When an account gets blocked, players often lump every ban together. But an IP ban and a HWID ban work in completely different ways.
What an IP ban does
An IP ban blocks the network address your connection presents to the server. It is easy for a developer to apply and easy to get around — a router reboot often yields a new address, and mobile data or a different network gives another. IP bans also catch innocent bystanders: addresses are shared and reassigned, so an IP ban can hit someone who simply inherited the address later.
What a HWID ban does
A HWID ban ignores your network entirely. It records identifiers tied to your physical computer — disk serials, MAC addresses, the machine GUID, firmware data — and blocks any account that reports the same hardware. Changing networks does nothing against it.
Why the difference matters
The two bans fail in opposite directions. An IP ban is weak but broad: it is easy to evade and easy to trigger by accident. A HWID ban is precise but stubborn: it rarely catches the wrong person, and it does not care where you connect from. Many anti-cheats use both at once — IP as a quick first measure, HWID as the durable one.
How to tell which you have
If switching networks restores access, it was an IP ban. If a new account is flagged regardless of network — even on mobile data — the ban is attached to your hardware.
The takeaway
"Banned" is not one thing. An IP ban is about where you connect from; a HWID ban is about what machine you connect with. Diagnosing which one you are facing is the first useful step.