This is a warning to anyone considering using 1and1 for dedicated server hosting.

We signed up for two servers with 1and1 , and we were working on the assumption that 1and1 support is almost non existant (Which is very true).

We are Microsoft Gold Partners , and have extensive OS and hardware experience.

I signed up on the basis we would not need 1and1 support for anything other than a physical hardware fault.

When we had a physical hardware fault it took 1and1 3 days ! to replace a stick of memory.

When the server came back the OS had somehow been corrupted.

The 1and1 windows recovery system didnt work (1and1 suggested we use a linux emergency recovery) , but as we have no linux experience this was about as much use as a chocolate teapot.

The Serial console access , also didn't allow us to press f8 for DS restore mode or safe mode (from which we could have recovered the OS).
(essentially rendering the serial console access useless).


So all the "safety features" 1and1 offered didnt work correctly , essentially leaving us with one option and that was to do a clean install of the OS , (Which fortunately does work from 1and1 control panel).

we now have a day or so's work to recover the server just because the 1and1 service is so bad. so all in all 3 days + downtime for our customers.

My complaint to 1and1 customer support was never answered (2 months+)
There is no online ticket system to track issues.
If you leave an issue with 1and1 support they will not resolve the problem.
If you call regularily to get problems resolved you might as well be speaking with a monkey , as you would get a similar response.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS , YES THEY ARE CHEAP BUT you will pay for it in customer dissatisfaction (Unless this server is going to be used for something completely non critical - ie you can wait up to 1 week for it to be fixed , and you have the time to rebuild the server whenever there is an OS issue.

(I did research before signing up , and thought that due to our technical skills and experience we could ignore the support issues with 1and1 but this was not the case as there are times when hands on server access is needed (especially when most of the 1and1 tools offered for server recovery do not work).

You have been warned.