[Closed] Changing Broadband provider Email Question

I think this was a subject on watchdog or by Ofcom recently. Some CPs allow you to keep using the email account, some place restrictions or time limits, some like BT charge a small fee if you want to keep using your email address. First thing is to check the Virgin small print to see if they will just cut you off or give a grace period etc.

Also its common for webmail in your browser to keep working, but they will disable IMAP/POP access which is how Outlook and other computer based programs collect and send email.

I’d have thought that you could connect outlook (or any IMAP client) to both accounts and then just drag from on to the other. Better do it before you move.

Then set yourself a reminder not to use ISP email addresses. Gmail, iCloud, MS or whatever will let you switch ISP without the faff.

I've tried to link the two via the settings in Gmail and it won't work.
There's no option to even try to link from the Virgin end.

One of the problems with using ISP provider's email addresses   is what happens if you switch (of course the whole reason they provide them is to make it awkward to take your business away from them) - but also what happens if that company closes or just decides it doesnt want to provide email any more.

Virgin has already shafted a whole bunch of customers when they got shot of their 'virgin.net' customers - sold them to another company (talk talk IIRC) who of course didn't want to support an email service with someone else's brand attached to it so they eventually just switched it off. A few people I know have found themselves locked out of things like social media accounts because they signed up with a virgin.net account and now that those addresses have vanished they can't do a password recovery to access accounts even just to close them.

Gmail, iCloud, MS or whatever will let you switch ISP without the faff.

Even with those providers you're leaving that in their hands - apple did things like drop the mac.com addresses in favour of me.com

I think it generally a safe bet that you can expect to continue to use email - its not the fad everyone says its going to be. I think email is going to stick around for a while. Probably worth getting your own address. 🙂

My approach would be to file all your mail on one of your machines in a local folder, not one that is replicated at the provider via IMAP.

After the change of provider you can then upload them (if you wish) to folder at your new provider (subject to space availability). Don't forget to back them up while the archive is under your control and not in the cloud.

had this problem in the past with ISP emails. i do now have a couple of gmail adresses but my main one is a sky address, they let you keep it if you leave them.
you would think that virgin would do the same, i assume sky think you might be more likely to go back to them later if your still using there email.

My btinternet one keeps working, left them a year ago and declined to pay to keep it going, guess it might switch off sometime.....

Nothing to add except that my parents still use an AOL.com email address from about 1997 when the Internet used to come on free CD attached to a magazine.

😁

Bad: ISP-provided email.

Good: ISP-independent email from big players such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, many others. I haven't used it in forever but I have a Yahoo! email account dating back to the late 90s.

Best: Register a domain then everything is in your full control even if the destination provider goes bang.

I’ve tried to link the two via the settings in Gmail and it won’t work.

You're not trying to link anything. See the post directly above yours.

Install a full-fat client (Thunderbird, Outlook or any one of a thousand others), add both accounts, sync all your emails and then copy them over. IMAP is your friend here.

Caveat: This May Take Some Time.

After the change of provider you can then upload them (if you wish) to folder at your new provider

Thus recreating the exact problem you're trying to solve.

my main one is a sky address, they let you keep it if you leave them.
you would think that virgin would do the same

"I'm leaving you as a customer... oh by the way, can I keep using your services for free?" This is brexit logic. It's a bit like moving house, Royal Mail will redirect your post until you've notified everyone of the change - for something like ten quid a month.

It's nice that some ISPs let you keep it but as someone else suggested I doubt it's entirely altruistic. They're hoping you'll come back at some point.

my main one is a sky address, they let you keep it if you leave them.
you would think that virgin would do the same

“I’m leaving you as a customer… oh by the way, can I keep using your services for free?” This is brexit logic. It’s a bit like moving house, Royal Mail will redirect your post until you’ve notified everyone of the change – for something like ten quid a month.

It’s nice that some ISPs let you keep it but as someone else suggested I doubt it’s entirely altruistic. They’re hoping you’ll come back at some point.

the hoping you'll come back part is what i said straight after the part you quoted, and virgin are very similar to sky as in the ISP side is only a small and cheap part of what they provide, they both want you to take that and the tv packages.

Virgin keep running your email for 90 days. After then it's gone.

Virgin has already shafted a whole bunch of customers when they got shot of their ‘virgin.net’ customers – sold them to another company (talk talk IIRC) who of course didn’t want to support an email service with someone else’s brand attached to it so they eventually just switched it off. A few people I know have found themselves locked out of things like social media accounts because they signed up with a virgin.net account and now that those addresses have vanished they can’t do a password recovery to access accounts even just to close them.

I had virgin.net dial up in the late 90’s. I just sent myself an email to my old virgin.net address out of curiosity and it appeared in my current email inbox a few seconds later. I obviously set it up to forward at some point and it’s still working.

Even with those providers you’re leaving that in their hands – apple did things like drop the mac.com addresses in favour of me.com

I’m still using a mac.com address. They never stopped them working, they just started making new subscribers use me.com.

A friend of mine still has a RocketMail email as his primary account, literally [firstname]@rocketmail.com. RocketMail was acquired by Yahoo! in 1997, so that's well old.

Somewhat amusingly, Wikipedia's opening gambit here is:

<<
RocketMail
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the delivery of mail by rockets, see rocket mail.
>>

I used a UKOnline after for years after I stopped using them, then they asked me for money to keep it alive, so I let it die. I think they gave me about 6 months notice before switching it off.

I’d have thought that you could connect outlook (or any IMAP client) to both accounts and then just drag from on to the other. Better do it before you move.

I’ve done this successfully in the past.

Another option is to download a local copy and keep it as an archive. Depends how accessible you want your old email to be really.

Depends how accessible you want your old email to be really.

All I really want is for some kind of copy of payment receipts and discussions with people who have built stuff for me.
Also if I ever have to claim on warranty for anything I just dig out the old email for proof of purchase.
I've now got most of the emails from my Virgin inbox over to my Gmail account (not sure how I did that)
But its not transfered emails from folders other than inbox?
Any ideas how to transfer these or how to just save them?