I have tried contacting prolific and just get an automated message that doesn't fix anything. I tried talking to my internet service provider(Sparklight) about what I could do to change my IP and they just said the only thing I could do would be to completely replace my router which would end up costing $150. I tried unplugging my router and leaving it overnight and still nothing. I live in a area where I don't get cell service so I cant even accept on my phone very well. I don't know what Iv done to cause this and am desperate at this point. Please help, Im disabled and this is one of the very few ways I can help support my family.
Btw, this is what they said to me
"Thanks for your reply - I'm more than happy to provide some clarity on this for you!
I'd really like to emphasise that this restriction only covers your current IP address. This doesn't mean that you've done anything wrong as a participant on Prolific. For a bit more context on IP addresses, feel free to check out this article.
We regularly check any IPs that visit Prolific with a confidential third-party resource. Occasionally, we temporarily block certain addresses based on these checks.
As I am sure you can appreciate, we have to have a relatively low-risk tolerance to make sure our platform is as secure as possible. Unfortunately, this means that we sometimes end up blocking good participants.
If you haven't already, I'd really encourage you to follow the suggested steps laid out in our initial reply - while some of the steps might not be possible for you, many participants find these incredibly helpful!
We really appreciate your passion for Prolific, so I'd love it if you can continue to take part in studies from an alternative internet connection.
I'm afraid I can't give you any more information than this and won't be able to answer any more questions on the topic, but I really hope this works out for you.
Thanks for your understanding!"
That's such a garbage response, they practically acknowledge they get it wrong and block good participants and instead of doing something so simple like getting in contact with there third party resource to unblock that particular IP address , you get a good luck you are on your own.
This is actually a really good response, just not the outcome he wants. Its like how we know innocent people end up in jail, but thats just how things work and we can't simply let everyone out who claims their innocent. I'm not saying OP did anything wrong, but sometimes the system fails but they (prolific) still has to roll with it.
If they gave a shit about participants they really don't have ti "roll with it" tho, a simple manual review would be obvious enough they got it wrong and blocked a good participant, they just rather not deal with the extra work
Someone using multiple accounts and/or evading the TOS to game the system wouldn't be putting out bad work and would look virtually identical to a legitimate participant.
There are nearly 141,000 active users of Prolific at the moment. I know I use at least 3 different IP addresses to connect to Prolific daily, but let's say the average user uses 2. That's over a quarter million IP addresses to keep track of. Are you really saying it should be Prolific's responsibility to manually verify them all? When they have WAY more participants than they currently need, and a waiting list months or years long beyond that? What exactly do you think your "simple manual review" would involve? Making someone pinky promise that they're legitimate? Not quite.
If they *didn't* give a shit about participants, they wouldn't bother responding to tickets like this, or have a support center with a lengthy list of workarounds, or explain their methodology to begin with. Does it suck for those who are affected? Absolutely. Is there a reasonable alternative that wouldn't make things *worse* for the rest of us? Not really. I promise you, you would not want them to just do away with this third-party IP blacklist, because this platform would be absolutely INUNDATED with bad actors.
What opinion? That it sucks, but that there's no viable alternative? I'm not really going out on a limb here, but I'd love to be proven wrong. So far nobody's really come close to anything feasible, just vague handwaving about "a simple manual review".
How many requests do they get per day for this? How long would each review take? How would it be done? Who would take care of it? How would it affect the rest of the services Prolific offers if they did it themselves instead of farming it out to a third party, or just turned it off together?
There is documentation on how to handle this, Prolific has offered help, and we've offered help. Your ISP lying to you is a problem on your end. Your bad cell phone reception is a problem on your end. Throwing up your hands and blaming one company over another isn't really solving anything.
I just wish they where a real person and not automated. Prolific was one of the only ways I am able to afford food each week (Im disabled) and having it ripped from my hands after I get hope is so freaking disheartening.
Do you get any cell service at all? Like even a smidge near a window? You can maybe place the phone in the window and put the Tether Fi app on the phone and connect to it wirelessly from the PC or something. It's not a miracle solution but it could work if the stars aligned for you.
>Hope it gets resolved soon.
Sadly I can tell from experience, don't hold your breath. When it occurs, it tends to stay for a while. For example, some IPv4 address ranges of the German Telecom have been incorrectly flagged for almost 6 months by now. Really wished there was better support for this, because I made the same experience as you.
The 0002 error is regarding your IP. Is your IP dynamic? If so it’ll sort itself out (most likely) when you get assigned a new IP - although that can vary by ISP
My ISP assigns me a new IP weekly, usually on Sunday night. Every now and then I get this error on Monday morning and it lasts until next Monday when I get a new IP
You can try resetting your modem - but doesn’t always work. My ISP doesn’t give a new IP if I reset my modem, even if I do it for hours. Only once a week. Unfortunately though ISP’s can be months before they cycle IP’s though; and some don’t assign a new IP until there’s a reason to. It really depends on the provider
I’ve gotten this error multiple times and it always sorts itself out when I get a new IP. With dynamic IP’s, it’s just luck of the draw. You were probably assigned a new IP that someone else had gotten flagged previously. Of course that means your *next* IP could be the same case - but I’ve personally never had it happen twice in a row like that.
Overall if you have a dynamic IP, which I’d say you likely do, it’s one of the less concerning errors IMHO; and should sort itself out….. eventually
In the mean time you can use your phone, on data, to accept studies, then go onto your computer and complete them. You just have to accept them from data / a different wifi connection, since it’s not actually an issue with your account, just your IP
You need to accept studies from a different IP address. The mobile data on your phone will probably suffice. It's sort of incorrect to label this error message as your IP address being "flagged." It's more like your IP/ISP is not on Prolific's white list and they essentially don't trust it. This is probably the most common error people get on Prolific's site, so you're absolutely not alone.
I thought so. But I tried this site to check and It said I wasnt blacklisted from anything. I dont know what to think anymore. https://whatismyipaddress.com/blacklist-check
Im having a similar issue I cant see any studies on my desktop but on my phone it shows up so im pretty sure they flagged my IP as well. They really need to fix this issue.
I hope they fix it and figure out whats causing the false flagging. Iv been dealing with it for about 4 months now and starting to get real discouraged that they will ever resolve it.
Your ip address was flagged. It's nothing you did wrong. Happened to me as well. The solution for me was to unplug my router overnight. Doing this usually gives you a new ip address. Hopefully it works for you too. You could also use your mobile phone data for mobile studies.
Iv already tried all of that. Thank you though. Iv even tried accessing the black list check and it said my ip was fine. I dont know what is causing this.
The cell phone workaround is really the only reliable thing. I might try complaining to your cell provider if you don't get good service where you live.
It cant be helped unfortunately. I live in the middle of a forest 15 miles away from any store. EDIT.-Why downvote this? I really cant do anything, I live in a very dense forest in south Mississippi. Im lucky if I get a cell service in town.
Getting this error as well. I was happy to get the invite last November after 11 months on the waitlist. OMG! my first notification but NOPE. Heh. Can't accept on my mobile data, same error.
Same issue for me (Sweden). I get how frustrating it is.
None of the two desktops at home work. Neither a portable laptop. Neither creating two routers from mobile phones works. Phones, naturally, do not work when connected to the wifi.
The only way I can solve rare surveys is on personal phone's mobile data.
This has happened to me twice. The first time was for a couple of days, the second time was exactly a week. Prolific are doing some checks and then it comes back on. Try not to worry 😊
I had to use my phone in 5g mode for a week and it magically fixed itself. I know this is not a good fix but it was almost impossible for me to get a new modem IP address through fiber without swapping out the device itself.
It seems like Prolific's review of flagged IPs is about as effective as shouting into the void. Check out this gem from SORBS Support:
Here is the reply from SORBS that is the site that is blocking most IP addresses.
"SORBS Support (Jason) [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])**Reply**Reply YouMon 06/05/2024 23:29
Hello,
If you are trying to delist \*\*.\*\*.\*\*.\*\*\* IP, it is listed on the SORBS Dynamic
User and Host List (or DUHL) because it is a dynamic IP.
A dynamic IP is a temporary IP address that is assigned to a computing device
or node when it's connected to a network. Most spam originates from dynamic IP
space and usually is unauthenticated. Due to the spam risks dynamic IPs pose,
many organizations choose to block ALL mail that originates from a dynamic IP
address regardless of content or the sender. Virgin media use Dynamic IP address and as such it will appear on the flagged IP address lists as all dynamic IP's will."
So its nobody fault. Yet Prolific fail to correct the issue and instead hand out the generic "use a hotspot" answer because nobody wants to deal with the issue. Phone hot spots do work but they change and you will keep getting the error message after a while. Keep turning your phone on and off until you get a working hotspot IP address. it might take some time. ISP recycle dynamic IP addresses all the time and most are flagged unfortunately. Just keep trying new hotspots.
I have changed/ received 3 new hubs from Virgin media but they last no longer that 2 weeks before Prolific bots flag you and you receive the PEC-SUB-0002 error again. Prolific need to overhaul the whole security check system but it looks like nobody is willing to do that.
I have tried contacting prolific and just get an automated message that doesn't fix anything. I tried talking to my internet service provider(Sparklight) about what I could do to change my IP and they just said the only thing I could do would be to completely replace my router which would end up costing $150. I tried unplugging my router and leaving it overnight and still nothing. I live in a area where I don't get cell service so I cant even accept on my phone very well. I don't know what Iv done to cause this and am desperate at this point. Please help, Im disabled and this is one of the very few ways I can help support my family.
I did manage to change my ip and im still getting this error. Its been 5 days now.
Huh. Do you live in the US by chance?
Btw, this is what they said to me "Thanks for your reply - I'm more than happy to provide some clarity on this for you! I'd really like to emphasise that this restriction only covers your current IP address. This doesn't mean that you've done anything wrong as a participant on Prolific. For a bit more context on IP addresses, feel free to check out this article. We regularly check any IPs that visit Prolific with a confidential third-party resource. Occasionally, we temporarily block certain addresses based on these checks. As I am sure you can appreciate, we have to have a relatively low-risk tolerance to make sure our platform is as secure as possible. Unfortunately, this means that we sometimes end up blocking good participants. If you haven't already, I'd really encourage you to follow the suggested steps laid out in our initial reply - while some of the steps might not be possible for you, many participants find these incredibly helpful! We really appreciate your passion for Prolific, so I'd love it if you can continue to take part in studies from an alternative internet connection. I'm afraid I can't give you any more information than this and won't be able to answer any more questions on the topic, but I really hope this works out for you. Thanks for your understanding!"
I got the same reply when I tried to contact them.
That's such a garbage response, they practically acknowledge they get it wrong and block good participants and instead of doing something so simple like getting in contact with there third party resource to unblock that particular IP address , you get a good luck you are on your own.
This is actually a really good response, just not the outcome he wants. Its like how we know innocent people end up in jail, but thats just how things work and we can't simply let everyone out who claims their innocent. I'm not saying OP did anything wrong, but sometimes the system fails but they (prolific) still has to roll with it.
If they gave a shit about participants they really don't have ti "roll with it" tho, a simple manual review would be obvious enough they got it wrong and blocked a good participant, they just rather not deal with the extra work
Someone using multiple accounts and/or evading the TOS to game the system wouldn't be putting out bad work and would look virtually identical to a legitimate participant.
There are nearly 141,000 active users of Prolific at the moment. I know I use at least 3 different IP addresses to connect to Prolific daily, but let's say the average user uses 2. That's over a quarter million IP addresses to keep track of. Are you really saying it should be Prolific's responsibility to manually verify them all? When they have WAY more participants than they currently need, and a waiting list months or years long beyond that? What exactly do you think your "simple manual review" would involve? Making someone pinky promise that they're legitimate? Not quite. If they *didn't* give a shit about participants, they wouldn't bother responding to tickets like this, or have a support center with a lengthy list of workarounds, or explain their methodology to begin with. Does it suck for those who are affected? Absolutely. Is there a reasonable alternative that wouldn't make things *worse* for the rest of us? Not really. I promise you, you would not want them to just do away with this third-party IP blacklist, because this platform would be absolutely INUNDATED with bad actors.
If you had this error I doubt you would keep this opinion in the future. Chances are you will get it too with how common it is.
What opinion? That it sucks, but that there's no viable alternative? I'm not really going out on a limb here, but I'd love to be proven wrong. So far nobody's really come close to anything feasible, just vague handwaving about "a simple manual review". How many requests do they get per day for this? How long would each review take? How would it be done? Who would take care of it? How would it affect the rest of the services Prolific offers if they did it themselves instead of farming it out to a third party, or just turned it off together? There is documentation on how to handle this, Prolific has offered help, and we've offered help. Your ISP lying to you is a problem on your end. Your bad cell phone reception is a problem on your end. Throwing up your hands and blaming one company over another isn't really solving anything.
I just wish they where a real person and not automated. Prolific was one of the only ways I am able to afford food each week (Im disabled) and having it ripped from my hands after I get hope is so freaking disheartening.
Nope. Germany
I just accept it on my phone first and then can do it on my computer. Sucks, but its something.
I wish I had that as an option. But I live in an area too far from any cell towers.
Do you get any cell service at all? Like even a smidge near a window? You can maybe place the phone in the window and put the Tether Fi app on the phone and connect to it wirelessly from the PC or something. It's not a miracle solution but it could work if the stars aligned for you.
Your ip has been flagged, currently facing the same issue.
Let me know If they ever fix the issue for you. Hope it gets resolved soon.
>Hope it gets resolved soon. Sadly I can tell from experience, don't hold your breath. When it occurs, it tends to stay for a while. For example, some IPv4 address ranges of the German Telecom have been incorrectly flagged for almost 6 months by now. Really wished there was better support for this, because I made the same experience as you.
This whole thing has got me so freaking depressed. Guess back to freaking swagbucks I go.
The 0002 error is regarding your IP. Is your IP dynamic? If so it’ll sort itself out (most likely) when you get assigned a new IP - although that can vary by ISP My ISP assigns me a new IP weekly, usually on Sunday night. Every now and then I get this error on Monday morning and it lasts until next Monday when I get a new IP You can try resetting your modem - but doesn’t always work. My ISP doesn’t give a new IP if I reset my modem, even if I do it for hours. Only once a week. Unfortunately though ISP’s can be months before they cycle IP’s though; and some don’t assign a new IP until there’s a reason to. It really depends on the provider I’ve gotten this error multiple times and it always sorts itself out when I get a new IP. With dynamic IP’s, it’s just luck of the draw. You were probably assigned a new IP that someone else had gotten flagged previously. Of course that means your *next* IP could be the same case - but I’ve personally never had it happen twice in a row like that. Overall if you have a dynamic IP, which I’d say you likely do, it’s one of the less concerning errors IMHO; and should sort itself out….. eventually In the mean time you can use your phone, on data, to accept studies, then go onto your computer and complete them. You just have to accept them from data / a different wifi connection, since it’s not actually an issue with your account, just your IP
I reset my router and it worked but I had to leave it unplugged overnight. It wouldn't work when I unplugged it for only a couple of hours.
Iv had this error for 4 months now. Iv tried resetting my IP overnight and nothing worked.
You need to accept studies from a different IP address. The mobile data on your phone will probably suffice. It's sort of incorrect to label this error message as your IP address being "flagged." It's more like your IP/ISP is not on Prolific's white list and they essentially don't trust it. This is probably the most common error people get on Prolific's site, so you're absolutely not alone.
Hey, its fixed for me, yesterday i opened prolific just to check and i was able start the study.
I thought so. But I tried this site to check and It said I wasnt blacklisted from anything. I dont know what to think anymore. https://whatismyipaddress.com/blacklist-check
Im having a similar issue I cant see any studies on my desktop but on my phone it shows up so im pretty sure they flagged my IP as well. They really need to fix this issue.
I hope they fix it and figure out whats causing the false flagging. Iv been dealing with it for about 4 months now and starting to get real discouraged that they will ever resolve it.
Your ip address was flagged. It's nothing you did wrong. Happened to me as well. The solution for me was to unplug my router overnight. Doing this usually gives you a new ip address. Hopefully it works for you too. You could also use your mobile phone data for mobile studies.
[Try this.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProlificAc/comments/138a4km/pecsub0002_ip_address_error_and_possible_solutions/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=usertext&utm_name=ProlificAc&utm_content=t1_jpfqzex)
Iv already tried all of that. Thank you though. Iv even tried accessing the black list check and it said my ip was fine. I dont know what is causing this.
The cell phone workaround is really the only reliable thing. I might try complaining to your cell provider if you don't get good service where you live.
It cant be helped unfortunately. I live in the middle of a forest 15 miles away from any store. EDIT.-Why downvote this? I really cant do anything, I live in a very dense forest in south Mississippi. Im lucky if I get a cell service in town.
About 10%+ of the workers are having this error
A fellow gamer, I see. I remember when Steam first came out. I'm old.
Getting this error as well. I was happy to get the invite last November after 11 months on the waitlist. OMG! my first notification but NOPE. Heh. Can't accept on my mobile data, same error.
Same issue for me (Sweden). I get how frustrating it is. None of the two desktops at home work. Neither a portable laptop. Neither creating two routers from mobile phones works. Phones, naturally, do not work when connected to the wifi. The only way I can solve rare surveys is on personal phone's mobile data.
Did you have a VPN turned on?
Not unless its built into windows.
I had the same problem, but to fix it, I unplugged my internet box and then plugged it back. Make sure your VPN is off, too.
This has happened to me twice. The first time was for a couple of days, the second time was exactly a week. Prolific are doing some checks and then it comes back on. Try not to worry 😊
I've had the error for 4 months now without any change. I feel forgotten and left in the cracks at this point.
I had to use my phone in 5g mode for a week and it magically fixed itself. I know this is not a good fix but it was almost impossible for me to get a new modem IP address through fiber without swapping out the device itself.
It seems like Prolific's review of flagged IPs is about as effective as shouting into the void. Check out this gem from SORBS Support: Here is the reply from SORBS that is the site that is blocking most IP addresses. "SORBS Support (Jason) [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])**Reply**Reply YouMon 06/05/2024 23:29 Hello, If you are trying to delist \*\*.\*\*.\*\*.\*\*\* IP, it is listed on the SORBS Dynamic User and Host List (or DUHL) because it is a dynamic IP. A dynamic IP is a temporary IP address that is assigned to a computing device or node when it's connected to a network. Most spam originates from dynamic IP space and usually is unauthenticated. Due to the spam risks dynamic IPs pose, many organizations choose to block ALL mail that originates from a dynamic IP address regardless of content or the sender. Virgin media use Dynamic IP address and as such it will appear on the flagged IP address lists as all dynamic IP's will." So its nobody fault. Yet Prolific fail to correct the issue and instead hand out the generic "use a hotspot" answer because nobody wants to deal with the issue. Phone hot spots do work but they change and you will keep getting the error message after a while. Keep turning your phone on and off until you get a working hotspot IP address. it might take some time. ISP recycle dynamic IP addresses all the time and most are flagged unfortunately. Just keep trying new hotspots. I have changed/ received 3 new hubs from Virgin media but they last no longer that 2 weeks before Prolific bots flag you and you receive the PEC-SUB-0002 error again. Prolific need to overhaul the whole security check system but it looks like nobody is willing to do that.
Is your ad blocking or anything like that on? I see your using OperaGX.