Why replacements matter
A proxy list is only as good as its worst IPs. Over time some addresses go offline, get slow, or get blocked by a site you care about. A good provider lets you swap them out. Webshare has three ways to do that: automatic replacement, manual replacement and recurring replacement.
Automatic replacement
Webshare monitors the proxies in your list. According to its API documentation, a proxy that fails status checks for more than about 15 minutes is marked invalid and replaced automatically. You don't need to do anything: the next time you download your list, the replacement is there.
This handles outright failures. It doesn't handle IPs that work but are blocked by your particular target, because Webshare can't know which sites matter to you.
Manual replacement
If specific IPs are blocked, flagged or slow on your targets, you can replace them yourself from the dashboard or through the API. Plans come with a replacement allowance, so check how many replacements your plan includes before you start swapping in bulk.
Good reasons to replace an IP manually:
- It returns CAPTCHAs or blocks on a target while other IPs don't.
- It's consistently much slower than the rest of the list.
- It geolocates to the wrong country in the databases your target uses.
- It's an account IP that has been flagged.
Recurring replacement
Webshare also offers recurring replacement, sometimes described as a rotating proxy list: your list is refreshed automatically at a set frequency. This suits scrapers that want a fresh set of IPs regularly without managing replacements themselves. It's less suited to accounts, where you want IPs to stay the same.
Using the replacement API
For automated pipelines, Webshare's API lets you request replacements and list past ones. A typical loop:
- Your scraper records failures per IP and per target.
- When an IP crosses a threshold (say, five blocks in an hour on one target while the average is near zero), it's flagged.
- A small job calls the replacement API for flagged IPs.
- The scraper reloads the proxy list from the API.
Keep the threshold conservative. Replacing IPs on the first error wastes your allowance on normal transient failures. See the Webshare API guide for how authentication and list downloads work.
Budget tip: You can test most of this guide for free: Webshare gives every new account 10 datacenter proxies and 1 GB of bandwidth a month without a credit card. Move to a paid plan once the pilot works. See our complete Webshare guide.
Replacement vs buying more proxies
| Symptom | Replace IPs? | Better fix |
|---|---|---|
| A few IPs fail while most work | Yes | Replace the bad ones |
| Most IPs blocked on one target | No | That target blocks datacenter ranges. Use rotating residential |
| Blocks rise as you speed up | No | Slow down per IP. See rate limiting and proxies |
| Random timeouts across the list | Sometimes | Check threads and bandwidth first. See Webshare bandwidth and threads |
| One account IP flagged | Yes | Replace it and review what triggered the flag |
The big lesson: replacements fix individual IPs, not mismatches between proxy type and target.
Tips for keeping a list healthy
- Track success per IP. Even a simple counter per IP per domain tells you which to replace.
- Reload the list regularly so your code picks up automatic replacements.
- Don't burn IPs needlessly. Respect rate limits and use realistic headers. See avoid IP bans when scraping.
- Keep account IPs stable. Don't put account IPs on recurring replacement.
Building a replacement policy
Write down simple rules so replacements are consistent:
| Situation | Action |
|---|---|
| Proxy fails health checks repeatedly | Wait for automatic replacement, then reload the list |
| Proxy blocked on one target, fine elsewhere | Keep it for other targets; exclude it from that target |
| Proxy blocked on most targets | Replace manually |
| Account IP flagged | Investigate account activity, then replace if needed |
| Latency far above the list average | Replace manually |
Excluding an IP from one target is often better than replacing it, because the replacement allowance is limited and the IP still works elsewhere.
Per-target exclusion lists
A small table of (IP, target, blocked until) lets your scraper skip IPs that one site has blocked, without losing them for everything else. Clear entries after a cool-down period, since many blocks are temporary. This simple technique reduces replacement requests and keeps your list productive.
Measuring list health
Track a few numbers per week:
- Share of IPs with no errors.
- Median and 95th percentile latency per IP.
- Number of automatic and manual replacements.
- Block rate per target.
A sudden rise in replacements or blocks across a whole list usually means a target changed its defences, not that the list went bad.
Proxy tip: If your residential usage goes up and down, compare Geonode: its per-GB residential bandwidth doesn't expire, so you only pay for what you use. See Webshare vs Geonode.
Recurring replacement for scrapers
If your scraper benefits from fresh IPs, recurring replacement saves work: the list refreshes on schedule and your code just reloads it. Make sure your code reloads the list at least as often as the refresh frequency, or you'll keep using IPs that are no longer in your plan.
A real-world example
A price monitoring service running 2,000 datacenter proxies notices that 40 IPs return blocks on one retailer while working everywhere else. Rather than spending replacements, they exclude those 40 IPs from that retailer for a week. Separately, 12 IPs fail health checks across all targets; Webshare replaces those automatically, and the service picks up the new IPs on its next list refresh. The replacement allowance is saved for the few IPs that are slow everywhere.
Not sure this is the right proxy type for the job? The best proxies in 2026 guide compares residential, ISP, datacenter and mobile options, and our cheap proxies guide covers budget picks that still work.
Key takeaways
- Webshare replaces proxies that fail its health checks automatically, and lets you replace others manually within your plan's allowance.
- Recurring replacement refreshes a whole list on a schedule, which suits scrapers but not accounts.
- Exclude IPs blocked on one target instead of replacing them, since they still work elsewhere.
- Reload your list regularly so your code picks up replacements.
- Replacements fix individual IPs, not a mismatch between proxy type and target.
FAQ
Does Webshare replace dead proxies for free?
Automatic replacement of proxies that fail Webshare's checks is part of the service. Manual replacements count against your plan's allowance.
How often can I refresh my Webshare proxy list?
With recurring replacement you choose a frequency for automatic refreshes. Manual replacements depend on your plan's allowance.
Will replacing a proxy change my other proxies?
No. A replacement swaps only the selected IP. The rest of your list stays the same.
How do I know which proxies to replace?
Track success and latency per IP per target. Replace IPs that fail broadly or are much slower than average.
Do replaced proxies keep the same port?
Replacements come with their own connection details. Reload your list after replacements.
Should I use recurring replacement for account IPs?
No. Account IPs should stay the same.
Editorial note: Proxy providers change their pools, features and prices often, so treat any figures here as typical ranges at the time of writing and confirm current terms with the provider before you buy.