IX Web Hosting reviews – Page 5

Possibly Vunerable Servers

It seems that three of my domains were hacked by TheWayEnd Turk Hacker recently on IX. In researching it, it seems that they have been vulnerable for nearly a YEAR and still haven't been able to fix the issues according to some of the complaints I saw. One person even has a dedicated blog on the wordpress site just to complain about IX.

Would not reccomend until they can guarantee effective security measures against attacks.

Biggest Pro: Decent product for the price
Biggest Con: Unsecure

IX Webhosting is a PITA!!!

I am totally and completely disgusted with IX Webhosting. It used to be a great host and I recommended it to everyone I could. But something has changed. I believe they got sold. Since then, we have had nothing but endless trouble with this host...

Last year, they proudly moved to a new Data Center. Of course this caused us problems for several months. They kept apologizing, but the problems persisted. After a very long period, things calmed down and remained that way until November...

Without prior warning, IX moved our site to a new server in November. After 60+ hours of calling, using Live Chat, and using the ticket support system, they finally worked out most problems. I felt like I had to beg to get IX to help resolve the problems that they created. I lost an entire weekend fighting them. The IX response times average between 12-24 hours...

Then again this January, IX updated all of our cgi-bin files in our domain and all of our sub-domains recreating the problems that were caused in November's unnecessary server move. Again, it took over 60+ hours to get our site up and running. I had to find workarounds to get our site up and running, and amazingly, IX tried to take credit for getting our site up and running again even though they had nothing to do with it...

Even though our site is up and running now, we still have many problems. After 176 hours of fighting IX for help, they have yet to correct the Cron job errors that still plague our site...

The last two days, the server has crashed in the evening requiring another call to IX to get the server restarted/reset and our site back online. This was the same pattern that plagued us after the Data Center move last year. And early every morning, the page load response times drag down to a crawl. This seems to start between midnight and 4 AM every single night. The other day, the slowness continued well into the following day. We get an apology from IX each time this happens, but they don't seem to be doing anything to permanently correct it...

IX has tried very hard to blame these problems on our code, which worked fine before the server move in November and again up until January. IX does not want to take responsibility for their actions and it is frustrating and disgusting dealing with them. I cannot in good conscience recommend IX Webhosting to anyone until they improve the skills of their own Technical Support staff. It wouldn't hurt if they hired a few more knowledgeable people to improve their response times too. Waiting 12-24 hours for each new response to a ticket is totally unacceptable. With IX's lack of effort, a resolution to a problem can drag on for days and weeks. IX does the bare minimum to assist its clients and they do it as slow as they possibly can...

Dealing with IX technical support gets real old real fast. I wouldn't wish this on anyone...

Biggest Pro: Server Setup
Biggest Con: Lousy Technical Support

My first web hosting company... bad choice

1. Server is down a lot.

2. Phone tech support is hard to reach. Online chat support are outsourced to somewhere in Eastern Europe.

3. My web sites became unavailable once for several hours and when they came back, they appeared the way they did several weeks before. There was some major server issue that ix must have resolved by backing it up to an earlier date. I received no apology or notification. It also permanently screwed up all of my 301 redirects.

4. Problems with some emails getting tons of spam.

5. they suck

Great Hosting

I truly love IXWebhosting. I have been a customer for a long time and I have never had any issues out of them. My site is always up and I have always gotten fantastic service. Their tech support is wonderful and always available when I have a question or an issue. I have many friends that are with them also, and they agree with me totally. I would highly recommend them to anyone who is looking for an affordable shared host.

Several Reasons to avoid IX Web Hosting

This will be a long review describing what I have recently gone through with IX web hosting and why I am choosing to leave them.

I have been with IX Web Hosting about 2 years. As I researched, I visited some other web host review sites and noticed that IX web hosting was highly ranked at that time.

I signed up for the Business Plus plan for $7.95 per month . This plan offered 8 dedicated IP's for an excellent price. IX web hosting also offered renewal at the same price as long as you stayed with them. Unfortunately, a bargain is not a bargain unless the company that is offering the service can actually provide it without constant issues.

In the two years I have been with IX web hosting I have not really been very active other than putting up a very simple webpage with the assistance of one of my friends. What I have encountered is a lot of spam type email. On more than one occasion I have had over 1000 spam emails in my mailbox. I was told that finally that issue is being addressed and they are putting some time of spam filtering in place on their servers.

Recently I decided to get more active and create both a forum that included a photo gallery on my website. I am a photographer and I have a son who fights amateur mixed martial arts. I have been called to photograph several events and have been asked by the fighters and their families about purchasing images. I called IX tech support and asked them which forum software and photo gallery they recommended.. One of their tech support people suggested to me that I get a copy of E107 for the forum and Coppermine for the photo gallery. I followed that suggestion.

Once I got the software was to read its requirements and then contact IX to see if they supported ImageMagicK and MySQL databases. I was informed they did and those things were available to me under my current hosting plan. Then I noticed that even though I had changed the pointing of my name servers and typed the names of my domains in the control panel on IX hosting, IX never bothered to create or put up the temporary template or place holder each domain. So when I want to my domains the server name and the port number were exposed.

The first big issue I ran into was when I attempted to create a MySQL database. The data base creation went smoothly but when I went to add users it would not allow it. So I called tech support and we walked through it together. When the tech experience the same issue he told me it was on the server side and he would send an email to the administrator and it would take about two hours to fix it and they would notify me by email once it had been corrected.. Of course this delayed my installation of my forum software. I checked in two hours and I had received a notification that the issue had been resolved so I signed on and attempted to add users to the data base. I discovered the issue still was not fixed so I made another call to tech support. After another delay they finally fixed the issue and I was able add a user to the data base.

The second issue arose when trying to load the E107 Forum software through a zipped file onto the web server. I loaded the file in only to get a Bad response from Server Error when I attempted to extract it in the control panel. Of course I generated a trouble ticket only to be told it was probably a browser issues and could I provide more information. I responded and told them that I had used three different browsers attempting to get this to work and still received the same error. Finally I had to expand the program on my desktop which made loading the program take twice and long.

The third issue ran into came when I was attempting to install the coppermine photo gallery which is designed to work with the forum software I had installed as well as many different forum programs. One of the options is the ability to use a thumbnail program called ImagemagicK that I mentioned above. ImageMagick is a program that resides on the server of your web host and has to be enabled for you to be able to use it. You also need the correct data path to enable it to be used with your photo gallery. I called Tech support several times and no one seemed to know the correct data path. I was actually given the wrong data path by tech support on 3 separate occasions. Once I received the correct data path for it, the program still would not install. So once again I called tech support only to be told that permissions had to be enabled for me to be able to install ImagemagicK and that it would take an Admin to enable it. Since I was calling at night, I was told that it would take until the next day to get the permissions enabled. I was also told that I need to file a trouble ticket through their web system in order to get the problem taken care of. So I asked, if I am calling tech support, and they understand there is an issue then why wouldn't they generate the ticket instead of expecting the customer to jump through hoops to get something on their system corrected.

The forth issue I ran into occurred on the same night. I was continuing to modify my front page of my website and I needed to change some permissions in my program and the control panel on IX Web Hosting would not allow me to do so. So I attempted to use Filezilla which is a third party FTP. The server still would not allow me to change permissions. So once again I called into tech support only to be told that we are sorry we do not support third party software. So I asked for a supervisor and he saw there was an issue on their side that was not allowing me change permissions and finally after fighting with tech support once again and having to ask for a supervisor the problem was corrected.

As you can see, a pattern is developing here and I was starting to get angry.

The fifth issue came up later that evening. I went to back to continue to work on my web site and I click on the control panel and the icon just kept spinning. After several attempts and trying to use different browsers, I called tech support again. I was told by a tech support person " Oh we are sorry but we are running a maintenance script on the server and you should have access again in 2 to 4 hours. I asked, how come your company did not mail an email notice that they were going to be doing some maintenance and the server would be unavailable during this time period. The tech responded we just don't.

At this point, I about had enough and the next day I called in and spoke to ask for a management person and complain about my experiences. I ended up with a billing person who was very nice and convinced me to keep my account and offered me 2 free months of service to compensate me. I told him I did not call to get anything for free but accepted 1 month. Then the billing person told me that I was on an old server called CP4 and that the company had moved their servers from Hopkinsville Ky to Ohio because of bandwidth issues. He said there was also a new server called CP8 and he could not understand why they had not switched me to it because the programs I wanted to install actually resided on the new server as a simple script type install. What that means is that I would not have to load up the program manually and should be able to do a 1 button click install. Since I really did not have any content that resided on the old server I told him to switch me. Which brings me to the sixth issue.

The sixth issue to do with the reinstall of my programs. I used the one button install for the E107 program only to have a problem with the with the program not working properly and the front page not showing. When I called tech support, I was told sorry we do not support third party software. When I mentioned this is a program you have in your control panel and use to encourage people to sign up for your service, I was given the same line that this third party software and not supported. Then I pointed out that there control panel was third party software as well and asked if they supported that. I was told well we have a deal with the company writes that program and our company has modified it so we support it. I was told that if I wanted help with the E107 installation that they offered in their control panel that I would have to call back in the morning and ask for a specific person who was the person most experienced with it. When I called the next morning I was told that person was unavailable. What is ironic is that the same person I had talked to the night before answered the phone. That person was given instruction to help me by the person she had told me to call and we attempted to once again install the E107 software that resided in their control panel and on their server.

The CP8 server was running extremely slowly at this time. For some reason we could not get the e107 program to install properly that resided on their server so I told her I had a zipped copy loaded up but I was having problems getting it to extract properly on the IX server. The tech also had problems extracting it so she loaded it down to her desktop to extract it and asked if she could call me back once the 2997 files had been uploaded and we could walk through the install. I agreed and then she and I also agreed that I would upload the coppermine program through my FTP to the site from my side. After waiting for over 2 hours with no call back, I called back into tech support. I talked to another person who told me the tech I was talking to wanted to know if I could call back in 20 mins. At this point I said No and asked for a manager. I was given to a woman who was supposed to be the Manager over the Tech dept. When I told her what happened the tech who was supposed to call me back lied to her and told the manager she had. I informed the manager I had both a land line with an answering machine and a cell phone with voice mail and there was nothing on either one of them. Of course the tech then changed her story. The manager and I then went about installing the E107 program on the new server, but ran into difficulty because the server was so slow, I was put on hold several times during the install process while the manager went to find out why the server was having the speed issues. At some time during the install the Manager gives me the line we really do not support third party installs and needed to get off the phone. Of course I could not believe that I was hearing this again. So when she got off the phone, I called back in to the company and asked to speak to someone in higher management like a Customer Service Manager. I was told they had none. So I asked how do you get to speak to the vice president or CEO of the company and I was informed you don't. This of course was unbelievable.

I also had a trouble ticket filed outlining my complaints and asking for a call back from the CEO of the company. That ticket is dated Dec 3, 2008 To this date of Dec 17, 2008 I have not had any of complaints addressed in regard to the customer service or tech support complaints. Even so they keep trying to close my ticket and basically I have been ignored.

As you can see there are many problems with the IX Web Hosting Service, I have not listed everything I have experienced but I think you get the idea. I would strongly suggest that you avoid IXwebhosting at all costs.

During the time I have been waiting for a response I opened an account with Blue Host Web Hosting and so far my experience with them has been outstanding. The server appears to be much faster than IX hosting. The customer support is very friendly, and they have both E107 and Coppermine available in their control panel. They also support the install of these programs.

Compared to IX webhosting, Blue host is a breath of fresh air and IX webhosting is a nightmare.

Thanks for reading.

Biggest Con: Please read Review it tells it all

IX Webhosting billing scams and focus only on new customers

IX Webhosting gives you less than one week to fix a credit card issue when an issue is discovered otherwise they suspend your account which causes all of your domains to be down causing you to lose traffic and faith of your regular visitors.

I had been a customer for nearly 5 years and never missed a payment. My credit card happened to expire while I was on vacation and they gave me less than a week to simply enter the new expiration date. I come home to all kinds of emails from folks saying all my websites were down. Found out, my account was suspended a mere few days after my credit card had failed. They claim they emailed me to tell me of the billing issue and claim I must have a spam filter that prevented the emails from arriving even though I DO receive all of their other emails.

Nothing is ever their fault, customer is always wrong which is why IX webhosting won't be in business much longer.

Also, they lower their prices to try feebly to stay competitive but unless an exisiting customer asks to get the lower price for their exact plan, they are charged the higher price from the past. I was on a quarterly billing cycle so I am eligible for price changes EVERY QUARTER and assumed I would be given lower prices for the SAME EXACT PLAN and billing cycle. Wrong.....they continued to charge me the old higher price with each renewal.

Lastly, their prices are way too high as me and a gang of 10 others are going to STARTLOGIC and pay only $5 per month for all the same services!!!

The worst ever

I would not recommend IX Web Hosting ever!

Worst service I have ever had in my whole life.

In fact avoid it like the plague!!!

My site runs on a mysql database and it was down and up and down and up more times than a kids yoyo. So, I asked them to fix the problem on many occasions. Once I waited and waited and after a couple of days I had to telephone in to find out what was going on. I called into the sales department because they were avoiding all calls! After plenty of complaining it was up and running again to great joy, then I started to get traffic and they didn’t like it so they cut me off for a further few days !

I was fuming because it took me ages to get up the search engines. I did have a good ranking in Google and Yahoo and now I have slipped back several pages

So, here I am telling you all about it! I have kept all the logs to show! Also, because you are on a shared server if you send emails some spam software sees it as spam. I had a major problem with that too.

Out of 10, I would give them a 1 because they can just about host a basic site!

Biggest Pro: it just about hosts a site

Worst Ever

Site ready to go live. Spent thousands in advertising dollars to promote site. IX Web server goes down, terrible tech support. Tech chat people are in the Ukraine and know nothing about what they are talking about. IX Web Hosting switched to new server , did not set permissions and site was down again. The site is still down. They may be quick as far as answering the phones in tech support. but they are terrible as far as service once they do answer the phone. If problem arises all they want to do is give refund.

No problems with IX

I run a comparison price and shopping site and never had serious problems with IX Webhosting. I have had some problems and support guys always respond back with what I need or a nice solution. Their support is great and friendly and never had any downtime problem like people here had. I moved out due I needed a dedicated server.

Biggest Pro: Price and Control Pannel
Biggest Con: No dedicated server plan.

Very Disappointed

I did a lot of research before signing up with IX Web Hosting two years ago and have since been happy with them and recommended them to friends, time and time again. As an experienced web designer new to hosting my own sites, their service was more than satisfactory to me at the time. I received quick responses whenever I had a problem. However, as I've grown as a developer over the past couple of years, this hosting company has not. The customer service has definitely declined. While I was kept apprised of updates to service in the beginning and received speedy responses to the few help tickets I submitted, that has changed. Several months ago, I had a server side problem with one of my websites and wrote asking them to correct it. The problem was with an htaccess file, as I recall. I don't remember all the specifics, but I remember it was because I'd tried to add something they do not support, it caused my site to completely disappear, and it was not something I could correct from my end! First, I got absolutely no response for 24 hours to my help ticket, with my site completely down. I finally went to live chat and, like someone else here mentioned, had to argue and argue with them that it was something on the server side, not something I could fix from my end. The guy I chatted with, to his credit, did eventually figure it out and fixed it, but I first had to get through his defensive attitude. At this point, some of the features they offer with their hosting plans are embarrassingly outdated. When I signed up, I wasn't experienced enough to even realize it. Some have now been upgraded for new customers (e.g., upgrade to PHP5), while some remain outdated (e.g., PHPBB2). However, as a customer of two years, I still have the old stuff. Now that I'm venturing into CMS, I am fighting an uphill battle, especially with the outdated PHP. I wrote asking them to please upgrade me to the current levels of service - I'm paying for that service just like the new customers are. I received a great response within an hour, actually, telling me that if I would back up everything I have hosted on their server, they would migrate my account to their new system. I then received a second e-mail, from a different person, again telling me that, yes, they could update me at any time, just to let them know when I had everything backed up. Soooooo, I spent the ENTIRE DAY today backing up anything and everything for 10 different websites, including databases and Joomla websites, everything. I happily wrote to tell them it was a go, and received a response back telling me that, sorry, they are no longer migrating accounts and I'll just have to wait until mine is upgraded eventually. My help ticket was closed and marked "resolved." I wrote back and explained that, no, it was not resolved and that wasn't good enough, that I'd spent the entire day preparing for my account to be migrated, and that I wanted them to either migrate the account or upgrade it or whatever needed to be done right away, so I could get on with business. I again received a response telling me, sorry, it wasn't going to happen, I just need to wait for my account to eventually be upgraded. Well, I have a business plan and it doesn't involve waiting an unspecified period of time for my web hosting company to get around to providing me for the level of service they are offering and for which I am paying when they get darned good and ready. At this point, I have everything completely backed up, and so it will be an easy matter to simply move it to another hosting company instead. That is exactly what I plan to do, so I'm here reading web hosting reviews to find a new hosting company. I'm very disappointed and saddened. I really championed this company, but their attitude this evening was completely dismissive. If I told a client that he or she would simply have to wait an unspecified period of time to get services for which they've paid me, well, I'd be out of business pretty quickly.

Biggest Pro: Usually respond quickly to help tickets.
Biggest Con: Outdated features.