How to change your IP and location: VPN and other methods

Anyone who knows your public IP can find out a lot about you with just a simple IP lookup. So, there are many ways to take advantage of an IP location changer.

• Comparing prices while shopping: Some sites offer different prices to visitors from different countries. Once you learn how to change VPN location, you can hop around the globe and look for the best price.
• Hiding your identity from trackers: If you’re connecting from home, your location is an important part of tracking your identity online. By hiding your location, you can throw off annoying online services that keep trying to track your location.
• Practicing freedom of speech: Hiding your IP address is a necessary step for any privacy-conscious internet user. It's especially important for journalists working on sensitive topics or anyone else who’s concerned about their location being discoverable online.

1. How to change your IP address with a VPN

When you use a virtual private network to hide your physical location, you also change your IP address in the process. Here are the steps you need to take to change your IP address:

1. Get a VPN subscription. You can find NordVPN subscription plans here.
2. Download the VPN app to your device.
3. Launch the application and enter your credentials to log in.
4. Click the “Quick connect” button to connect to the best remote server in seconds.
5. That’s it, you have changed your IP address and location!

If you want to change your VPN server to, say, USA, just tap the country pin, and NordVPN’s smart algorithm will find the fastest server available.

There are other ways to use NordVPN as a location changer as well. You can install it onto your router or download our proxy extension for Chrome or Firefox. In fact, it supports almost any device, and you can even set up a NordVPN on your router. Also, check out NordVPN reviews where people share their experiences about our VPN as an IP address changer tool.

How does a VPN change your IP address and location?

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, changes your apparent location by sending your traffic through a server in another location. Here’s how that works:

1. Your VPN app lets you select a server anywhere in the world where your VPN service has servers. NordVPN, for example, has servers in 60 different countries (in some, you can also select the city). For example, if you pick a server in Texas, any websites you visit will only be able to see the IP address for the server location in Texas.
2. When you connect to the server you’ve selected, your app will form an encrypted tunnel around all of the traffic coming from your device. That VPN tunnel will lead straight to your selected server, which will decrypt your traffic and send it to its final destination. However, your IP address (internet protocol) – which helps determine your location and identity – will now be that of the server. Yours will be hidden from the world.
3. That’s it – anyone using your IP address to discover your location will now see your location as the location of the server. You can still use the app and change your VPN server to new locations whenever you want and acquire new IP addresses.

2. Use a Proxy

In general, it works much like a VPN. A proxy acts as a middleman that connects to the website for you and sends it the proxy's address instead of yours. The most significant difference is that, unlike a VPN, a proxy doesn’t encrypt your connection. By definition, a proxy has to change and modify your IP address, and that's it. VPN services generally offer more features as well.

3. Use Tor

It works by sending your communications through a number of nodes around the world. Each node only knows the node that came before it and the one after it, so it’s difficult to trace the original connection back to you. It also usually has a strong negative effect on your internet speed, as the Tor network usually sends you through at least three nodes.

4. Unplug your modem

When you connect to the internet, your ISP assigns your network an IP address. If you disconnect your modem or router completely, wait a few minutes, and then reconnect, you may be given a new IP address, if the one you had previously has already been assigned to another network. However, there's no guarantee you won't get the same one again.

5. Change networks

If you change your network, you'll appear online with a new IP address, since your public IP address associated with the specific network you're on. However, that's not a very convenient solution, because unless you're traveling around the world before connecting to that new network, you're going to have roughly the same location information.

6. Ask your ISP to change your IP address

You can contact your ISP and ask them to give your network or your device a new IP address. Of course, this really isn't a convenient option to do regularly, and they won't be able to give you a new location, since the IP address they give you will always be tied to the location of your router or your device.

There are a couple of other ways to change your IP address and thus hide your location.

While proxy and Tor are alternatives to a VPN IP changer, they also come in the form of VPN features. For example, NordVPN has proxy extensions for Chrome and Firefox. Unlike most proxy services, they also encrypt your browsing data.

PRO TIP: You can always use NordVPN’s Onion Over VPN feature to connect to the Tor network. With NordVPN, you can stay safe as you browse.

What is the best IP changer? A VPN service like NordVPN is one of the simplest and most effective options available. Not only will your IP address be hidden, but you’ll also get the benefit of placing that protection across 6 devices. It also comes with a lot of other features, including the Threat Protection system, which can protect you from online tracking. You can also try our NordLynx protocol to get the best out of a VPN.