Forum Discussion

ROLLAWAYNE's avatar
ROLLAWAYNE
Network Novice
4 years ago

is it possible to get a static IP address in order to use HULU as my TV provider?

My TV provider HULU needs a static IP address to ensure my location. Dynamic IP addressing will not work with HULU .

  • cjake's avatar
    cjake
    LTE Learner

    I believe it is Hulu thinking the T-Mobile Home Internet is a mobile internet hot spot instead of a fixed home internet device.   Hulu Live requires a home internet device.   This is a Hulu issue.

  • IXO's avatar
    IXO
    Transmission Trainee

    I stream Hulu via the iOS app and it works fine as is through T-Mobile Home Internet. 

  • formercanuck's avatar
    formercanuck
    Spectrum Specialist

    True - part of the problem is that Home Internet doesn’t have a GPS (i.e. the ‘share your location’) ability.  There is something about this on the T-Mobile Home Internet / Hulu page.  I noticed this when I tried their original Home Internet… works fine on apps through your phone , but not on items like Roku.

  • jewettg's avatar
    jewettg
    Roaming Rookie

    That is strange!   When I use a service like “whatismyipaddress.com”; it gives me my IP address, and a location, right down to the GPS coordinates.  

    Latitude: 35.42  (35° 25′ 12.00″ N)

    Longitude: -97.5561  (97° 33′ 21.96″ W)
    Postal Code: 73119
    IP Details For: 172.56.7.17
    Decimal: 2889352977
    Hostname: 172.56.7.17
    ASN: 21928
    ISP: T-Mobile USA
    Organization: T-Mobile USA
    Type: Wireless Broadband
    Assignment: Likely Static IP
    Continent: North America
    Country: United States
    State/Region: Oklahoma
    City: Oklahoma City

     

    Are you using a device like FireStick, AppleTV, or other?  If so, maybe those have the device location services disabled (for privacy); meaning, something is blocking that from HULU.  Check to ensure that you are sharing your location on whatever platform you are using.

  • djb14336's avatar
    djb14336
    Bandwidth Buddy

    Geolocation and such is screwy in general.  As others have noted, some applications simply do a better job managing it.

    Yes, TMO has some issues they need to address on their end (namely the whole xlat464 "tunneling", CGNAT style setup they use that breaks multiple things), but the vendors should be able to get around the issue with their applications.

    I put an $80 antennae in the attic with a booster, and tapped into the original cable running through the walls (after disconnecting Spectrum), and we get all our locals and more over the air to 3 TV's. So being able to stream local channels really isn't a concern for us.  May be something to consider when shopping streaming services.  About a $150 investment in equipment and extra cable/splitters 3 years ago has allowed us to take less expensive streaming options over the years.

    The on-demand hulu accounts work just fine. So do other services like Funimation and such.  There is also PlutoTV (free, ad supported content).

    SlingTV has worked just fine for live network TV.   Sure, it thinks I am in Charlotte, NC instead of Florence, SC so some of the localized content is a bit off by default... but it is manageable.

    Recently tested Vidgo as well--it worked just fine too.  Am actually switching to them just before our current month of Sling is up (saving a little bit).

    Both services offer a better price for the same content that we consume through a live streaming service.  May want to compare what they offer to see if they may be a viable alternative. 

     

  • MisterK's avatar
    MisterK
    Channel Chaser

    I have similar issues with AT&T TV, but I can watch. They look at my IP address to confirm home location. It’s a bad system since it has no relevance to if I have moved or not. And as we all know, every time you reboot your T-Mobile 5G Gateway it assigns a new IP. So AT&T in their infinite wisdom gives me 20 in home streams. Yep 20!!! Can you imagine ever getting to 10? But once I reboot my gateway 4 times, then AT&T locks me out for a year and limits me to two streams. SO as cake says this is a Hulu issue, or in my case an AT&T issue. There are other and beter ways to determine home location. And I hope with time these streaming companies that use static IP for the test will get with the 2021 world and fix this. I checked with the other streaming services and t’sonly Hulu and AT&T that use static IP.

  • djb14336's avatar
    djb14336
    Bandwidth Buddy

    Well, it isn't exactly a static IP that is needed.

    It is more an issue of how the IP you are using is identified in the databases they query.

    ASN/registrar information, GeoData, etc.

    Some sites can still figure out I am actually in Florence, SC while others run a query that puts me in the Charlotte, NC area.

    I used Hulu Live and DirecTV Now(before it was rebranded to AT&T TV) for a long time with Spectrum, and my IP could change as often as once a month with them, depending on how many issues we were having (sometimes it would change after outages/maintenance/etc.).  Even the brief year or so I was on PS View it didn't really matter either... so long as it was still reporting the proper area, I was fine.  Only time I had an issue with any streaming service was when I was briefly flipped to a subnet that got identified in the Charleston area... so long as I stayed in the "Pee Dee Region" market, I was fine.

  • MisterK's avatar
    MisterK
    Channel Chaser

    The reason these streamers use home location is to limit the number of people you could give your login to that are not in your “home” family. The streamers that don’t use “home” location limit the number of streams to three. As I noted earlier, AT&T TV allows 20 in home streams, and that is nuts since no one can reach that limit. I’ve suggested to AT&T that they forget about “home” use and limit the streams to three, and if a user needs more streams than charge extra for the add-on streams.