diff --git a/lib/explorer.js b/lib/explorer.js
index fbec3a0..35e48dd 100644
--- a/lib/explorer.js
+++ b/lib/explorer.js
@@ -975,7 +975,7 @@ module.exports = {
   },
 
   get_geo_location: function(address, cb) {
-    request({uri: 'https://freegeoip.app/json/' + address, json: true, headers: {'User-Agent': 'eiquidus'}}, function (error, response, geo) {
+    request({uri: 'https://reallyfreegeoip.org/json/' + address, json: true, headers: {'User-Agent': 'eiquidus'}}, function (error, response, geo) {
       return cb(error, geo);
     });
   },
diff --git a/scripts/sync.js b/scripts/sync.js
index 5f0acb3..f1fbca4 100644
--- a/scripts/sync.js
+++ b/scripts/sync.js
@@ -458,6 +458,9 @@ if (lib.is_locked([database]) == false) {
                       if (error) {
                         console.log(error);
                         exit(1);
+                      } else if (geo == null || typeof geo != 'object') {
+                        console.log('Error: geolocation api did not return a valid object');
+                        exit(1);
                       } else {
                         // add peer to collection
                         db.create_peer({