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MSPortal can estimate where a device connects to the internet by looking up the external IP address its integration reported. Use it to confirm a device appears to be at an expected office, or to spot a connection that needs a closer look. This guide is for company users and MSP staff who can open the device.
IP location is an estimate of the internet exit point. It is not the device’s GPS position, street address, or proof of where a person is.

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Before you start

  • You can open Devices and the device’s company.
  • The device came from an integration that reports an external IP address.
  • The IP location service is available in your MSPortal environment.
  • Your portal has active billing for new lookups.
  • You do not enter a geolocation API key. The service is set up centrally.

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Find an approximate location

1

Open Devices

Click Devices in the sidebar.
2

Open the device

Click the device Name. The panel opens on Overview.
3

Check the external IP

Find the IP location section. Read External IP and IP observed to see which address will be checked and when the integration last reported it.
When an external IP is available, its label and value appear beside the observation date, with Find approximate location below the fields. Devices without a reported external IP hide the section.
4

Click Find approximate location

MSPortal shows the city, region, country, and Accuracy it finds. Some fields can be missing. If a saved result is already shown, you can open the map right away.
5

Click Open map

This opens one approximate point in a new OpenStreetMap tab. It does not show all your devices together.
Compare IP observed with Last checked. The first is when the integration reported the address. The second is when that address was last looked up.

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Check a location again

1

Click Check again

MSPortal reuses recent results to avoid extra lookups. If you can manage devices, Check again asks for a fresh lookup, with a short cooldown for the same IP. Other users can also click Check again, but they get the saved result until it is old enough to refresh.
2

Wait if a lookup is already running

If another lookup for the same IP is in progress, wait a moment and click Check again to get its result.
Demo device Overview without an IP location section

This Demo device has no external IP, so Overview hides the IP location section.

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When no external IP is available

The IP location section is hidden when no external IP has been reported. In that case:
1

Check the integration

Confirm the device’s integration is connected and syncing.
2

Check the source

Check that the source tool reports an external or public IP for the device.
3

Wait for the next sync

After the next device sync finishes, reopen the device.
MSPortal ignores private, reserved, malformed, and network-range addresses because they cannot give a public location.

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Troubleshooting

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Frequently asked questions

Yes, when their role lets them view the device. Your MSP controls company user permissions.
No. Opening the device only shows the saved result. Find approximate location and Check again start a lookup.
No. Most users get the saved result. Users who can manage devices can force a refresh, subject to the cooldown.
No. The result is saved on its own.
No. The lookup always uses the external IP on the device record.
No. It opens one point on OpenStreetMap.