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Three constantly changing IP address

bertie_bassett

Pro Member
I've just noticed that my public IP address from Three is changing as frequently as every few minutes. If I open a site like https://myip.expert/ then it will display an IP address as you'd expect. But if I click 'refresh' a few minutes later, the IP address I have is different (only in the last set of numbers, and only by one or two, but different nonetheless). Also, some IP checker sites report a different IP address to others.

This is affecting a specific use-case I have and I'd like to stop it, but I have no idea how to do that. Anyone got any ideas?
 
I've just noticed that my public IP address from Three is changing as frequently as every few minutes. If I open a site like https://myip.expert/ then it will display an IP address as you'd expect. But if I click 'refresh' a few minutes later, the IP address I have is different (only in the last set of numbers, and only by one or two, but different nonetheless). Also, some IP checker sites report a different IP address to others.

This is affecting a specific use-case I have and I'd like to stop it, but I have no idea how to do that. Anyone got any ideas?
Yep, change your APN from 'three.co.uk' to '3internet'.
 
Yep, change your APN from 'three.co.uk' to '3internet'.
I was worried someone would suggest that... because I don't think I'm able to do that as my CPE Pro is heavily locked down by Three, meaning I can't see or change the APN settings.

Unless anyone knows of a clever trick to make the APN settings available?
 
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Is this issue to do with CG-NAT or something?

Also I've only noticed this as a problem in the last day or so - why would it suddenly change?
 
I suspect it is due to CG-NAT, yes. I can't say I noticed the IP changing every few minutes when I've used the three.co.uk APN before, but it may have been.. I wasn't really checking for that. All I know is I occasionally had an issue with online banking (this actually happened more on EE, which also uses CG-NAT) and having to complete lots of captchas.

I'm afraid I don't know anything about changing APN settings on that device.
 
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Out of interest, what is that specific use case you had?
For the past year or so I've used a service called SmartDNSProxy to access my legitimate, paid-for US-based account with a sports streaming service in a country that it is technically geoblocked in. I went to reactivate my account with this service the other day.

The way the SmartDNSProxy service works is that you have to 'activate' your IP address with them, and then change your DNS server to one of their custom ones. This has worked flawlessly for me for ages, but this time when I try to activate my IP with them they detect a different IP to the one I'm shown with sites like https://myip.exert. Also, when I change my DNS server in my devices, my public IP also seems to change. This makes their service unusable as they detect my access from an IP that is different to the one I'm registering with them. I need it to be stable.

This happens on every device - windows PC, phones etc - but only when I'm connected to my Three 5G network. The service works fine when I'm on mobile data, so it must be a Three issue and they must have changed something recently.
 
For the past year or so I've used a service called SmartDNSProxy to access my legitimate, paid-for US-based account with a sports streaming service in a country that it is technically geoblocked in. I went to reactivate my account with this service the other day.

The way the SmartDNSProxy service works is that you have to 'activate' your IP address with them, and then change your DNS server to one of their custom ones. This has worked flawlessly for me for ages, but this time when I try to activate my IP with them they detect a different IP to the one I'm shown with sites like https://myip.exert. Also, when I change my DNS server in my devices, my public IP also seems to change. This makes their service unusable as they detect my access from an IP that is different to the one I'm registering with them. I need it to be stable.

This happens on every device - windows PC, phones etc - but only when I'm connected to my Three 5G network. The service works fine when I'm on mobile data, so it must be a Three issue and they must have changed something recently.
Ah ok. If there turns out to be no way to change the APN setting on that device, could you just use a VPN instead of SmartDNSProxy to access your US sports streaming service?
 
Ah ok. If there turns out to be no way to change the APN setting on that device, could you just use a VPN instead of SmartDNSProxy to access your US sports streaming service?
Yeah so I was happily using a VPN until the service in question had a massive crackdown on their use about 6 months ago. Occasionally a VPN will work, but it's hit and miss at the very least. Since then SmartDNSProxy has been brilliant, but it's just stopped working for me at the moment. It's not their issue as it works for me via other connections (e.g. friend's wifi or my mobile data connection when I set it up as as hotspot), it's definitely something that Three have changed with my connection recently.

I have however just purchased a replacement router which will allow me to change the APN settings, so hopefully that will fix these issues for me. Fingers crossed!
 
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