dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
uniqs
15

wmcbrine
join:2002-12-30
Laurel, MD

wmcbrine to billhere

Member

to billhere

Re: [HD] STB Exchange

said by billhere:

This has nothing to do with set-top boxes, but for about a week after Verizon sent me a replacement router from West Chester, PA, the location service on my iPod Touch thought I was in Virginia.

Coincidence. Those services are based on IP addresses, and your address changed when you changed your router -- but it also changes when, e.g., the power goes out -- as well as, potentially, at any random time. The IP addresses come from a pool, so the service thinks you're at whatever location it last had for that IP, until you or someone (or something?) else updates it.
kes601
join:2007-04-14
Virginia Beach, VA

kes601

Member

said by wmcbrine:

said by billhere:

This has nothing to do with set-top boxes, but for about a week after Verizon sent me a replacement router from West Chester, PA, the location service on my iPod Touch thought I was in Virginia.

Coincidence. Those services are based on IP addresses, and your address changed when you changed your router -- but it also changes when, e.g., the power goes out -- as well as, potentially, at any random time. The IP addresses come from a pool, so the service thinks you're at whatever location it last had for that IP, until you or someone (or something?) else updates it.

Not necessarily. Apple (and other) wifi devices use location services based upon where a particular WiFi network is physically broadcasting from. If the router was refurbished and previously in VA, then the iPod Touch could very much think the router was in VA.

»gps.about.com/od/glossar ··· tion.htm
UnnDunn
Premium Member
join:2005-12-21
Brooklyn, NY

UnnDunn to wmcbrine

Premium Member

to wmcbrine
said by wmcbrine:

Coincidence. Those services are based on IP addresses, and your address changed when you changed your router -- but it also changes when, e.g., the power goes out -- as well as, potentially, at any random time. The IP addresses come from a pool, so the service thinks you're at whatever location it last had for that IP, until you or someone (or something?) else updates it.

It's based off of MAC addresses, not IP addresses. A company called SkyHook maintains a large database of MAC addresses and their locations. You can update the info for your router here. Or wait for it to happen automatically based on their scans.