How OpenAI Evaluates IPs
① Regional gate: OpenAI maintains an explicit list of supported countries — mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Russia are not supported, while Myanmar, Cambodia, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, and others are. An unsupported region means direct blocking/banning.
② Anonymizing egress: Even in a supported region, VPN / proxy / Tor egress is heavily scrutinized by OpenAI.
③ Datacenter IPs: ChatGPT's web app and login are sensitive to datacenter (IDC) IPs; Codex/API usually works fine over datacenter IPs, but a residential IP is recommended for registration and login.
Next Steps
Frequently Asked Questions
Does OpenAI (ChatGPT) ban accounts based on IP?
IP is one of the key risk signals. First, OpenAI checks whether your IP's country is on its supported list — mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Russia are not supported, and direct access will be denied. Even in supported regions, VPN / proxy / datacenter egress IPs are heavily scrutinized and can easily trigger verification or a ban.
Do Codex / API and the ChatGPT web app have the same IP requirements?
The regional rules are the same (both follow OpenAI's supported country list). The difference: Codex/API usually works fine over a datacenter IP, but ChatGPT web login and account registration are more sensitive to datacenter IPs. The safe approach is to use a clean residential IP for registration/login.
I'm in Hong Kong/mainland China — how can I use it?
Hong Kong, Macau, and mainland China are outside OpenAI's supported range. You need to route your egress through a clean residential IP in a supported region (such as Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, or the US) and keep your account's registration location consistent. Re-check on this page after switching IP.
Am I guaranteed not to be banned after switching to a residential IP?
No guarantee. Region + IP cleanliness only solves the 'egress' layer; the account's own payment info, usage behavior, and device consistency matter just as much. A clean IP is necessary but not sufficient.
About OpenAI / ChatGPT IP risk controls
Most ChatGPT and Codex problems — bans, captchas, "unable to verify your browser" — are not account issues but the exit IP tripping risk controls. There are two layers: whether the IP's country is on OpenAI's supported list, and whether the IP is identified as VPN, proxy or datacenter.
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Region: the first hard gate
Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Russia are not supported by OpenAI; requests from those IPs are rejected regardless of how clean the IP is. You need an exit in a supported region (Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, the US and others), and the account's registration region should match where you connect from — a long-term mismatch is itself a risk signal.
IP type: the second gate
Even within supported regions, residential and datacenter IPs behave very differently. One distinction is often missed:
- ChatGPT webmost sensitive to datacenter IPs — signup and login often trigger verification or outright rejection
- Codex / APIsame regional rules, but datacenter IPs usually work fine
- Residential proxiesthe exit is a residential block, but heavy sharing or past abuse still gets it blocked
So "switching to a residential IP always works" is a misconception. Region and IP type only cover the exit; payment method, usage behaviour and device consistency all count too.
How to check
The top of this page detects your current exit IP automatically and reports region support, IP type and a 0–100 purity score. If the verdict is negative, it is usually one of three cases:
- Region not supported — move the exit to a supported region
- Identified as VPN / proxy / datacenter — switch to a residential or native IP
- Region and type are fine but the score is low — that IP has a history of abuse or too many shared users