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Finally managed to migrate btinternet.com email off main BT account

shadboja — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 23:09:38 GMT

Hi,

Help pages say a customer with BT Broadband with a legacy btinternet.com email address can keep their email (as email Basic) when leaving BT as paying customer. I finally managed to migrate my email account out from my main BT account ready for ceasing BT Broadband, it wasn't easy so here's a guide.

Starting point is I have a BT ID for my telephone line and broadband account, from which can manage the email account.

First login to webmail and change email password. This ensures it follows current BT account password requirements (my old one didn't).

Login to My BT, ensure BT ID email address (used to login) is different to email address want to migrate out (this was already the case, so if you don't have another email address go and create one eg outlook.com or gmail.com).

On My BT page go to 'Your products'. Scroll down to 'Included in your product' to find email settings. Click Manage and find the email account to migrate out. Click on 'See options' and select 'Give this email address'. Fill in the form, and in the box for email address for user enter the address want to migrate, and confirm.

This triggers an email to the account (subject 'Your message from BT') so open this and click to confirm want to accept the email address. Go through the process of creating a new BT ID to manage this email account, use the email address as the login name and use the email password as the BT ID password (can change these later if needed). When creating new BT enter mobile number and recovery email address (so another email account elsewhere), make a note of these security details for any future password recovery.

When complete make sure you log in and out of your email and new My BT (BT ID) account. Go and make a drink as that's the hard part over!

Now you have 2 BT IDs associated with the email account being migrated. It is still a Standard email product rather than Basic so next stage is to unlink it from the BT ID associated with BT landline/broadband.

Log back into My BT using broadband account BT ID. Navigate back to 'Included in your product' to manage email product. The email address to migrate should now be listed in the section 'Email addresses you've given to friends and family'. Select the email account to migrate and remove it from your BT ID. This triggers another email to your account to confirm the email account has been removed from the original BT ID account and will change to Basic email in 2 months time.

Simples.

Regards,

John

Re: Finally managed to migrate btinternet.com email off main BT account

gg30340 — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 23:27:34 GMT

That is rather a long convoluted unnecessary way to get the free BTMail Basic account.

There is no need to "migrate" anything.

When you leave BTBroadband, any BTMail email account that is part of it will be automatically "downgraded" to BTMail Basic unless you choose to have a BT Premium email account.

See link

What happens to my email address when my BT Broadband service stops? | BT Help

Re: Finally managed to migrate btinternet.com email off main BT account

shadboja — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 08:29:53 GMT

Thanks, glad BT will automatically migrate a Standard email product to a Basic email product on termination of broadband. However I appreciate the capability to migrate the account myself becuase:

a) I'm currently a paying BT customer so if anything goes wromg I have the support of the helpdesk.

b) I'm in control of the process now rather than relying on a system at some unknown date in the future.

I've been a BT email user from the days of @talk21.com on dial up, and have seen systems and products come and go. BT finally seems to be taking email seriously and I look forward to enhancements such as 2FA.

Regards,

John

Re: Finally managed to migrate btinternet.com email off main BT account

licquorice — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 08:36:02 GMT

What a pointless exercise

Re: Finally managed to migrate btinternet.com email off main BT account

gg30340 — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 09:33:05 GMT

@shadboja wrote:

Thanks, glad BT will automatically migrate a Standard email product to a Basic email product on termination of broadband. However I appreciate the capability to migrate the account myself becuase:

a) I'm currently a paying BT customer so if anything goes wromg I have the support of the helpdesk. And as a BTMail customer you would still get support from BT if anything went wrong!

b) I'm in control of the process now rather than relying on a system at some unknown date in the future. The "unknown" date is the date that you set to leave BT!

You are no more in control of the process than you were before you did what you did. All you have done was create work for your self because all you have done is "gifted" the email account to your self as per this link

Creating BT Email addresses? | BT Help

Your email account will work through out the entire process without any intervention by you.

I've been a BT email user from the days of @talk21.com on dial up, and have seen systems and products come and go. BT finally seems to be taking email seriously and I look forward to enhancements such as 2FA. 2FA has been available for a few years now. You activate it through your MyBT See link

Two-step authentication | BT Help

Regards,

John

Just so that any person reading this is aware, you DO NOT need to do what @shadboja has done. There is more chance of something going wrong with that "method" than just waiting until you actually leave BT.

When you leave, BT will contact you regarding what will happen to your email account and what options you have along with what the process is to retain your email address, albeit as a BTMail basic account.

There is basically nothing you need to do such as setting up another BTID to manage it. It is all done automatically by BT as per the link I posted above.