Being blocked online can be frustrating, whether it’s a forum lockout, a game ban, or a temporary IP restriction. The good news is that you don’t always need a VPN to get around these restrictions. A hotspot on your phone can give you a new IP in an instant.
Why do I need to change my IP?
Changing your IP doesn't always involve hiding or changing your location. It can be as simple as needing to reset after being banned from a forum, banned from a game, or having your speed limited when collecting data for research purposes.
These cases don't require you to be in another country, nor do they require military-grade encryption. You simply replace your current IP address with a new one.
Luckily, your smartphone already has what you need to quickly change your IP address without a VPN. All you need to do is turn on your mobile hotspot and you can connect to your computer with your new IP address.
How do mobile hotspots (and CGNAT) hide in the crowd?
Cellular carriers use a technology called Carrier-Grade NAT (CGNAT). Instead of giving each phone its own public IP address , carriers route hundreds or even thousands of users through a single address. When you browse the web over a cellular connection, websites only see your shared public IP, not your individual device identifier.
This creates a degree of natural anonymity. The IP address you are using is probably being used by dozens of other people in the city. When you turn on airplane mode and get a new IP, you are not only changing your address, you are also joining a completely different group of users.
Cellular networks also route traffic through multiple layers. First, your laptop communicates with your phone. The phone translates that connection through its own internal network. Then, the carrier’s CGNAT system re-translates that connection before connecting to the Internet. Each layer adds another level of separation between you and the websites you visit.
At first glance, it may seem like the carriers are protecting your privacy, but that’s not the goal. CGNAT is built to stretch the dwindling supply of IPv4 addresses , not to protect your identity. Any anonymity you gain is just a side effect of being lost in a shared infrastructure.
How to change IP address using mobile hotspot
The easiest way to change your IP is to use your phone's hotspot. Just connect your computer to the network, turn on and off airplane mode, and you'll get a new IP instantly.
Note : Turning on airplane mode usually gives you a new IP, but sometimes carriers give you the same IP. If that happens, just repeat the steps - the network will eventually assign you a different address.
Every time you disconnect and reconnect to your cellular network, your carrier assigns you a new IP from their pool. Carriers have thousands of IP addresses and they rotate them between users constantly. You just have to force the rotation on demand.
This works because mobile carriers use dynamic IP allocation. Unlike home internet, which can keep the same IP for weeks, mobile connections will take whatever IP is available from the pool.
So by turning on your mobile hotspot, you can quickly switch between different IP addresses from the same provider without a VPN. This is perfect for testing, researching, or getting around temporary restrictions – just don’t expect it to fool anyone who looks closely.
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