For a website to identify you as a visitor from another country, select that country in your VPN client, connect and check your external IP address. For connections through a VPN, the site sees the server's address: an American one instead of a British one, for example. Your device's geolocation and account region change separately, however. That is why we first check the country by IP, then open the site in question.
How does a website determine the country from an IP address?
An IP address — that is, an Internet Protocol address — is needed for transferring data. Websites can see its public version. The country is not written into it: the site checks the address against a geolocation database in which addresses are mapped to territories.
A VPN is a virtual private network. For our task, it routes the connection through a server whose external address the site sees. The chain looks like this:
- Without a VPN: your internet provider's address → geolocation database → country of connection.
- With a VPN: the exit server's address → geolocation database → that server's country.
From the UK you can connect via a US IP, and from abroad, via a British one. The principle is the same for any other country. This is how EFF explains the location a site sees when you use a VPN.
How does a website determine the country from an IP address?
it routes the connection through a server whose external address the site sees.
The country is not written into it: the site checks the address against a geolocation database in which addresses are mapped to territories.
There is an intermediate link here: the address database. MaxMind estimates the country-detection accuracy of its databases at 99.8%. Other companies' databases may differ, especially for new and mobile addresses. A city is determined less reliably than a country.
If you simply need a new address, see our overview of ways to change your IP and country. Reconnecting to your provider and exiting through a foreign server solve different tasks.
How does a website determine the country from an IP address?
What changes after connecting?
We change the network address of the connection. The site may obtain the rest of the information separately.
| What the service sees | What the VPN does | Where the old region comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Country by public IP | Substitutes the exit server's address | The site's database identifies that address differently |
| Device geolocation | Does not change the coordinates | Browser or app permission to determine location |
| Account region | Does not edit the profile | Saved settings, addresses and history |
| Page language | Does not switch the language by itself | Browser, site or account settings |
Device geolocation determines position, for example, via the GPS satellite system or Wi-Fi networks. The browser passes this information to the site with your permission, as described in the browser geolocation documentation.
An ordinary website, a streaming service and an online shop use different combinations of signals. A shop being in English does not prove that it sees a British IP.
How to choose a location and check the result
To change your country, I recommend CitadelVPN: the service lists more than 40 locations, from which you can select the desired exit in a compatible client. Start by checking whether the country you need is in the list of connections. The availability and speed of a particular connection have not been tested here; a country being recognised by a particular site is not guaranteed, so I would first check the result using the instructions below.
- Open the public IP check page before connecting, and note the address and country for comparison.
- Select the desired location in the VPN client: the USA, the UK or another country. Automatic server selection may result in a different country.
- Connect and wait for the connection confirmation in the app. Selecting an entry in the list is not enough on its own.
- Refresh the IP check page. Make sure the address has changed and the expected country has appeared. If they do not match, compare the result with another check.
- Open the site in question again. If the IP is already new but the region is the old one, check the signals in the next section.
On a Mac the procedure is the same. Changing the local address on your home network does not select a foreign country. There is a separate guide on how to change your IP and country on a phone.
What to check if a site shows the old country
Start with the symptom. If the service takes the region from your profile, reconnecting will not fix it.
| Symptom | Likely signal | What to check | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| The IP changed but the check shows a different country from the one selected | Geolocation database | Compare the two checks and ask support which country the address is registered to | MaxMind |
| Google shows the old city | Device, saved places or activity | Look at the location source at the bottom of the results | Google Help |
| The site receives actual coordinates | Geolocation permission | Open this site's permissions in your browser | Geolocation documentation |
| The old region returns after signing in | Account and history | Check the profile region and saved settings | EFF |
In Google, the label "From your device" means the source is your device, "Based on your places" means saved places, and "Based on your past activity" means past activity. The label "From your internet address" points to the internet address. Check this line before changing the server.
If you do not want to transmit your device's coordinates, I would revoke the location permission for that site in the browser. Refresh the page. Saved addresses in your account remain in place.
An example situation: you are in London, the check shows a US IP, but the search shows London with the label "from your device". We revoke the geolocation permission. That channel for transmitting coordinates is closed; the account's saved places are checked separately.
Can you choose a different country without a VPN?
Restarting the router may give you a different provider IP, but it does not select a foreign country. For more detail, see what you can do without a VPN.
On Mac and iPhone there is iCloud Private Relay. Apple describes it as a privacy protection for browsing in Safari. It issues a temporary IP but does not select an arbitrary country and does not replace a whole-device VPN. To change your country, I would use a client with location selection.
Which questions remain after the check?
Why is a server in Germany identified as a different country?
This can happen because geolocation databases differ. The connection's name and the record of the IP in the site's database are different pieces of information. Report the address and the results of your checks to support to clarify the cause.
Will a site determine my real city through a VPN?
It may, if it obtains information from the device or the account. From the VPN address it determines the exit location, not your actual position.
Does changing the country guarantee access to streaming or another site?
No. Services may detect and block VPN connections, as EFF warns. I would check the access terms of the service itself: having an IP in the desired country does not by itself give you the right to watch or guarantee that you can.
Check the address, the country and the location source
Select the VPN exit country, connect and refresh the IP check. A new address and the expected country confirm the result for that check. If the site in question shows the old region, check for geolocation database discrepancies, the browser permission and the account. Changing your IP does not change the device's coordinates or the saved region.