Why a Mobile IP Shows as Datacenter

Why labels go wrong

No registry records whether an address is mobile. Vendors work it out from several sources: who the range is registered to, which network announces it in routing, how the network describes itself, and what their own measurements show. Each source can mislead.

• Shared ASNs. Many operators announce mobile, fixed and business ranges from the same network number. A range used for enterprise customers yesterday can serve phones today.
• Self-description. PeeringDB, where networks describe themselves, has no mobile category. When we queried it on October 30, 2026, T-Mobile USA's network listed its type as Cable/DSL/ISP.
• Gateways in data centers. Carrier internet gateways sit in large facilities, and measurement-based classification can mistake them for hosting.
• Different vocabularies. MaxMind's connection type database has Cable/DSL, Cellular, Corporate and Satellite. IP2Location's usage types separate MOB, mobile operators, from DCH, data centers and transit, and some ranges carry combined labels. A checker that maps one vendor's Corporate to its own word for hosting produces a confusing result.

That is why two checkers often disagree about the same address.

Confirm the request used the proxy

Before blaming the database, make sure it looked up the right address. Request an IP echo service with and without the proxy:

curl -s https://api.ipify.org; echo
curl -s -x 'http://USER:PASSWORD@HOST:PORT' https://api.ipify.org; echo

If the two match, the request went direct. Common reasons: the app ignores system proxy settings, a browser extension is off for that site, or WebRTC or DNS is leaking. Run the WebRTC leak test and DNS leak test in the same browser profile.

If they differ and the checker still says datacenter about the proxy address, continue. These commands were run with curl 8.7.1 against a local test proxy.

Check the ASN

The autonomous system number tells you which network announces the address in internet routing. It is harder to get wrong than a type label. Two public sources answer it from the command line: RIPEstat's prefix overview endpoint, which uses global routing data, and the PeeringDB API, where networks describe themselves.

# Which network announces the address (RIPEstat, global routing data).
# Replace 203.0.113.7 with the exit address your proxy reports.
python3 -c "import json,urllib.request as u; d=json.load(u.urlopen('https://stat.ripe.net/data/prefix-overview/data.json?resource=203.0.113.7'))['data']; print(d['resource'], [(a['asn'], a['holder']) for a in d['asns']])"

# How that network describes itself (PeeringDB), here for AS21928
python3 -c "import json,urllib.request as u; print([(n['name'], n['info_type']) for n in json.load(u.urlopen('https://www.peeringdb.com/api/net?asn=21928'))['data']])"
[('T-Mobile USA', 'Cable/DSL/ISP')]

Read the result like this:

• The holder is a mobile carrier, such as a name you recognise from the line's listing: the address is a carrier address, whatever the type label says.
• The holder is a hosting or cloud company: the label is probably right, and the traffic may not be leaving through the carrier.
• The holder is the carrier's business or fixed-line brand: ambiguous, and the most common source of disputed labels.

The ASN lookup tool does the first query in a browser.

Report a wrong label

Vendors fix their data when shown evidence:

• MaxMind. The data correction request form covers location, ISP and organization, and other data such as user type and anonymizer flags. You can submit without an account, but you must confirm your email within 24 hours before the request is reviewed. MaxMind's Anonymous IP documentation defines what its hosting flag means.
• IPinfo. The corrections page accepts one-off corrections and geofeeds from network operators.

Include the address, the ASN and holder from the commands above, and what the vendor shows. Requests from the network operator carry the most weight. For a Coronium line, send the exit address and the checker's output to support at hello@coronium.io. Rotating or replacing the line, below, is usually the faster fix.

When to replace a line

A correction can take days, and not every site uses the vendor you corrected. If a site you depend on treats the address as hosting today:

1. Rotate. A rotation reconnects the device and the carrier usually assigns a different public address, often from another range. Rotate by dashboard button, API, rotation link or timer, with at least 60 seconds between rotations. Brazil lines rotate on request only.
2. Replace. Coronium allows up to 2 device replacements per rolling 24 hours. The replacement has new credentials and may be on a different carrier.
3. Check again with the same commands before going back to work.

If every address from one carrier reads as hosting on the site you need, choose another carrier in that country from mobile proxy locations.

Frequently asked questions