In the digital age, the geographic location of servers and the attribution of IP addresses have become important considerations for many businesses when choosing servers. Hong Kong servers, in particular, are favored by many users for their superior network speeds, low latency, high-quality services, and shorter post-sale response times. However, recently, some customers have found that although they purchased servers located in Hong Kong, the location displayed by their IP addresses is in the United States or other regions. Why is this? And how can one check if an IP address is a Hong Kong IP?

Reasons for Mismatched Hong Kong Server IP Addresses

IPv4 Address Exhaustion

The first thing to understand is that IPv4 addresses are now very scarce, especially in the Asian financial hub of Hong Kong. As IPv4 addresses have been exhausted, new IP addresses cannot be allocated. In this context, some regions, such as the United States, despite having a large number of IP addresses, do not actually use them at a high rate. Therefore, through special technical means, these regions’ IP addresses can be “announced” to be used in Hong Kong. Although these IP addresses are physically reassigned to Hong Kong, their registration addresses in the WHOIS information still show as the original allocation location, such as the United States.

IP Address Subleasing

Some service providers may sublease IP addresses from other regions for use with their servers, and these IP addresses are physically redirected to Hong Kong. Although these IP addresses can be used technically without issue, their geographical location information still retains the original registration information.

Setting up VPN or Proxy

Sometimes, users may access the internet through a VPN or proxy service, which can also result in the IP address showing the location of the VPN or proxy server, rather than the actual location of the user’s server.

How to Verify that an IP Address is Indeed in Hong Kong

Using WHOIS Information Query

To verify whether an IP address is a native Hong Kong IP, you can use the WHOIS information query service. If the IP address’s registered location after verification matches the location of the VPS data center providing the service, then the IP is native. Otherwise, it may be a non-native IP.

Latency Time Testing

Open the command prompt (CMD) on your local computer and test the IP address with the PING command. Normally, the latency from mainland China to Hong Kong is about 50ms, and to the United States, it is around 200ms. If the latency time shown in the test results is consistent with Hong Kong standards, then the IP address is likely in Hong Kong.

Considerations When Choosing a Hong Kong Server

Confirm the Real Attribution of the IP Address

Due to business requirements, some customers may specifically need native Hong Kong IP addresses. Therefore, when choosing a server, you should confirm with the service provider whether the provided IP address is a native IP.

Consider Business Needs and Costs

The cost of native Hong Kong IPs is higher, but for certain services (such as game operations, financial trading platforms, etc.), native IPs may be necessary. Customers should weigh their specific business needs and budget when making a choice.

Understand the Reputation of the Server Provider

Choosing a reliable server provider with a good reputation is crucial. The provider’s professionalism, service quality, price transparency, and after-sales service are all factors to consider when choosing a server.