Tried to post this yesterday, but haven't seen it yet soo . . .

[King Joey]

Is there a normal timeframe for approving a petition for an IP ban exemption? My wife and I were going to play with my buddies last night, but couldn't get on at the same time so we rescheduled for today. But still not able to get on. When would be a good time to reschedule and hope that we can both log on?

[Swish]

It can be days, it can be over a month... its whenever the volunteers get around to doing the next batch.

Compare it to turning up for a boat in East Freeport. Is it about to dock? Or did you just miss it? Either way it's coming around again :p

[King Joey]

Okay, guess I'll let her play for now. A month is a long ways to fall behind though. Oh, well. :(

[Scoojitsu]

Just use your mobile phone for a second connection. WLAN Hotspot or USB tethering.
If you're playing with different IP addresses you're good.
EQ doesn't use up much data.

Or use a VPN client on one machine to get a different IP address.

[King Joey]

Don't have a VPN, but hadn't thought about using the phone hotspot. Will give that a try.

[BlackBellamy]

Just use your mobile phone for a second connection. WLAN Hotspot or USB tethering.
If you're playing with different IP addresses you're good.
EQ doesn't use up much data.

Or use a VPN client on one machine to get a different IP address.

This is the kind of advice that can get your accounts banned for life. All it takes is for your mobile hotspot to lose connection then your machine defaults to your regular network or you forget which one is which just for a second. Just get an IP exemption like everyone else.

[Scoojitsu]

Nah you don't get banned. First of all if you lose connection you drop out of game. You cannot stay connected while switching IP address.
You also cannot connect to the same server twice with the same IP. That's why people need that IP exemption.

If they suspect you're one guy boxing two accounts they'll test you. As long as you're two people you won't have a problem passing those tests.

I think using a VPN or mobile hotspot is perfectly fine.

[Seetherrr]

It takes about a week from what I experienced / read about others. I personally would just use a vpn until then. As long as you aren't doing anything illegal it won't be an issue.

[Indecisive]

This is the kind of advice that can get your accounts banned for life. All it takes is for your mobile hotspot to lose connection then your machine defaults to your regular network or you forget which one is which just for a second. Just get an IP exemption like everyone else.

Exactly this. Don't risk it, OP.

[seratt]

Ours took about 4 to 5 days for a reply, and this was very recent.

[tpgramlich]

I've requested several different IP exemptions over the past few years for my wife and our sons (and second accounts for my wife and myself because we have a bit of an alt addiction). In all cases it was less than a week for it to be approved, usually within 2-3 days.

For those being alarmist about using phone tethering or a VPN to play together while waiting for your exemption to be approved, there is no need. It's not against the rules to circumvent the IP block; it is absolutely against the rules to multi-box. The IP block is only there to make it abundantly clear for those who may not read the rules that boxing is not allowed. As long as you NEVER have one RL individual logged into more than one character at a time on the same server (and can prove that to a GM at a moment's notice if you are tested), then you are all good.

This is the exact text from every IP exemption approval I've received:
Hi there, I just want to be sure we're clear on the rules here. On P99, we consider it 2 boxing if 1 person is controlling more than 1 character for *ANY* amount of time for *ANY* reason. This means no boxing to transfer items "for just a sec", moving characters, EC muling, etc. If we catch you doing these things the accounts will be subject to a perma ban. We are very strict with our 2 boxing rules here.

Your exemption has been granted. If the accounts listed haven't logged off since this post, log out completely for it to take effect.

Remember the rules: 1 client per Real Life player at any time. Deviation from this rule will result in permanent bans.

Make sure everyone thoroughly understands and follows this rule.
Enjoy the server!