Providing Customer Support for Geoblocking

As you host your VOD Rentals and Online, you're responsible for being the first line of support for your customers. If you're unable to solve any particular issues, feel free to email us anytime at support@filmbot.com for help.

Basic Concepts

Here are some basic concepts that your support staff should be aware of when communicating with customers about Geoblocking.

• We use the IP address of the user's internet connection to determine their location. This is provided by their internet service provider (ISP). Changing to a different internet connection will give them a different IP address.
• We do not use "Location services" that are available in some browsers. That setting can be turned off and we will still be able to locate them.
• We do not use the billing zip code that is entered at checkout.
• The location we determine is not super specific, we can only get as granular as their postal code. 
• Postal code geolocation can sometimes be inaccurate (a few miles off), so we recommend casting a wide net with the postal codes you allow.
• The service we use to locate a visitor's geolocation is called ipstack.
• When you are logged into the site, you will bypass all the geoblocking restrictions. If you want to test out whether you are geoblocked, either log out of the admin first, or use a private browsing window.

General Support Steps

When a customer emails with Geoblocking trouble, you should do the following:

• Ask the customer to visit https://ipstack.com to determine what location their assigned IP address is located as. Ask them to provide you a screenshot of what's in the white box on that page.
• If their listed location on ipstack is not accurate to where they are physically located, ask if they are using a VPN (and can get out of it), or if they can change to a different internet connection to get a new IP address.
• If their location is accurate, compare their location to the geoblocking rules you have set on the Show. You may have left out a postal code that should be included, for example.