diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ef3207ac..54b5c519 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -240,9 +240,17 @@ it, but only display it if you are not your normal user or on a remote host
 To use this feature, make sure the `context` segment is enabled in your prompt
 elements (it is by default), and define a `DEFAULT_USER` in your `~/.zshrc`:
 
+You can set the `POWERLEVEL9K_CONTEXT_HOST_DEPTH` variable to change how the
+hostname is displayed. See (ZSH Manual)[http://zsh.sourceforge.net/Doc/Release/Prompt-Expansion.html#Login-information]
+for details. Default is set to %m which will show the hostname up to the first ‘.’
+You can set it to %{N}m where N is an integer to show that many segments of system
+hostname. Setting N to a negative integer will show that many segments from the
+end of the hostname.
+
 | Variable | Default Value | Description |
 |----------|---------------|-------------|
 |`DEFAULT_USER`|None|Username to consider a "default context" (you can also use `$USER`)|
+|`POWERLEVEL9K_CONTEXT_HOST_DEPTH`|%m|Customizable host depth on prompt|
 
 ##### dir
 
diff --git a/powerlevel9k.zsh-theme b/powerlevel9k.zsh-theme
index ef945613..10d1564e 100755
--- a/powerlevel9k.zsh-theme
+++ b/powerlevel9k.zsh-theme
@@ -429,6 +429,7 @@ prompt_battery() {
 prompt_public_ip() {
   # set default values for segment
   set_default POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_TIMOUT "300"
+  set_default POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_NONE ""
   set_default POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_FILE "/tmp/p9k_public_ip"
   set_default POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_HOST "http://ident.me"
 
@@ -436,12 +437,11 @@ prompt_public_ip() {
   local refresh_ip=false
   if [[ -f $POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_FILE ]]; then
     typeset -i timediff
+    # if saved IP is more than
     timediff=$(($(date +%s) - $(date -r $POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_FILE +%s)))
-    [[ $timediff -gt '500' ]] && refresh_ip=true
-    # this will run the IP refresh with each new prompt while disconnected
-    # but will get a new IP immediately once reconnected rather than waiting
-    # for the timeout, not sure if this is ideal behavior or not
-    [[ -z $(cat $POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_FILE) ]] && refresh_ip=true
+    [[ $timediff -gt $POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_TIMOUT ]] && refresh_ip=true
+    # If tmp file is empty get a fresh IP
+    [[ -z $(cat $POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_FILE) || $(cat $POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_FILE) =~ $POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_NONE ]] && refresh_ip=true
   else
     touch $POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_FILE && refresh_ip=true
   fi
@@ -485,10 +485,12 @@ prompt_public_ip() {
           fresh_ip="$(wget -T 10 -qO- "$POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_HOST" 2> /dev/null)"
       fi
     fi
-    [[ -n $fresh_ip ]] && echo $fresh_ip > $POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_FILE
+
+    # write IP to tmp file or clear tmp file if an IP was not retrieved
+    [[ -n $fresh_ip ]] && echo $fresh_ip > $POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_FILE || echo $POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_NONE > $POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_FILE
   fi
 
-  # write IP to tmp file
+  # read public IP saved to tmp file
   local public_ip=$(cat $POWERLEVEL9K_PUBLIC_IP_FILE)
 
   if [[ -n $public_ip ]]; then
@@ -499,12 +501,13 @@ prompt_public_ip() {
 # Context: user@hostname (who am I and where am I)
 # Note that if $DEFAULT_USER is not set, this prompt segment will always print
 prompt_context() {
+  set_default POWERLEVEL9K_CONTEXT_HOST_DEPTH "%m"
   if [[ "$USER" != "$DEFAULT_USER" || -n "$SSH_CLIENT" ]]; then
     if [[ $(print -P "%#") == '#' ]]; then
       # Shell runs as root
-      "$1_prompt_segment" "$0_ROOT" "$2" "$DEFAULT_COLOR" "yellow" "$USER@%m"
+      "$1_prompt_segment" "$0_ROOT" "$2" "$DEFAULT_COLOR" "yellow" "$USER@$POWERLEVEL9K_CONTEXT_HOST_DEPTH"
     else
-      "$1_prompt_segment" "$0_DEFAULT" "$2" "$DEFAULT_COLOR" "011" "$USER@%m"
+      "$1_prompt_segment" "$0_DEFAULT" "$2" "$DEFAULT_COLOR" "011" "$USER@$POWERLEVEL9K_CONTEXT_HOST_DEPTH"
     fi
   fi
 }