Your IP Has Been Banned: How to Fix IP Ban Errors
Learn why some sites or services permanently ban IP addresses, how this differs from temporary blocks, and what you can do about it.
Why IP Addresses Are Banned
Unlike temporary rate limits, an IP ban usually reflects repeated policy violations, suspected abuse, or association with malicious activity. Sites may ban IPs involved in spam, cheating, scraping, or attacks against their infrastructure.
In some cases, bans may be broad, affecting entire ranges associated with data centers, VPNs, or proxies, which can unintentionally impact legitimate users sharing those addresses.
Dealing with an IP Ban
If you encounter an IP ban, review the site’s terms of service and any error messages for clues. Contact support if the ban seems mistaken, providing relevant details such as your account name, approximate time of access, and whether you were using a VPN or shared connection.
Switching networks—for example, using mobile data instead of home broadband—or changing VPN servers may temporarily bypass an IP-based block, but it does not resolve underlying policy issues and may violate site rules.
Preventing Future IP Ban Issues
To reduce the risk of bans, avoid aggressive automated scraping or behavior that resembles attacks. Use official APIs where available, respect rate limits, and follow platform guidelines for acceptable use.
If you run services that others use, monitor for abuse originating from your network, enforce strong authentication, and respond promptly to abuse reports so your addresses are less likely to be blacklisted or banned by other providers.