set it in the advanced mode and check the first addresses.
A short checklist
- The network owner (ASN) is a carrier, and the network type is mobile.
- The country and carrier match in two or three databases.
- The city is a guide: differences caused by CGNAT gateways are normal.
- The "My IP" page shows the proxy address, and WebRTC does not give away the real address.
- The browser time zone matches the country. More about the mobile pool on the mobile proxies page.
FAQ
How can I tell that a proxy is mobile and not datacenter?
Look at the network owner (ASN) in any IP check service. For a mobile address it will be a carrier, for example Kyivstar or lifecell, and the network type will be mobile. If the owner is a hosting company or a datacenter, the address is a datacenter one.
Why do services show different cities for the same IP?
Each database collects data in its own way and updates at its own time. Mobile carriers route addresses through shared gateways, so the city in a database often matches the gateway's city, not the subscriber's.
Can I choose a specific carrier?
Yes. In the Prokso generator's advanced mode, you can choose a carrier by ASN, as well as a region, city or ZIP. Traffic with such precise geo is counted double.
What is a WebRTC leak and why check for it?
WebRTC is a browser technology for calls and video. It can tell a website your real address, bypassing the proxy. You can check this with the WebRTC leak test.
Does the city need to match down to the street?
No. For most tasks, the right country and carrier are enough. The exact city matters for local search results and ads, but even then databases will show it approximately.
