While watching a game stream, has the gamer’s one- or two-digit ping stunned you? How come they get such low pings, whereas your ping is always in three digits? Before you assume the gamer is using secret means, it is likely because they invested in a geo filtering router.
Geo filtering routers let you connect only to the fastest, nearby servers. When you connect to geographically close servers, your data takes less time between you and the server. This delivers a very pleasurable lag-free gameplay or content access.
In this article, we’ll explore router geo filtering in detail and show you how to set it up. But before we begin, here’s a basic overview of geo filtering.
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What Is Geo Filtering?
Geo-filtering is a practice of allowing and disallowing access to online content for certain IP addresses or regions.
For instance, entities, including governments and streaming services, use geo-filtering for different reasons. Countries might restrict content that goes against their national interest or cultural values. The TikTok ban in the U.S. is a recent example.
On the other hand, streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime geo-filter content to enforce licensing agreements and local laws. However, instead of restricting access to the entire service, geo-filtering only gatekeeps specific content.
This is because content sellers selectively sell their rights. So, if they sell a movie’s rights to Netflix for the U.S. only, Netflix cannot stream the film outside the U.S.
But it’s not just governments or corporations that can use geo-filtering. You can, too! Why would you do that, though? Geo filtering can be useful for individuals in blocking sites and services they don’t want to interact with. One of the most popular ways individuals can use this feature is through a geo filtering router.
How Does Geo-filtering Work on a Router?
If you’re into online gaming, you’ve likely experienced the frustration of high ping times or poor server performance. This may happen because you’re playing on a server halfway worldwide. When your gaming traffic travels through distant servers, your in-game actions face delays.
You can avoid such frustrating gameplays by joining servers closest to your location as they offer lower latencies. You can control which region servers to connect to through a geo filtering router. They can work with both your gaming console and high-end PC gaming rig.
Using the router’s geo-filter feature, you can set up a virtual fence around certain geographical regions. These geofences, which are of different shapes, force your router to connect you to servers only from those locations.
Let’s say you draw a geofence only around North America because the servers offer the fastest response times. The geo filter will scan the gaming server location of any connection attempt from your connected device. Using the retrieved location, the router will allow or block servers based on whether they fall in your specified fence.
As a result, instead of bouncing between random servers, you focus on a specific region with better ping and fewer surprises.
Can I Configure Geo-filtering on My Existing Router?
Most regular off-the-shelf routers typically don’t come with a geo-filter feature. These routers are more suitable for general browsing, streaming, or basic online tasks. Therefore, they don’t offer advanced network control.
If you’re after a geo filtering router, a gaming router might be worth the investment. Some popular higher-end gaming routers include the Nighthawk Pro Gaming series or the ones by Asus and TP-Link. These routers offer geo filtering as a native feature. Sure, money for gaming routers can add up. But to improve your gaming benchmarks or online experience, they are your best bet.
However, if you still don’t want to spring for a gaming router, there are some workarounds through your existing router.
For example, some routers allow firmware or software updates, and one of those updates may include the geo-filter feature. Flashing a custom firmware like DD-WRT onto compatible routers can sometimes give them advanced capabilities.
Another option is to use third-party software that mimics some capabilities of gaming routers. However, these solutions may not work as smoothly and require a fair deal of technical know-how.
How Do I Set Up Geo-Filtering on My Router?
Setting up a geo filter depends on the geo filtering router and the model you’re using.
For example, the setup of a Nighthawk Pro Gaming router having DumaOS 2.0 may differ from that running the DumaOS 3.0. DumaOS 2.0 supports simple geo filtering only around a user’s location.
On the other hand, DumaOS 3.0 supports custom geofences and has the ping heat map feature.
Here are seven steps to get your Nighthawk geo filtering router up and running:
- On your browser, visit www.routerlogin.net. This will bring up the login page for your router’s control panel.
- Enter your username and password. If you haven’t changed these, you can find them on the router.
- After logging in, the DumaOS dashboard will open. Click on Geo-Filter in the left pane, and a map will appear.
- Click the Add Device button in the window, select your connected device, and press Next.
- Select a game you want to apply the settings in the next menu. Press Next.
- Toggle the Polygon Mode at the bottom of the screen. Use the pencil and draw geofences around regions with good servers.
- Use the Ping Heat Map feature on the left panel to decide which regions to include or exclude. The heat map shows ping times to various gaming server locations worldwide.
- Once your geofences are set, test them out by playing a few game rounds. If you’re still encountering lag, revisit the Ping Heatmap and make adjustments.
FAQ Related to Geo Filtering Router
What types of content can be blocked using geo-filtering?
Geo-filtering can block access to servers, websites, media such as videos, movies, songs, and even individual users.
Who should use geo-filtering routers?
Geo-filtering routers are ideal for gamers who want to connect to servers of their choice and get lower pings. They’re also useful for individuals who want to block sites and services they don’t want to interact with.
What are the benefits of using a geo-filtering router?
A geo-filtering router reduces lag by connecting to nearby servers. It lets you make separate geofences for each connected device and game. It also specifically lets you block servers with bad reputations.
What is a geo-filtering router?
A geo-filtering router has features that allow users to connect to servers from specific regions only. Some of them let you connect to servers nearest to your location, while advanced models let you connect to servers from anywhere in the world.
Free Tool for Geo Filtering IPs!
While a geo filtering router has less to do with IP addresses, businesses needing geo filtering will require IPs for setup.
For example, if you want website traffic only from a specific region, you’ll have to geolocate visitor IPs before giving them access.
But for this, you’ll need geolocation services like geoPlugin. geoPlugin lets you geolocate the location data of up to 120 IP addresses in a minute free of cost.
So try geoPlugin now and filter bad traffic in the cheapest way possible!
