As a VPN user, you expect it to give you a complete protection for your privacy whenever you are. There are lots of VPN services that provide mobile apps to allow the users have their privacy protected wherever they go. By protecting your mobile device, it means that you can stay anonymous wherever you are. However, sometimes, VPN doesn’t work as it is supposed to. There are some common problems related to VPN software that users usually get, such as slow connection speed, IP address leak, the secure connection suddenly disconnected for no reason, and so on.
One of the most common problems that mobile VPN users is experiencing is when their VPN connection doesn’t hide their real location. It means that even though technically they are connected to a private server in another country, their mobile device still shows their real location. So, what do you need to do when you experience this problem? Here are some tips to do when your mobile VPN keeps on revealing your real location:
1. The Culprit Is The GPS System
Sometimes, websites not only scan your IP address, but your GPS location as well. Websites that are location-oriented are usually doing this. So, even though you’ve connected to the private network, if your GPS location shows your real location, then that’s the information that such websites will pick up. Since the GPS location is usually turned on by default on your mobile device, the problem of leaking your real location becomes very common. Actually, this can be convenient when you are accessing relevant websites such as Google Maps, Foursquare, and the like. But, if the other websites cannot see the private IP address of your VPN, then that can be a problem for you.
2. Turn Off The GPS System On Your Mobile Device
If the GPS system starts to give you a real problem in accessing some websites that you would like to visit, then the best way to fix the real location leak is to turn off your GPS system. Make sure that your mobile device can only detect your location via your network connection. This will usually fix the whole situation, and websites will start detecting your VPN IP address once you do that. However, if you would like to access the location-related apps or services, you might need to enable the GPS system back in order to get the best experience out of it.
3. Always Check Your IP Location Before Browsing Other Sites
Before browsing any other sites, make sure that you are checking your IP address by accessing a good IP address lookup website. Take a look at the IP address that is detected from your device. If your real IP address is detected, then it means that there is something wrong with your virtual private network. The IP address that should be detected is the IP address of your private network, not your real IP address. So, ensure that nothing is wrong with your VPN service before having the conclusion that the virtual network doesn’t hide your real location.
4. Change Your VPN Server
Sometimes, it’s necessary for you to refresh your virtual private network by changing your VPN server from time to time. This is because for many services, the private connection can be disconnected immediately if your device is somewhat idle or not doing data transmission at all. At this time, changing the private server can restore the virtual network back to normal as you start using the service to transmit some data from the internet. This can also help fix your real location leak, so you should try it out.
5. You Might Need To Switch To A Different VPN Service
It is no surprise if you are getting various problems when you are using a bad VPN provider. A bad virtual private network can really give you the headache since it brings you lots of problems, such as IP address leak and real location leak. If you are using a bad VPN service, then make sure that you switch to a different service that provides a better experience for you. This type of problem is commonly experienced by the users that use bad or low quality virtual networks. If you can’t fix the problem simply by turning off your GPS and changing your VPN server, then it might be the time for you to subscribe to a premium service or switch to a better service.
Those are the tips that you can do when your mobile VPN keeps on revealing your real location. While this is a common problem with some virtual private networks, this problem can be fixed quite easily. The real problem is whether this occurrence of problem is permanent or just temporary. If you have attempted to troubleshoot the problem and still failed in fixing the real location leak, probably it’s the time for you to change your VPN service provider.