Summary: Your IP address may be blocked. Go to IPChicken on the affected device and send us the IP address that you see there. We'll unblock your IP, if it's blocked. Or, log in to the client area using another network (e.g., mobile data) and under Support, click on 'Unblock IP Address' and enter the IP there.
Contact us about your blocked IP address using one of these methods of communication:
- By email, if you have our email address. To prevent spammers from grabbing our email, we do not publish our email publicly. Make sure to mention your website domain and IP address.
- By filling our contact form on our website. Make sure to mention your website domain and IP address.
- By submitting a ticket.
You can also unblock your IP address on your own:
- Log in to your client area with us.
- Under Support, click on the 'Unblock IP Address' menu item.
- The IP of the network that you're connected to will be prefilled. Click to unblock it. If it doesn't work, go to the device that is affected by the block, and copy its IP to the other working device.
If you cannot visit the client area, try using another device that is not connected to the same network, since our server blocks any device that uses the same IP address. Using another network ensures that you use another IP address, such as your mobile phone's data plan or another computer connected to another router.
Complete details: You get about 25 unsuccessful attempts per 30 minutes for email syncing services (via IMAP and POP3), and 15 unsuccessful attempts per 30 minutes for our other services, cPanel, webmail, and so on. Always ensure that you are below 25 or 15 unsuccessful attempts per 30 minutes or your IP will get blocked. We recommend not trying more than 7 times as we might change the number of tries allowed for increased security. Contact us for help instead.
Additionally, for email sync services (programmes where you connect your email, e.g., Outlook, Apple Mail), if you do reach that 25 attempt limit and your IP gets blocked, your IP will get unblocked automatically after 15 minutes rather than waiting for us to unblock it. But, if it keeps occurring, your IP will get permanently blocked and only manually unblocking it would work.
Unsuccessful attempts mean that your username or email and/or password (usually password) are entered incorrectly.
Please note that we are not responsible if you forget your own password but we can help you reset it.
What happens when your IP gets blocked?
From that device, you cannot access your website, you cannot access your FTP, and cannot connect to your email. You would see a page not found or a white/blank page. Not to worry, your clients can still view your website and email you. You can always use another computer or phone that is connected to another Internet network such as your mobile data or another Wi-Fi network. That IP would not be blocked and would thus allow you to view and use your services with us.
Should this happen, contact us immediately with your IP address and we'll unblock it. Find your IP address and send it to us using one of the methods mentioned above.
What can you do about it?
Our advice is to ensure that you write down your password somewhere safe because entering an incorrect password is one of the main reasons why IPs get blocked. You can always consider using an online password saving tool such as Bitwarden or LastPass. Both of those, among others, are free and allow you to save passwords securely, and if you ever update your password, you would get prompted by those services to update it in your account with them. They feature the latest security and offer extensions/add-ons for all major browsers. Your passwords would be synced across browsers and devices (desktops, laptops, phones, tablets). There are other paid products as well and a quick online research would give you a list of choices.
Why does an IP get blocked?
IPs get blocked when they reach the limit set by us. There are millions of hackers attempting to hack nearly every type of system every day, all over the world. One of our roles is to maintain our server so that your website can remain untouched by unknown sources. The reason we set limits is to prevent a hacker with an automatic deciphering system from continuously attempting to crack your password. Setting that limit will ensure that our system blocks that hacker and his IP address, thus preventing him from further trying to hack his way in.
We hope this gives you the confidence that you are backed up by us and our 24/7 server technical team.
Please let us know if you have any concerns.