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sandman20's avatar
sandman20
Aspirant
May 02, 2024

network thinks I'm in a different country

I just returned home from vacation in Denmark.  Devices that traveled with us are 2 cell phones and a PC laptop.

 

Now that we are back at home and connected to the home network via R6250, the network seems to think we are still in Denmark.  This applies to the devices that traveled with us as well as my work laptop and home desktop PC.  Problems include things like Google Maps defaulting to Denmark (annoying but minor), ads in Danish, web pages coming up in Danish (bigger issue), and inability to connect to child's school network because it thinks the request is from out of the country.

 

When I take my work laptop (Surface) to work and connect to their network, everything returns to normal.  Further, when I change from my home network/router to the hotspot on my phone, it immediately returns to normal.  

 

I can only conclude based on these results that there is an issue with the network/router.  I cannot fathom how something would have gotten changed (needless to say the router never left home), nor how to fix it.  More frustrating, when I go to sites like www.whatismyipaddress.com, it indicates my home in the US.

3 Replies

  • michaelkenward's avatar
    michaelkenward
    Guru
    May 03, 2024
    sandman20 wrote:

     

    I can only conclude based on these results that there is an issue with the network/router. 

    Have you ruled out that it  might be your cellphones and/or laptop that think you have migrated?

     

    They seem more likely candidates than a router that has never left the country. As it is, your router is not involved in Google's searches and where it finds ads.

     

    If this is a Windows laptop, have you checked it for Language & Region? Not knowing which version of Windows you might have you'll have to track down the setting yourself.

     

    Then there is Google itself and you cached data.

     

    As to the router, it has region settings for the wifi. You don't say where you are. In the USA it is fixed. Elsewhere you can change it in the Wireless Settings Screen Fields.

     

    That's it. No other geographical settings according to the manual.

     

    • sandman20's avatar
      sandman20
      Aspirant
      May 03, 2024

      Thanks for the reply.  I took both cell phones and the travel laptop off the home network and reset the router.  With those devices still quarrantined, both my work laptop and home desktop that never traveled still show web searches in Danish.

       

      Also, as I said when I connect the laptop to my phone's hotspot via cellular data, everything works as it should.  

       

      All very strange to me.  I've updated the router firmware to the latest version, with no change.

      • michaelkenward's avatar
        michaelkenward
        Guru
        May 03, 2024
        sandman20 wrote:

        Thanks for the reply.  I took both cell phones and the travel laptop off the home network and reset the router.  With those devices still quarrantined, both my work laptop and home desktop that never traveled still show web searches in Danish.

         

        And Windows?

         

        I have seen these "deportation" events when travelling in the USA from the UK.

         

        The network stayed at home. I had to tell the laptop that I had returned home.

         

        Checked the time zones?