ip addresses

Richard's old 2008 Mac will knock other devices off the network when he downloads something with it. Leo says to make sure each device has its own IP address.

Phil uses a VPN and he wants to know if it slows him down. Leo says that it depends on the VPN and how many worldwide servers they have. ExpressVPN has been rated as the fastest. And while Phil's 50 MB down is slower than not using a VPN, it's still fast enough to do streaming in HD, which is what Phil uses it for.

Johnny has an Eero mesh router and is attaching his HD HomeRun DVR to his network through powerline networking. Will he have issues with configuring it? Leo says that the HDHomeRun software should do it automatically. But if he's doing it manually, he can go into Eero settings under devices and see the IP addresses of each device. But the HDHomeRun has automatic discovery. It should connect to the network on its own with no manual entering. 

Al says that YouTube TV won't let him use a VPN now. Leo says that's because they want to know your location. But how do they know he's using a VPN? Leo says that there's no perfect way to detect a VPN, but if it's being done by a known IP address, that tells the tale. So Google knows what IP address VPN servers are using and some VPNs aren't good at masking it. Try another server or service that rotates IP addresses. Leo uses ExpressVPN (a sponsor of the TWiT Network).

Gary uses TMobile's home service for $50 a month. Speeds fluctuate from 25-115 MBps. Leo says that's pretty usable. Gary likes YouTube TV, but TMobile thinks he's in another city, and so he can't get local TV. Leo says that's the problem with mobile-based internet. It's based on where your IP is located. It's a universal problem because people trust geo-located IP and it's never accurate. Leo says that there may be a way by contacting YouTube.

​Doctor Mom says that YouTube now has a page where you can tell YouTube TV where you are.

Brett has moved to ExpressVPN, but he's having issues surfing to his own IP. It worked fine with his old VPN, but not ExpressVPN (who is a sponsor of the TWiT Network). What can he do? Leo says to check your router settings. It may be that in your devices, there could be a security issue that's blocking it. Leo does that with his network for his NAS. Leo also says that Brett's problem may be due to his previous VPN being less secure. 

Neal has a cheap Samsung laser printer that he used wirelessly connected to his ASUS router. But it would only work in the less secure WEP. He would disconnect it when he didn't use it. But now, he's picked up an Eero Mesh router and it doesn't support WEP. It's configurable through an internet interface, but how does he do that?  Leo says that to connect, just enter the IP address in the browser in the desktop. Even an iPad will be able to do it. Then he should be able to connect to it and enter the wifi access point, name, and password. It should then open up the printer interface.

Todd bought an Eero mesh router and he wants to know if he should enable IPv6. Leo says he did. IPv6 gives more space for more websites, and is a much better system. Instead of a "dotted quad" of numbers, it has eight sections of numbers separated by colons, offering so many possibilities that everyone could have their own internet address. The problem is, routers have to be upgraded, and ISPs don't want to spend the money. So we're stuck with IPv4 for now. But IPv6 will speed things up if he enables it.

Howard's Windows computer thinks he's in China when he uses Skype. Leo says to go into your Windows region settings and check the location setting. By default Skype will self populate the location for you. There could be a problem with his IP address. There's probably a batch of IP addresses that used to belong to an ISP in China and it's associating with it. Your ISP should be able to fix that if you request a new IP address. You can also just unplug your router and then plug it back in and it will get reassigned. Check out MaxMind.com. They provide IP Address Geo Location.

Jim says that every time he does a search on Google Maps, it always comes up with a location in Richardson, TX. Leo says that's probably a regional default when Google Maps can't find what he wants it to find. It may also be that Google Maps thinks that's where he is. Google can sometimes use IP addresses to figure out where you are so it can do a search for locations near you. An IP address can also be read as part of the ISP's headquarters, though. AT&T HQ is in Dallas/Richardson, so that is likely why it's showing up that way. There's not much Jim can do about that.