Tethering Question for iPhone 5 (V Technical)

[bobby78]

Hi All,
I have a question regarding the iPhone 5 and tethering. This is a very technical question and cannot find ANYTHING about it on the web. Also, I really don't know where to begin.

Around 2 years ago I was using an iPhone 3Gs and was introduced to the world of tethering. I could connect on my mac, and my IP (on the iMac) was completely different every time. For example the only the first two numbers would remain the same 31.6.X.X with the last two being completely different every time. Here comes the question.

Two months ago I bought an iPhone 5. However, when I connect now, the first 3 digits of my IP are fixed, rather than just the first two. Can someone explain why this has happened? And if there is a way of changing it?

For some background info, I work in marketing, and it's good for my IP to continuously change for the work I do. It's nothing illegal, just my competitors struggle to track what I'm doing if every time I hit refresh on my iphone my IP changes. The reason for this is I can track what they do, and they can't track me giving me an advantage I'd like to keep. If anyone has any knowledge on why this is happening I'd be very grateful.

As an added problem, when I was using the iPhone 3Gs, the IP would be different on my iMac and iPhone when they were both connected through tethering. Not that it matters, but thought it might help with the diagnostics.

 

[SanjeevRana]

Tethering enables your phone to connect to PC/Mac using a local subnet which is accessible only within your phone and PC/Mac. No outside device can connect to it unless they also tether onto your connection (not possible without your password)

The last digit will still keep changing and there are 256 combinations for it ... so you should not need to worry

 

[bobby78]

Thanks for getting back to me. It's not a worry, more that from a technical perspective I would like to know why on the iPhone 3Gs the Submask is 'more random' than the iPhone 5

 

[takeshi74]

I would like to know why on the iPhone 3Gs the Submask is 'more random' than the iPhone 5

That's not necessarily the case. Coincidental != causal. Your carrier may have changed things on their end. Have you verified on a 3Gs side by side with the 5?

 

[bobby78]

Yes I've compared them and they seem to be operating differently and cannot understand why. To give some more background on this, the new submask IP, looks pretty much fixed.

Since work I do makes my IP visible to other via logs etc, its easy to see what I'm working on for my clients not something that would be good as they can be approached by competitors etc. Before when using the iPhone 3gs tethering, the IP was much more random meaning to the naked eye that it could have been anyone from the UK, as two numbers were changing.

Just very frustrating that they seem to be operating differently and no one knows why.

 

[Ste Nova]

but.... that's not your outgoing ip?

 

[bobby78]

It appears to be. Sorry I'm not the most 'tech' person in the world so my explanations probably aren't great.

The IP I'm discussing was the one that seemed to be visible. If for example if I connected through tethering, on both the logs and on Google when I type in 'whats my ip' it appeared that the tethering IP I'm discussing was the visible IP. Then if I turned my phone off and on again, the IP would change, and also how I appeared on Google and the logs with my IP.

This may have raised another point then, is this IP which appears on Google just a front? And I in fact have a static IP somewhere that is visible to others? Just strange as I always thought mobile devices worked off a non-static IP?