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      Using email with Connect Fibre

      A guide to keeping your email address when you change broadband provider.

      We don't offer an email address with your broadband package as many customers have their own web-based emails. It is fairer for you to have a personal email address that you can have access to at all times, not just as a Connect Fibre Customer.

      You can find many free third-party email account providers - here. Having a personal email is fairer. You may already have one that you're not already using as part of an iCloud or Google account. 

      If you do use an email account from another broadband provider and want to keep it here is a breakdown of what may apply. There are specific terms and conditions that apply for each provider at the time of writing (May 2023) but do check with your current provider in case things have changed. 

      • BT - you'll be able to keep your BT email address, but there is a catch – after 60 days you will have to subscribe to BT Premium Mail to retain all of your current features. If you don't want to pay a monthly subscription to retain flexibility and accessibility with your email account, you will have to set up a new account elsewhere. 
      • Virgin Media - Switching provider away from Virgin Media gives you 90 days to access your email account before it vanishes forever, along with the contents, i.e. all your emails. Virgin Media gives you a small window in which you can move or save anything important to your computer or forward it to a new email address, however there is no dispute. After the 90-day period, once it's gone, it's gone. 
      •  TalkTalk - you have 12 months to use your TalkTalk email account, during which you can send and receive emails. You won't be able to use the 'My Account' feature, so you can't actively manage your account (for important things like changing passwords). Also, if you leave your account idle for six months, TalkTalk will assume it's inactive and delete it.
      •  Sky - You'll be able to keep your email address with Sky and you can continue to use it after you switch to a new provider without having to pay a fee. However, Sky will eventually close down inactive accounts. 
      •  PlusNet - you'll be able to keep your email address, but like BT, they will charge you a small monthly fee for the pleasure. You'll have to inform PlusNet that you want to keep using its email service, because if you don't, it will be deleted along with your account when you leave.

      For all other providers - please check your terms and conditions regarding email accounts.

       If you set up a new email address

      A new email address with a third-party will prevent your email address being reliant on your broadband provider. It also avoids you having to pay a subscription for access to your email when you leave that broadband provider or loosing it entirely. But don't fret! You're not stuck. But there are a couple of things to think about as you create your new email address. 

       

      A few things to think about

      • Each mailbox is different but you can import mail and contacts from one email inbox to a new one should you wish to. This will take out some of the hassle of having to individually forward things to your new inbox or manually input contacts. 
      • Email forwarding from your old email inbox to your new one will help direct your email over to the new inbox as you swap things over. (This step isn't necessary but a bonus, it can be handy to keep track of emails coming in that may not have been redirected yet).
      •  Setting up an auto responder (another bonus step) on your old email address (a bit like an out-of-office) that let's family and friends know that their email has been forwarded to your new email address (and when you reply from it not to mark it as spam). 
      •  If you have had your current email address for a while you may also need to think about updating all of your personal accounts (e.g. Netflix, any billing services, PayPal, cloud storage, social media etc.) with the new email. This is usually a case of logging in and updating your personal information so you can log in with the new email address instead of the old one. 

      It is really important you do this to protect your data and just in case you forget your password and need to reset it through email. If you can't reset it through email and you get locked out you loose your account and all the details in it!

      Finally once you have moved out of your old email address, remember to delete all those old emails you don't want to keep - particularly any that contain personal information!