I was intrigued by these locators and decided to try my own IP to test their accuracy...they aren't!

Apparently, I'm posting from the Isle of Man, London & Namibia - although I'm a Sheffield-based user! :huh:

My mate explained all the tech stuff about Gateways etc, but really- can these locators ever be reliable and believeable? :hihi:

Nope, the only people who can tell where you are is your ISP.

IP locators can only trace to the point of origin for your IP, hence your internet service provider, so you could be in sheffield, but the server / router / gate way your ip originates from at your ISP's side could be in croydon (random!) or anywhere else for that matter.