Why does Google think I’m in a different city?
Your IP address is only one of four signals Google uses, and usually the weakest. Fix the stronger ones first.
On this page
Google estimates your location from your device’s location (when you allow it), your saved home and work addresses, places you searched before, and your IP address. If the device signal is off, Google falls back to the rougher ones. Turn on location for Google in your browser or phone, set home and work, and only then report the IP if the country is wrong.
The four signals Google uses
Google’s Search help lists four sources for the location it uses when you search:[1]
- Device location. Phones, computers and watches can often work out a precise location, and Google uses it when you have given permission.
- Home and work addresses. If you saved them in your Google Account, they may be used when you are likely to be at one of those places.
- Past activity. Areas you searched for before can be used to pick a relevant location.
- Your IP address. Google describes IP addresses as “roughly based on geography”, enough for your general area.
Even when it uses a general area, Google says the search covers “an area of at least 3 sq km, or expand until the area represents the locations of at least 1,000 people”.[2] That is why the city it shows can be a neighbouring town, not your street.
Which one is wrong?
| What you notice | Likely signal | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Google shows a city you used to live in | Saved home or work address | Your Google Account’s saved places |
| Google shows a city you searched for recently | Past activity | Web & App Activity in your account |
| Google shows a big city far away, on every device at home | IP address | The IP-location sources for your connection |
| Right on your phone, wrong on your laptop | Device location is off on the laptop | The browser’s location permission for google.com |
Fix the strong signals first
- Allow location for Google where you search. In the browser, allow location for google.com; on a phone, allow location for the Google app. With a precise device signal, the IP rarely matters.[1]
- Set or correct home and work. Old saved addresses are a common reason for an old city.
- Review recent activity. Searching for a city can nudge results toward it for a while.
When the IP really is the problem
If every device on your network shows the same wrong city with location turned off, the IP is the signal Google is leaning on. Two things help:
- Report it to Google if Google products show content for the wrong *country*. Google’s form says it investigates reports, may escalate them, sends no individual follow-up and that updates can take more than a month.[3]
- Ask your ISP to publish or fix its geofeed. The RFC 8805 file is how an ISP tells databases where its address ranges are used.[4] A wrong city for a whole neighbourhood is usually a feed or gateway question, not a Google one.
Is it your IP?
See which city the IP-location databases give your connection, side by side.
Open the Truth CheckWhat to expect
City-level errors from the IP alone are common and often harmless for search. A wrong country is different: it changes language, shopping results and which services work, and it is worth the report.
Sources
- Understand & manage your location when you search on Google · Google Search HelpChecked 5 Oct 2026
- How Google uses location information · Google Privacy & TermsChecked 5 Oct 2026
- Report an IP address problem with Google products · Google Search HelpChecked 5 Oct 2026
- RFC 8805: A Format for Self-Published IP Geolocation Feeds (Aug 2020) · IETF / RFC EditorChecked 5 Oct 2026