How do I rotate a mobile proxy IP?

What happens when a mobile proxy IP rotates?

The modem drops its data session and reconnects, and the carrier assigns it an address from its pool. Connections open through the port break during the reconnect, so rotate between tasks, not in the middle of one.

Carriers share public IPv4 addresses among many subscribers through carrier-grade NAT (RFC 6598). That is why sites trust mobile IPs, and also why a rotation can hand back the same address. The background is in what is a mobile proxy.

How do I rotate the IP with curl?

Call the rotation link with curl, then send one request through the port to confirm the new IP. Replace {port} and API_KEY in the link before you run it.

# 1. rotate (put your port id and API key in the link first)
curl "https://lodestate.com/api/v1/mobile/{port}/rotate?key=API_KEY"

# same call; the reply is the new IP as plain text
curl "https://lodestate.com/api/v1/mobile/{port}/rotate?key=API_KEY&format=text"

# 2. confirm: host, port number and login of the port come from your dashboard
curl -x http://PORT_USERNAME:PORT_PASSWORD@PORT_HOST:PORT_NUMBER \
  "https://api.ipify.org?format=json"

How do I rotate the IP from Python?

Wrap the rotation link in a function that waits and retries when the port answers 429, then check the IP through the port. The script below prints the IP before and after one rotation.

import time
import requests

ROTATE_URL = "https://lodestate.com/api/v1/mobile/{port}/rotate?key=API_KEY"
PORT_ID = "YOUR_PORT_ID"
KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY"
PORT_PROXY = "http://PORT_USERNAME:PORT_PASSWORD@PORT_HOST:PORT_NUMBER"

link = ROTATE_URL.replace("{port}", PORT_ID).replace("API_KEY", KEY)

def rotate():
    """Ask the modem for a new carrier IP; wait and retry if it is too soon."""
    while True:
        r = requests.get(link, timeout=60)
        if r.status_code == 429:  # rotated too recently
            time.sleep(int(r.headers.get("Retry-After", "60")))
            continue
        r.raise_for_status()
        return r.json()  # ip, previousIp, rotatedAt, nextRotationAvailableAt

def current_ip():
    proxies = {"http": PORT_PROXY, "https": PORT_PROXY}
    echo = "https://api.ipify.org?format=json"
    return requests.get(echo, proxies=proxies, timeout=30).json()["ip"]

print("before:", current_ip())
result = rotate()
print("new IP reported:", result["ip"])
print("after:", current_ip())

How do I set an automatic rotation timer?

Set the timer in the dashboard, and the port rotates on that schedule with no script running. The rules: New IP on demand by rotation link or API call, at most once every 30 seconds. On 7-day and 30-day ports, you can also set an automatic rotation timer, from every 2 minutes to every 24 hours. Otherwise your port keeps its IP until you rotate it, although the carrier can change it on its own from time to time.

By Lodestate's own price list, a 7-day port at $15 costs 43% less per day than the 1-day port at $3.75. The 30-day port at $45 costs 60% less per day. Every duration: how much does a dedicated US mobile proxy cost.

How often should I rotate a mobile proxy IP?

Rotate as often as the task needs a fresh carrier IP, and not at all when an account needs a steady one.

Why did I get the same IP after rotating?

The carrier picked the address, and carrier-grade NAT pools are shared, so the previous IP can come back. Each rotation reconnects your port to the carrier and usually takes 5–15 seconds; the carrier may occasionally hand back the same IP: just rotate again. If the IP stays the same after several rotations, check in the dashboard that the port is online, then write to support. Email replies within 12 hours, 7 days a week.