Google blocking search

Is this still happening for anyone else?  Its been 2 weeks of this now and I am unable to use search bars on some websites now because they are google based.  Any solution???

https://support.google.com/websearch/thread/2596872?hl=en&sjid=7174573382521956451-NA

Essentially, this is because T-Mobile uses CGNAT, which assigns multiple users to a single IP address and then T-Mobile directs the traffic from there. My guess is that T-Mobile as over-allocated the number of users per IP to the point where Google is triggering the Captcha due to excess traffic. 

So, in other words, T-Mobile may have hundreds of people assigned to one IP, but Google sees this as a single network. So when everyone is sending Google searches, Google sees this as abuse and begins doing the Captcha. The only way to fix this would be either a static IP (which is only available for Business accounts), pure IPv6, or a VPN that isn't over-allocated.

Google will not provide individual assistance, and this is a symptom of T-Mobile's continued reliance on 6to4 translation. T-Mobile needs to move to pure IPv6. Until one of those solutions is done, this will only get worse.

This is seriously still happening? My service will be canceled soon, this is an insanely simple issue that should not take a corporation as large as T-Mobile a full month to fix.

qraqson wrote:

This is seriously still happening? My service will be canceled soon, this is an insanely simple issue that should not take a corporation as large as T-Mobile a full month to fix.

This is occurring amongst several ISPs, so moving to another isn't a guarantee your issue will be resolved. Unfortunately it isn't a simple issue because T-Mobile and other ISPs have been reluctant to transition to strictly IPv6 networks. This is only going to become more of a problem as the number of users per IP increases. Google just happens to be the lowest threshold so far, but I would predict we will see more sites having this issue as time goes on. Because these sites see large amounts of traffic coming from a single IP address, they are going to default to it being abuse because they cannot differentiate between actual abuse versus hundreds of users using the same public IPv4 address. As that number expands, this is going to trigger more sites' Denial-of-Service (DOS) automatic protections. T-Mobile needs to fix it, but that need was months or years ago. Now the timetable has shifted and will continue to get worse, at least in my expectations.

The real fix for this is to transition to a true IPv6 network in which each user gets a unique IP address instead of using CGNAT, which assigns hundreds of users (or however many T-Mobile is doing) to a single public IPv4 address. To put it in perspective, there are about 3.7 billion public IPv4 addresses. However in a traditional sense, each device would need to have a single distinct IP address. With over 8 billion people on earth, that isn't practical. In the past, this was dealt with by using local addresses that were then handled through a single public address per network (which is why you can have a 192.168.1.1 on your network and so can your neighbor). From there, your router will take incoming data from the outside world and intelligently route it to the correct device in your home. This is the way it was for decades, where each individual subscriber would have a unique address. But due to IPv4 number exhaustion, T-Mobile and other ISPs have gone to a second level of routing in which they have an IPv4 address that is assigned to multiple subscribers and they act like the router in your home to send the data streams to the right subscriber (likely by using IPv6, interestingly enough). So T-Mobile can't get any more IPv4 addresses, as there aren't many left, so they are just expanding the number per public IP (conjecture on my part, but I'd wager it is pretty accurate). Thus, Google sees a ton of traffic, it triggers their protection system, and here we are. I fully expect this will expand to further sites as time goes on.

The other side to this is that a single subscriber that *is* sending excessive data whether that is knowingly or unknowingly (e.g. malware or botnet), then they can flag it for every subscriber that is assigned that public IP. So this could be a multi-faceted issue, but only T-Mobile can fix this.

The way T-Mobile is using IP addresses is more akin to how postal codes work instead of how addresses work. But because it is IPv4, it is like only including your zip code in your address on outgoing mail. T-Mobile knows your "direct address", but to everyone else you just appear as your "zip code". But that is a symptom of a bigger problem.

I can’t believe this hasn’t been fixed yet!

Using a web-based IP lookup https://www.showmyip.com/ my IPv4 address is currently shown as being in East Providence, RI.  Abour a week ago, for several days, it was shown as being in Baltimore, MD.  I am in Vermont.  However, I don't see this creating a problem for me, except for occasionally having to change the prefillled zip code of the closest store location on a retailer's website (e.g. Lowes or Home Depot).  Should I be aware of other issues due to have an IP address 250 miles away?

Yes still happening every day all day.