UK IP Address While Roaming
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12-05-2022 08:40 PM
I'm current roaming but my IP address shows as a UK IP address owned by EE when I check it on various IP-checking websites.
This is a bit of a pain when accessing local websites that assume location by IP address, but it also seems to be causing the data to be very slow. Even on 4g I top out around 4mbps and have pings of 200ms+ to the UK and 300ms+ to a server that is only a few miles away.
All of this makes me think that my mobile data traffic is being proxied through an EE server in the UK, leading to a degraded service. Is this the case? If so, can I opt of this?
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12-05-2022 10:51 PM
Hi @JosephDuffy
Call & data routing whilst roaming can be complex, in-country voice calls can be routed locally but mobile data will use EE's core network.
This is not something user-selectable.
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12-05-2022 08:58 PM
@JosephDuffy Your using a roaming network and the speed you are getting will depend on what agreement EE and that roaming network have with each other. Have you just tried restarting the device?
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12-05-2022 09:18 PM - edited 12-05-2022 09:18 PM
I've restarted the device, tried manually selecting networks to test different carriers, and tried using automatic.
I can understand having a slower speed due to agreements with the local carriers (plus no 5g, general variability meaning I just got unlucky, etc.). Perhaps the same could explain the higher than expected pings too.
Even allowing for variance getting a better ping to UK servers compared to ones less than 10 miles away and always getting a UK EE IP address points to the traffic being routed through the UK?
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12-05-2022 09:24 PM
@JosephDuffy Your phone will always been connected through to EE as EE is uk based. Even if you call a local number it’ll get routed through EE before going through, Your usage have to be registered against your account.
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12-05-2022 10:51 PM
Hi @JosephDuffy
Call & data routing whilst roaming can be complex, in-country voice calls can be routed locally but mobile data will use EE's core network.
This is not something user-selectable.
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12-05-2022 11:10 PM
It makes sense too for when you are trying to reach country-restricted content from a UK phone wherever it may be located.
To phone EE CS: Dial Freephone +44 800 079 8586 - Option 1 for Mobile Phone & Mobile Broadband or Option 2 for Home Broadband & Home Phone
ISPs: 1999: Freeserve 48K Dial-Up > 2005: Wanadoo 1 Meg BB > 2007: Orange 2 Meg BB > 2008: Orange 8 Meg LLU > 2010: Orange 16 Meg LLU > 2011: Orange 20 Meg WBC > 2014: EE 20 Meg WBC > 2020: EE 40 Meg FTTC > 2022:EE 80 Meg FTTC SoGEA > 2025 EE 150 Meg FTTP
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12-05-2022 11:15 PM
Thank you for confirming. I wish it were possible to opt out of this so I don't have a 300ms latency on every request, but I understand the reasoning.
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12-05-2022 11:18 PM
This is a tradeoff that for me falls on the side being less useful. Lots of home routers support being a VPN server so it's easy (and free) to have access to a secure UK VPN, but accessing an IP in the country you're roaming in requires access to a local internet connection or a 3rd party VPN.
