Personal Hotspot / Tethering issue

[Themav]

Hi all,

I have been creating Ebay selling and buying accounts for last 2 years on my MacBook Pro using my iPhone 12 to hotspot / tether via EE network.

this week I started using my new iPhone 14 to hotspot / tether via EE network (only change being a new mobile / cell number.)

I created 5 buying accounts and they were all banned in 20 minutes.

Went back to my old iPhone 12 set up as sim is still active and 5 accounts were created fine.

Does anyone know if there's something i need to turn off on the latest iPhone when hotspot / tethering or if the latest iPhone is somehow telling Ebay I'm the same user?

Ive tried to mirror my settings on my iPhone 14 to the ones on my iPhone 12 such as location services etc but still getting banned.

Quite a specific one but hoping someone has some experience on this, thanks

[ilcarletto]

did you check if IP effectively change from one connection to the other?

[Themav]

hi yes I logged them and all different.

[JamesNorth101]

I expect its to do with it being on EE which has a really limited 5G IP range.

I don't think the old iPhone 12s are on 5g... could be wrong there but mine only ever got 4G back when I had one

On a side note - was a VCC added?

[Themav]

This is the kind of idea sharing i was hoping for - i was scratching my head wondering what the difference could be between the 2 phones and yes the iPhone 4 is 4G and iPhone 14 is 5G so you may have something.

I'm buying items of £15 whilst i test it out and paying with a VCC however i used same brand of VCC's on the 5 accounts on iPhone 12 and they weren't banned.

[JamesNorth101]

Yep I would put money on the IP address being the issue there. Goes without saying to also make sure the eBay app isnt installed on the new phone

[SaiJin]

That shouldn't have mattered but it's weird that your iPhone 14 would be the cause of suspension.

When you tethered do you usually wait until the IP changes?
If it were me I'd shut down the phone's internet completely after each account and restart to get a different IP or info altogether.

Have you tried this?

PS: You don't have any kind of privacy or incognito option on your phone do you?

[Themav]

the IP addresses were different every time - I've just done a test now and done 5 airplane modes and the addresses were all different even from the 5 accounts created before - So even though the IP addresses are different i didn't consider that they would have already been abused?

I didn't copy over my Apple ID/settings/apps from my iPhone 12 so the iPhone 14 basically just being used as the hotspot with no info on it at all.

[JamesNorth101]

Originally Posted by SaiJin

That shouldn't have mattered but it's weird that your iPhone 14 would be the cause of suspension.

When you tethered do you usually wait until the IP changes?
If it were me I'd shut down the phone's internet completely after each account and restart to get a different IP or info altogether.

Have you tried this?

PS: You don't have any kind of privacy or incognito option on your phone do you?

Its more that the new iPhones use 5G and that has a really limited IP range - then EE itself has a further limited 5G IP range.

It means that the phone can be turned off for half a day and still in theory get turned on and get issues the same IP address again.

3/4G has a much much larger range so doenst have the same issue

Back when 4G started to come it it also had a small IP range it used to cause the exact same thing to happen but over the years the 4G IP range has gotten a lot wider so its not a problem anymore

[JamesNorth101]

Originally Posted by Themav

the IP addresses were different every time - I've just done a test now and done 5 airplane modes and the addresses were all different even from the 5 accounts created before - So even though the IP addresses are different i didn't consider that they would have already been abused?

I didn't copy over my Apple ID/settings/apps from my iPhone 12 so the iPhone 14 basically just being used as the hotspot with no info on it at all.

Strange if its actually changing... I would just stock to the old 4G phone then

You can also text out the theory if you want and put your new iPhone into 4G only mode and see if you still get banned. If you do something is funky with that phone. If you don't its down to the 5G

[SaiJin]

Originally Posted by Themav

This is the kind of idea sharing i was hoping for - i was scratching my head wondering what the difference could be between the 2 phones and yes the iPhone 4 is 4G and iPhone 14 is 5G so you may have something.

I'm buying items of £15 whilst i test it out and paying with a VCC however i used same brand of VCC's on the 5 accounts on iPhone 12 and they weren't banned.

If I were you I'd do the following:

try making 1 more account on the iPhone 14 tether.

and 1 extra account using a home IP.

ANd you said your iPhone 12 tether has still been successful after you went back to it correct?

[Themav]

ok I've just created two accounts and made a purchase on each using

IPHONE 14 - Switched it to 4G
IPHONE 14 - 5G

I will take my dog for a walk and update the results when i get back.

If both are banned then i will just use my iPhone 12 and we have all learned something ... but if James idea of switching to 4G works then celebration time.

Will update when i get back ...

[JamesNorth101]

Do let us know

If for some reason the new phone is still getting you linked then I guess its just an ebay spy :D

[Themav]

Both Banned in under 20 mins.

IPHONE 14 - Switched it to 4G - banned
IPHONE 14 - 5G - banned

The only thing i can think is that both the phone and the sim are 5G specific so setting it to 4G might not make it 4G in the truest sense:

What i mean is that doing a quick check when I have logged IP's for 5G its always been these first 7 numbers and either 11 or 12 digits long. The 7th digit being a 2:

213.205.2

but with 4G its either 11 digits or 12 digits long with the 7th digit being a 1:

213.205.1


When i changed my iPhone 14 to 4G the IP address was still a 5G one

213.205.220.**


I have just created another buyer account with my iPhone 12 and will see if it works again.

Anyone on here creating Ebay buyer accounts fine with iPhone 14 on EE?

I really wanted you're idea to work James

[SaiJin]

i only use Residential IP from IPBurger....

[Themav]

Originally Posted by Themav

I have just created another buyer account with my iPhone 12 and will see if it works again.

Using iPhone 12 worked fine again.

I mean i can use my iPhone 12 so its not the end of the world but its a head scratcher that i can't use my all singing all dancing iPhone 14 pro max

[JamesNorth101]

Yep it's and odd one. Sounds like the 4g setting didn't take on the new phone? Maybe reading that wrong though.

[JamesNorth101]

Best suggestion I can give really is get a new sim for the iPhone 14 on say Three. That I am fairly certain if you get the 14 into 4g mode would solve your issue

[Themav]

thanks for you're ideas james - hopefully others will find it helpful.

I will be in touch privately about some feedbacks/defect removal service Cheers!

[Hank]

Originally Posted by SaiJin

That shouldn't have mattered but it's weird that your iPhone 14 would be the cause of suspension.

Agree with saijin. If you're only using it as a hotspot and you know the IP has changed for each account then it's not the phone.

If you're only using the phone as a hotspot ebay can't even see it, their last port of contact is the EE server. They will get absolutely no details about the phone.

So what are you doing for phone numbers when you create the accounts???

[JamesNorth101]

Originally Posted by Hank

Agree with saijin. If you're only using it as a hotspot and you know the IP has changed for each account then it's not the phone.

If you're only using the phone as a hotspot ebay can't even see it, their last port of contact is the EE server. They will get absolutely no details about the phone.

So what are you doing for phone numbers when you create the accounts???

Just a point of note ebay can see other details about the phone from the browser.

[WhatsUpWhatsUp]

Originally Posted by JamesNorth101

Just a point of note ebay can see other details about the phone from the browser.

Do you mind elaborating? I have a stealth account running and was going to fire my second one up this week via a phone with a different browser installed but if they can see the device, I might have just saved myself early enough.