This topic

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

didnotbat — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 16:46:10 GMT

I've used BT for over 20 years but now I am looking at an alternative ISP. BT started to become chaotic around the time EE got involved and email in particular has been affected. My email address is exclusively for my use and the password is changed regularly yet I have been experiencing frequent problems with log-on. BT in its wisdom signs me off after a short time most likely due to 'security' but somewhat misguided for private users liked me who are used to signing on just the once in the morning and finally signing off in the evening

Virgin have finished digging up my road for fibre and it could be time for a change

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

gg30340 — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 18:57:52 GMT

@didnotbat wrote:

BT in its wisdom signs me off after a short time most likely due to 'security' but somewhat misguided for private users liked me who are used to signing on just the once in the morning and finally signing off in the evening

The fact you are signed out after a set time if your email account is inactive is because it is a security issue.

Just because you are private user who signs on in the morning and off in the evening does not mean that you could never forget to sign off, which could leave your device open to being accessed by some other unauthorised person or if your property broken into and your device stolen the thief would have access to your email account and all that it contains.

It is also because you are leaving your account open on the BT servers and this could be intercepted and your email account could be compromised.

It is for the same reasons that if you use Internet Banking that your bank will sign you out after a set period.

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

didnotbat — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 11:42:18 GMT

OK - it looks like BT and I will depart company.

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

EmmBee304 — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 15:21:15 GMT

This is a load of garbage - it is MY choice whether I remain signed in (and therefore take any chances with the so-called security issues raised). I don't want to have to sign in each and every time I come back to my computer having put it to 'sleep' mode for a few minutes or an hour or whatever.

BT e-mail is NOT a banking app, it is for e-mails for goodness sake.

Well done BT, like didnotbat I will be leaving BT so you can say goodbye to my telephone, Broadband and e-mail account as your overkill and 'nanny-state' control of my account is NOT welcome.

There are plenty more ISP's out there who are far more 'user-friendly' and they will be getting my business in future.

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

gg30340 — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 15:59:19 GMT

@EmmBee304 @didnotbat

Are you are aware that you do not need to use BTMail as your email service even although you are using BT Broadband. You can use any email service that you choose such as gmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo Mail etc.

You can also use an email client or email app which will automatically log you on every time you want to check your email or send an email. It will also "fetch" your email and notify you when there is a new email. If you have a mobile device you are probably already using an email app on that.

I take it that you do not use your BT email account for communications or verifications with your bank or any other financial institution or online shopping so that it would be of no benefit to a hacker to get into your email account because it has been left signed on, which would allow the hacker to access your email account and any stored emails which could assist them to access your other online accounts, in which case you will be perfectly safe leaving your email account logged on.

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

WERZ — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 11:00:19 GMT

If this is a security issue then why does my Bt Email account remain open in OUTLOOK?? but shuts down in both Google and Microsoft Edge?? Frustrating is not the word that I would use, Not fit for purpose more like.

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

licquorice — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 11:16:31 GMT

It doesn't remain open in Outlook. Mail clients such as Outlook log in, fetch mail and then log out at periodic intervals set by the user, they don't remain permanently logged in.

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

gg30340 — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 12:26:13 GMT

@WERZ wrote:

If this is a security issue then why does my Bt Email account remain open in OUTLOOK?? but shuts down in both Google and Microsoft Edge?? Frustrating is not the word that I would use, Not fit for purpose more like.

As I said in my message above "You can also use an email client or email app which will automatically log you on every time you want to check your email or send an email. It will also "fetch" your email and notify you when there is a new email. If you have a mobile device you are probably already using an email app on that".

Perhaps I should have added after the above "then log you out" but I thought most people would have understood that is what would happen if it had to automatically log you on you every time you checked, which obviously it would not need to if it was already logged on.

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

grim1 — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 20:12:44 GMT

couldn't agree more EmmBee304 and as per usual you get the feeling changes that are made without your consultation or agreement are almost never for the benefit of the user.

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

grim1 — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 20:23:30 GMT

Bang on Didnotbat I totally agree however I have less options where I live. The road was dug up but it was another company and according to my neighbour, is horrendously more money and extremely unreliable. A few years ago I was informed by BT that I had been upgraded to "full fibre" at no extra cost but according to the BT engineers who came to repair my line it isn't full fibre at all because my line comes to my house through the air on a cable which is probably why I noticed no difference whatsoever when it supposedly "switched over". To get full fibre would cost too much money when I have nearly a hundred feet from my house to the road that I would have to pay for extra. I also have a brain injury that really struggles with changes and even more so when there isn't an option to reverse back.

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

EmmBee304 — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 22:20:21 GMT

.... and the other thing about being "compulsory signed out" every time the computer is switched off or goes into sleep mode is that when you have to sign back in it is labourious. First you have to enter the username, then use the mouse to click onto the next stage of entering your password.... Most sensible companies have both information boxes on the same page and you can move from one to the other using the return button. No, BT make what should be a simple signing in process as awkward as they can.

Still, no problem, there are alternative providers out there and I am currently looking for the best option - I knew I shouldn't have returned to BT. A leopard (or a dinosaur...) never changes its spots. I know I'm not alone - but of course BT will only wake up when they suddenly notice a dip in their revenue then a focus group will be set up as they all sit there scratching their heads asking why they have suddenly lost xx thousand subscribers.....

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

gg30340 — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 22:48:29 GMT

@EmmBee304 wrote:

BT will only wake up when they suddenly notice a dip in their revenue then a focus group will be set up as they all sit there scratching their heads asking why they have suddenly lost xx thousand subscribers.....

Given that BT have not offered an email service, along with other ISPs, to new customers since October 2022 and their market share, which is the largest of any ISP in the UK has not dropped because of that , I doubt that they will notice.

You may not be aware but it is not compulsory to use BTMail just because they are your Broadband provider. You can use any email provider that you choose and still use BT for your broadband.

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

EmmBee304 — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 22:18:43 GMT

I'm fully aware of that, and I do have other e-mail accounts - all of whom keep me logged in and are user-friendly to sign into when I do log out. I will be transferring my contacts over to these other sites and ditching BT for both telephone and broadband services.

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

Mullmuzzler — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 05:16:11 GMT

SO annoying, and proof positive that BT could not give a flying one about its customers! They are trying to dump e-mails as they can't screw enough money out of the punters. Making changes to something that suits BT, NOT BT customers!

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

JCHampshire58 — Thu, 02 May 2024 14:43:39 GMT

I agree, this continual need to log in is completely frustrating, as well as having the enter password box on a separate screen. When this unannounced change came in, I thought my account had been compromised, (unintended result of BT's action) or I had unwittingly change my login preferences. None of this is user friendly. But to add to the absurdity of this compulsory sign-off, why does it not happen on the app on my phone, (which I'm more likely to lose than my desktop), and why, when I re-logged in to this Community, was there an option to remain logged in? Come on BT, give us an option to set a limit for being logged in, up to a more reasonable limit that you set.

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

gg30340 — Thu, 02 May 2024 15:06:54 GMT

@JCHampshire58

Your email app on your phone is not logged on all the time. It logs on on demand ie when you check your email or when you send an email after which it logs off. It does that automatically. This means that there is no open connection to your email account on the BT servers.

You could use an email client or app instead of a web browser and if you set it up as an IMAP account it will synchronise with your phone and any other device that you use an email client/app on .

It will also synchronise with your BTMail webmail so that if you do have to use a web browser at any time it will be exactly the same as on your other devices. i.e all emails and folders will be the same.

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

grim1 — Thu, 02 May 2024 16:32:20 GMT

Its neither one nor the other, I have to agree or rather its all or none. If it is a supposedly action to assist with security (as we are led to believe) then it should be across the board 100%. As per usual I doubt very much if its for us as like you said, why were we not given an option or pre warned of this? On the logging in or out on this site, well I tried to log out but it wouldn't let me so I have been logged on here since the last time. I'm not aware of any security risk however if they went to all that effort to get into my life they will realise it wasn't worth it ha ha.

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

grim1 — Thu, 02 May 2024 16:37:27 GMT

As far as using your mobile phone to access emails then that's just another "security risk" is it not? I haven't "linked" my phone to anything at all as I like the idea of offering as few options as possible for the criminals of this world. I have a perfectly good pc that I use for the internet and emails but its not helped by BT and the big brother attitude.

This is NOT sent from my IPhone.

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

licquorice — Thu, 02 May 2024 16:57:42 GMT

I think you are misunderstanding, a mail client behaves entirely differently to webmail. Mail clients hold the user credentials and periodically logs in, checks for new mail and then logs out and therefore does not remain logged in. A web browser by contrast, does not have this capability.

Re: why has the "keep me logged in to BT email disappeared

grim1 — Thu, 02 May 2024 17:48:52 GMT

OK you got me there, hands up, way beyond my understanding. All I know is one day and for many days previous I was paying BT for a service that enabled me to send and receive emails with little to no issues or rather for a simpleton like myself to deal with. Then BT decided to change the situation to a more complicated and very annoying set up that I did not agree to without so much as an option to stay as it was , because it worked for me. I don't think it is I who should be looking for solutions to get around this issue just because BT one day, decided to change the way it offered me a simple way of sending and receiving emails. That is all I use my pc for and I have no interest whatsoever in getting more computer savvy when I have better things to do with my life.