> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hiveku.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Request a Dedicated Email IP

> Isolate your sender reputation with a dedicated IP address

Get your own outbound IP for sending email. A dedicated IP gives you full control over your sender reputation — for better or worse.

## Shared vs. Dedicated

By default, your emails send from Hiveku's shared IP pool. That's the right choice for most senders. A dedicated IP only makes sense once you have consistent high-quality volume.

|                       | Shared pool                                | Dedicated IP                                |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------- |
| **Who sends from it** | All Hiveku customers                       | Only you                                    |
| **Reputation**        | Averaged across the pool                   | Yours alone                                 |
| **Best for**          | Low to moderate volume, mixed use          | 50k+ emails/month, regulated industries     |
| **Risk**              | Other senders' bad behavior can affect you | Your own bad behavior is isolated but fatal |
| **Cost**              | Included                                   | Monthly fee                                 |

<Info>
  A dedicated IP doesn't automatically improve deliverability. It isolates your reputation — which is only good if your reputation is good. Consistent engagement and clean lists matter more than dedicated infrastructure.
</Info>

## When to Consider One

* You send **more than 50,000 emails per month**, consistently
* You're in a regulated industry (finance, healthcare) where shared-pool incidents are unacceptable
* You need predictable deliverability for high-stakes transactional email
* You've been told by a deliverability consultant to isolate your reputation

If you're below 50k/month or your volume is bursty, the shared pool almost always outperforms a cold dedicated IP.

## Request an IP

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Dedicated IPs tab">
    In your project, go to **Settings > Email Service > Dedicated IPs**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Request Dedicated IP">
    Hiveku starts provisioning an IP for your account.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Wait for provisioning">
    Provisioning typically takes a few minutes. For certain regions or during high load, it can take a few hours. You'll get an email when it's ready.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check the IP status">
    Once provisioned, the IP appears in your Dedicated IPs list with a warmup status and initial reputation score.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## 30-Day Automatic Warmup

New IPs have no reputation. Major mailbox providers (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo) throttle mail from unknown IPs until they've seen consistent, clean sending patterns.

Hiveku automates the 30-day warmup:

| Phase             | Days  | What happens                                     |
| ----------------- | ----- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| **Cold start**    | 1–3   | Very small volume cap — a few hundred emails/day |
| **Ramp-up**       | 4–14  | Daily cap increases gradually                    |
| **Full throttle** | 15–30 | Approaching full send volume                     |
| **Warm**          | 30+   | Full volume, no caps                             |

<Warning>
  Sending above your daily warmup cap won't just get throttled — it will **damage your new IP's reputation** with mailbox providers. Trust your warmup plan. If you hit the cap, queue excess or route through the shared pool.
</Warning>

## Monitor Your IP

The Dedicated IPs tab shows live stats for each IP:

* **Reputation score** (0–100) — blended signal from bounce rate, complaint rate, and mailbox provider feedback loops
* **Warmup progress** — percent complete and current daily cap
* **Daily and hourly volume** — what you're currently sending
* **Last used** — time of last delivery

Click any IP to see a 30-day reputation trend chart.

<Tip>
  Watch reputation daily during the first month. A drop from 95 to 80 isn't crisis-level, but three straight days of drops means you need to investigate — usually either send volume above the cap, or list quality problems.
</Tip>

## Release an IP

If you no longer need a dedicated IP, you can release it.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the IP row">
    Click the three-dot menu next to the IP in the Dedicated IPs list.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Release">
    Confirm — the IP is returned to the pool immediately and billing stops the same day.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Traffic reverts to shared">
    Any sends after release go out through the shared IP pool.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Pricing

Dedicated IPs have a fixed monthly fee regardless of volume. Contact sales for current pricing — rates depend on region and plan.

See the [dedicated IPs reference](/email/dedicated-ips) for configuration details and multi-IP setups.

## Verify It's Working

<Steps>
  <Step title="Send a real email">
    After provisioning, your sends will route through the new IP automatically.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check headers">
    Open the delivered email and look at the raw headers — the `Received:` chain shows the sending IP. It should match your dedicated IP address.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Watch reputation">
    Over the first two weeks, you should see warmup progress advance daily and reputation climb toward 90+.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Reputation dropping during warmup">
    Almost always one of two causes: (1) you're sending above the daily warmup cap, or (2) you're sending to unengaged lists with high bounces and complaints. Slow down, clean your suppression list, and re-engage before resuming.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="IP not provisioned after several hours">
    Contact support with your project ID. Some regions have capacity constraints and manual provisioning.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="High bounce rate on a warm IP">
    Usually a list quality issue, not the IP itself. Audit your opt-in flow, remove addresses that haven't engaged in 90+ days, and check your [email suppressions](/how-tos/email-suppressions).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Dedicated IP isn't improving deliverability">
    A dedicated IP isolates reputation — it doesn't create a good one. If your content, list quality, or authentication is bad, a dedicated IP will underperform the shared pool. Fix the root cause first.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Want to pause without releasing">
    You can't pause billing on a provisioned dedicated IP — either keep it active or release it. If you release and re-request later, you'll warm up a new IP from scratch.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## What's Next?

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Email Suppressions" icon="ban" href="/how-tos/email-suppressions">
    Keep your bounce and complaint rates low
  </Card>

  <Card title="Dedicated IPs Reference" icon="book" href="/email/dedicated-ips">
    Full configuration details
  </Card>
</CardGroup>