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Can I use an ATM or debit card to pay? back to top
Currently, Outerbounds is unable to accept ATM or generic debit cards for payment. However, if your debit card contains a Visa or MasterCard logo, you will be able to use it as a credit card to pay for our service.

Can I pay by check or money order? back to top
We allow payment via check or money order, although your account will not be accessible until the first month's payment is received.

How do I change my credit card / billing information? back to top
To update or change your credit card and billing information, please call our toll-free support number.

When does billing take place for monthly accounts? back to top
Your account will be charged monthly starting immediately the day the account is opened.

I am going on vacation, can I pause my account until I return? back to top
Yes. You can pause your account for the months you are gone to prevent you from being charged while you are not going to be able to use Outerbounds. There is a minimum of 30 days to pause your account. To pause your account, please call 1-715-204-9423. This must be done prior to the dormant period. 

Why was my credit card declined? back to top
If your credit card was declined when you tried to sign up, this may be caused by several factors. Our checkout system does extensive fraud checking. You need to be sure you enter the exact name and address that the credit card company has on file. This is done to protect you, the user, from fraudulent use of your credit card.  If you are still having difficulty signing up, try using another credit card, if available. If you are still unable to sign up, contact your credit card company to find out why the card was declined.

I signed up but never started using the account, will I be charged? back to top
Yes, your account will be charged as soon as your information is accepted by our system.

How do I switch from a monthly to a prepay plan? back to top
Please call 1-715-204-9423


How do I cancel my service? back to top
You may cancel via phone, email, or snail mail. Contact information is available here.
  Cancellations may be immediate or at the end of the current billing period; partial months are not refundable.

Are you going on vacation or home from school for the summer? We now have a new pause option, allowing you to place your account on hold until you get back. You will not be charged for the months your account is paused.

I prepaid for your service, how do I renew my account? back to top
All accounts are automatically renewed at the end of the prepay term. 

What credit cards can I use with Outerbounds? back to top
We accept Visa, Master card, Discover, and American Express.


I am going away for a little while, can I put my account on hold? back to top
Yes. Are you going on vacation, home from school for the summer, or serving overseas? We now have a new pause option, allowing you to place your account on hold until you get back. You will not be charged for the months your account is paused.

How many email accounts do I get? back to top
We give five free POP email boxes with each account. You can access these accounts using our webmail or an email client such as Outlook Express or Netscape. All of your email accounts with Outerbounds are protected by our spam filters, keeping your inbox 99% spam-free as well as anti-virus protection.

With my current ISP, I receive a lot of Junk Email, will I have this problem with Outerbounds? back to top
No. We use powerful spam filters on our servers and are constantly updating our spam database to keep your email box 99% Spam Free!

Will I be able to use programs such as Outlook Express, etc to read and write email? back to top
Yes, you will still be able to use Outlook Express and other email programs to use with our service. To configure your email, call our support group at 1-715-204-9423.

Will I still be able to use my other email accounts? back to top
Yes, you will still be able to use your other email accounts. When connected to Outerbounds, you will need to set the outgoing mail server to ours: mail.obii.net. This will not affect the email in any way, it just need to pass through our servers while you are connected through our access numbers. Your incoming mail for these other accounts will not need to be changed. We are unable to filter out spam or viruses from email accounts that are not associated with Outerbounds.

How can I check my email from other locations? back to top
Please log into our Webmail Interface and you will be able to read and write email from any computer connected to the internet, anywhere in the world.

Do I need to be connected to read and write email? back to top
No, you can write a message offline, connect, then send the message. This will free up your phone line while you write your messages. To do so, in your email client (ie: Outlook Express) open the program, and choose the "Work Offline" option. When you go to send the message, you will be given the option to connect. In our webmail, you can use an external program, such as Microsoft Word, to type the message, and then Copy and Paste the message when you go online.

After writing a very long email, I get disconnected and am not able to send? back to top
Our service is equipped with a 20 minute idle timeout which will log you off after 20 minutes of inactivity. While you are writing a very long email, no data is being sent or received, so our servers see this as idle time. To prevent this, you can either write the message while offline, or you can keep a random website open and refresh the page every so often to maintain an active connection.

What is the maximum size attachment I can send? back to top
There is a 5 MB maximum limit on the size of the attachment you can send. The typical attachment is much less than that.

What is the limit on the amount of messages I can have in my mailbox? back to top
Your mailbox is limited to 10MB of storage space. However, if you use a program such as Outlook Express which downloads messages to your computer, rather than stay on our servers, the amount of messages you can have is only limited to the size of your hard drive.

I periodically send out emails to very large groups of people who want to receive it, can I use your service? back to top
We are a consumer based service and do not support email messages to large groups of people. With Spam being such a problem in the current market, we are very cautious of any potential spammers that may try and use our service for their benefit. Outerbounds will and does cooperate with all authorities when dealing with illegal activity.

Do you block port 25? back to top
To prevent Spammers and people who send Junk Email from using our servers, we do block port 25 to any address other than our outgoing mail server. This is common for consumer-based service providers.

What is Spam? back to top
Spam is the common term for unsolicited commercial email, in other words, it's junk email. Similar to the junk mail that you receive every day through the postal service, they are offers trying to sell you everything from dubious products, get-rich-quick schemes, or questionable legal services. No reputable company would use this method to advertise.

How do I activate Outerbounds's Spam Protection? back to top
Your Outerbounds email address is automatically protected. You don't have to do anything, our spam filters are seamlessly integrated into our servers so you never have to deal with spam. It gets blocked before you see it.

How much Spam does Outerbounds block? back to top
Our servers will keep your email box 99% spam free! We are constantly updating our spam databases to prevent your email box from getting cluttered with annoyances.

Are there block lists so I can block certain people from sending me mesages? back to top
Yes, our web-based interface allows you to have the power to block certain people from sending you messages.
 

What is a Virus? back to top
A virus is a computer program written to cause harm, annoy, or to steal sensitive information such as passwords or credit card numbers. It can be sent by email unwittingly by your friends or be downloaded with files off the Internet.

How do I activate Outerbounds's Anti-Virus Email Protection? back to top
Our antivirus email protection is based on our servers, so you don't have to do anything. All of your incoming and outgoing obii.net emails are scanned using the most up-to-date scanning technologies and virus databases.

Will I still be able to use my Instant Messaging program or Email account with your service? back to top
Our ISP is designed to allow you to use all forms of internet communication. Many ISP's, such as AOL, have instant messaging programs built into them. In this specific case you would need to download and install the AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) program to continue using that specific service. In most cases your screen name and passwords do not even need to change!
Many email providers allow you to use their service right from their homepage. Hotmail, MSN, and Yahoo are all good examples of this. In order to gain access to your old email you would simply logon with our service, go to the homepage, login, and check your old email account.

How do I contact Outerbounds? back to top
There are many ways to contact Outerbounds. For a list of phone numbers, email addresses, and fax numbers of all the Outerbounds departments please visit our
Contact Us page.

How do I sign up for Outerbounds? back to top
To sign up over the phone just call 1-715-204-9423 and one of our sales representatives will set up your account for you.

Does Outerbounds have free support? back to top
Yes, all of our technical support is free. We have a toll-free support line where you can talk to a live customer service representative.

Can I use my Outerbounds account while traveling? back to top
Yes, we have the largest network of access numbers in the USA, and you can freely roam across the continental US and chances are, we will have an access number where ever you may be.

The Outerbounds access number in my area is the same as my previous ISP, why? back to top
It is common for ISP's in certain areas to share access points.

Can I use Outerbounds if I have a Mac or Linux computer? back to top
Yes, we have no restrictions as to what operating system you can use to connect with. For configuration instructions, please visit our
Support Section.

Can I upgrade from a monthly to a prepay? back to top
Yes, to upgrade your service from a monthly account to a prepay, please call our our Support group at 1-715-204-9423. 

Does Outerbounds really have the largest network in the USA? back to top
Yes. We use many different backbone providers so that we are not dependent on one such provider.

How do I cancel my previous ISP? back to top
Listed below are some hard to find phone numbers to cancel service for other ISPs.
  • To cancel NetZero call 1-866-841-1442
  • To cancel Juno call 1-888-839-5866
  • To cancel BlueLight call 1-800-522-0839
  • To cancel People PC call 1-866-772-6277
  • To cancel Earthlink call 1-800-890-5128
  • To cancel AOL call 1-888-265-8008
             or Fax 1-801-622-7969 (include your full name, phone number, address, screen name, and the last four digits of the credit card charged by AOL)
  • To cancel AT&T Worldnet call 1-800-400-1447
  • To cancel CompuServe call 1-800-848-8990
  • To cancel MSN call 1-800-386-5550
  • To cancel Prodigy call 1-800-213-0992
My web browser says it was provided by my previous ISP, am I connected to Outerbounds? back to top
Yes, you are probably connected to Outerbounds. Your previous ISP simply put their name in to your web browser, it will not affect your web performance.

What are your DNS (Domain Name Server) addresses? Do I need them? back to top
Normally, you do not need to enter our DNS servers, they will be obtained automatically when you log on to our servers. However, some operating systems, such as Linux, may require them.

Our DNS servers are:
  • Primary: 99.169.195.130
  • Secondary: 72.236.206.3

  • How do I transfer my existing Outerbounds account to my new/second computer? back to top
    Please call our technical support group at 1-715-204-9423.

    I have a 56K Modem, how come I cannot connect at 56K? back to top
    All of our access points are V90/56K, however you will never connect at 56K, this is a theoretical speed. In reality, analog throughput is limited to a maximum of 53kbps per FCC regulations and in real live conditions speed will be lower and may fluctuate.

    The connection speed is very dependent on the phone line quality, the hardware/software and the environmental conditions. It can fluctuate.

    To make sure you connect at the maximum speed, you can verify that you have the latest update on you software programs and modem driver (check your hardware and software vendors web sites) and unplug any other equipment using the same phone line as your modem.

    You should try different access numbers in your area (using a different path thru the phone network you might get a better connection). You should try again and see if you get a better speed at a different time (this may fluctuate during the day and over time).

    I have a Mac / Linux / Playstation2 / DreamCast / Etc. Can I still use your service? back to top
    Yes, we have no restrictions as to what operating system you can use with our service.

    I have a V92 modem... Is this available to me? What is my time limit for modem-on-hold? back to top
    Many of our access numbers support V92. Please call our support center for specific sites.

    What is V.92 modem-on-hold? How does it work? back to top
    V.92 modem technology allows the user to pause the internet connection and receive an incoming call. The amount of time you can place your Internet connection on hold while taking another call is 3.5 minutes. Your V.92 modem may include software that will warn you when the timeout time approaches, as well as to display call-waiting and caller-id info (requires call-waiting/caller-id service with your phone company).

    How will I know if someone calls me on my other phone line? back to top
    Our service does not have a phone answering system built into it. There are services (such as Pagoo or CallWave) readily available over the Internet which allow you to see if someone is calling you. Otherwise you would need to disable your call waiting feature.

    Can I use FTP with Outerbounds? back to top
    Yes. If you have a website or FTP server, you will still be able to use FTP (File Transfer Protocol) with our service.

    Does Outerbounds provide any web space? back to top
    Yes, please give us a call at our support center.