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I opened a ticket like a week or so before it expired, and they quickly generated an invoice and the domain was renewed.
I did receive an email like a month in advance saying that the domain was about to expire but the link in the email that was supposed to show the invoice did not work, and no invoice was created. Seems like there is some sort of glitch in their system, I'm sure they'll work it out eventually.
I am unable to reach the incognet website to pay invoices, open tickets, etc. The 172.59.xxx.xx IPs are all blocked. I emailed [email protected] twice. I had to use a public wifi today just to reach the portal in order to perform a vps backup.
You can use Tor to connect. They even have an onion website.
http://incoghostm2dytlqdiaj3lmtn7x2l5gb76jhabb6ywbqhjfzcoqq6aad.onion I believe this is the one
My limited experience with them:
I wanted to get a VPS from them, but nobody responded to my inquiries. Two months later, I finally got a reply saying that they could provide one, but by then I no longer needed it, as I had already bought several VPSs elsewhere.
Later, I wanted to transfer a domain to them. However, their control panel does not allow you to become a customer by paying only for a domain transfer. You have to purchase a VPS or another product first. I contacted support about this and asked them to manually approve my panel registration. I later followed up on the request, but three months have passed and I still haven't received any response.
I was also told via PM that it's basically a one-man show, that he simply doesn't have enough time to handle everything, and that you shouldn't expect much in terms of customer service.
Yeah there's zero customer service, but it's not a ghost ship. He maintains it well and the service is solid.
That's very good. Sooner or later, I think I'll make it through all the obstacles and finally get a chance to try the service for myself.
I still prefer to judge things based on my own experience, since it often differs from other people's opinions or impressions, especially when those are mostly theoretical.
I'd definitely recommend it. Whenever there's an actual issue, it gets fixed fast and isn't ignored.
@forest Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out. I'm glad I found somewhere I could get Incognet help. I like the service, but getting answers has always been a struggle. This forum is helpful.
Hidden service is only for main website, not client portal afaik
True, but the portal is still accessible over Tor.
@forest I get your point, and I’m sure the service works well when nothing needs manual intervention.
But with domains, limited support can become a real problem. If someone wants to hurt you, they can just spam abuse reports to the registrar or registry, and unless IncogNET replies quickly and pushes back, the domain can end up locked or suspended.
That’s basically what happened to me. I already lost a big domain because registrars/NICs were not answered by MannDude in time, and now I’ve been stuck for 8+ months on another one. At this point, unless you’re a well-known LET member who can get attention here, it feels very hard to get anything escalated.
I’m not trying to attack MannDude personally, especially given his situation and the very good history of the service. He has clearly done a lot for privacy-oriented hosting and domains.
But in its current state, I can’t really recommend IncogNET for domains.
With domain disputes, the registrar/registry can absolutely be part of the problem as well, so I wouldn’t automatically put all of the blame on MannDude.
I’ve seen these situations drag on because there can be multiple parties involved reseller, registrar, registry/NIC, abuse departments, and sometimes legal/compliance teams. Each one can end up saying they’re waiting on someone else, especially when the domain has been locked due to an abuse report or legal dispute.
If the actual lock was placed at the registrar or registry level, the reseller may not even have the ability to remove it themselves. They can escalate and push for answers, obviously, and an 8+ month delay is pretty extreme, but it can still be difficult to tell from the outside which party is actually holding things up.
Unfortunately, once multiple companies are involved, there tends to be a lot of finger-pointing over who is responsible for taking the next step.
@ChrisMiller Yeah I agree, I’m not putting all the blame on IncogNET. The registrar/NIC side is clearly part of the mess too.
My point is more general: with domains, reseller support is not optional. If abuse reports hit the registrar or NIC, the reseller may not control the lock, but they are often the only one who can answer, escalate, or confirm who the customer is. As the end customer behind an intermediary, I can only do so much myself.
After 8+ months, it doesn’t feel like much has actually been tried beyond the minimum. I’m doing everything I can, but some steps simply require IncogNET.
Same thing happened before: one domain apparently only needed a reply to the NIC within about a week, and it didn’t happen. Now Internet.bs seems to need a simple confirmation that I’m the customer behind the privacy proxy.
So yeah, I get that multiple parties are involved, but the reseller still has a real role here.
I have no opinion on whether they're good for domains. I only use them for a VPS.
Thank you for sharing this. I also don’t understand how a domain registrar, reseller, intermediary, or similar service can operate without proper support.
I’ve already marked this service with a red flag (domains only but not VPS!) in my provider comparison table, so your input was very useful. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience!