This topic

Loading email

Andy_Pearson — Fri, 29 May 2026 14:53:04 GMT

I can't get one of my email addresses to open. When it attempts to open the emails, it says the inbox has 87,467 unread emails and I get a timed out error. Considering that the number of emails is for 10 or even 20 maybe years, it suggests that ALL the emails have for some reason or another, been re-flagged as 'unread', which is absurd. As a result, it is understandable that a timeout will occur if it's trying to load up all these emails.

This happens on any PC I use, but does not happen when accessing from a mobile phone. However, all the emails do appear on the phone which further suggests that they have been reset as having 'not been read', which of course, they have been.

None of this happens on any other email addresses I use.

Andy....202605291552

Re: Loading email

gg30340 — Fri, 29 May 2026 15:27:33 GMT

Are you a BT Broadband customer and is it a BTMail account you are having problems with?

How are you accessing your email account, I presume it is with a web browser and not with an email client or email app?

When you say "it says the inbox has 87,467 unread emails" and "it suggests that ALL the emails have for some reason or another, been re-flagged as 'unread' which would indicate you can get it to open otherwise how do you get that information.

Do you actually mean that your email account will open but not load all the emails or you can not access the emails after it has opened?

Is your mobile phone an Apple or Android device and is the email app you are using set up as an IMAP account or a POP3 account?

Re: Loading email

Andy_Pearson — Sat, 30 May 2026 07:22:19 GMT

Hi there Distinguished Sage, I am a BT Broadband customer and I’m using a BTMail Account.

My PC web browser is Microsoft Edge, whether that is classed as an ‘Email Client’ or ‘Email App’, I don’t know.

When I access my emails, a tab opens up and in that tab, I get the message <<Inbox(n)> -<email address>>,

where (n) is the number of unread emails, in this case, 87,467,

and the email address is removed

The system then goes off to load the emails, but in this case comes back some time later to report the following:

Error, we are experiencing issues with this service, please try again later. [OK].

I try again later, repeatedly, probably about a dozen times now over the past couple of weeks and always get the same result, except that the number keeps going up as new emails are sent to the email address.

When I go into a different email address, I’ll get something like inbox (5) – removed and when the emails appear, sure enough, there would be 5 new and unread emails in the list. On opening the unread emails and signing out, these are then registered as now read. This is confirmed when I come back in, by 0 (zero) appearing where the 5 appeared the last time.

That is how I surmise/assume, rightly/wrongly, that the 87,467 emails have somehow or other, been re-flagged at source as unread.

So, in the ‘not working case’ scenario, I would suggest that the email account is being opened and accessed but because of the number of ‘unread’ emails, it can’t send them to me and as such, the account may have been opened but because of perhaps the usual restriction to 25k email transmission, I can’t get them, but I’m no expert.

The mobile phone is an Apple device but whether it’s an IMAP or POP3 account, I’m afraid I couldn’t say. The mobile was someone else’s cast off and has been in use by my wife for years and years without issue.

I trust this answers at least some of your questions.

Thank you for your quick reply and I look forward to further discussion on the issue.

Thanks again and take care, Andy….

Mod note: Personal email address removed from public view.

Re: Loading email

gg30340 — Fri, 29 May 2026 19:20:28 GMT

You need to remove all the email addresses you have posted. This is a public forum and you could end up being inundated with spam.

Re: Loading email

Kimberlin — Fri, 29 May 2026 19:22:39 GMT

You might want to edit out that email address. This is a worldwide accessible public forum. You risk getting thousands more emails.

Sorry to @gg30340 for effectively exactly the same advice, we both posted at exactly the same time I think.

Re: Loading email

gg30340 — Fri, 29 May 2026 19:38:23 GMT

There is no restriction on the number of emails with a BTMail account although in this case over 87,000 emails in your Inbox does seem excessive. The Inbox is not a storage folder because it is constantly being changed when new emails arrive and subsequently deleted or moved to another folder by the user although apparently not in this case.

In future you would be better to make new folders and sort out/file your emails into them.

If you can see the emails in your iPhone it may be that the iPhone is marking the emails as unread for some reason or it could be that there is a problem with your email account unmarking them as read. Either way I doubt there is any thing that the forum members will be able to do to help you.

It may be possible to make new folders on the phone and move some of the emails in the Inbox into these folders which may help the load in the Inbox however I suspect that this may be a bit much for you to deal with.

I think you will have to contact BT 0330.1234.150 and ask for the BTMail email team and explain the problem to them. They should be able to help.

Re: Loading email

gg30340 — Fri, 29 May 2026 19:52:57 GMT

You only get an hour to edit posts. I have ask a moderator to remove the email addresses but this may not be done until tomorrow.

Re: Loading email

licquorice — Fri, 29 May 2026 19:56:28 GMT

And people wonder why they get spammed!!

Re: Loading email

Andy_Pearson — Fri, 29 May 2026 20:08:34 GMT

Thank you folks for the warning. Can you tell me how I edit out the email addresses please? Andy....

Re: Loading email

gg30340 — Fri, 29 May 2026 20:09:31 GMT

Read message 7.

Re: Loading email

Kimberlin — Fri, 29 May 2026 20:11:25 GMT

I fear the OP might be too late to edit, it's been over an hour since the post.

Re: Loading email

Andy_Pearson — Fri, 29 May 2026 20:12:32 GMT

Thanks again Distinguished Sage, Andy....

Re: Loading email

gg30340 — Fri, 29 May 2026 20:18:57 GMT

@Kimberlinwrote:
I fear the OP might be too late to edit, it's been over an hour since the post.

Which is why I posted message 7.

Re: Loading email

Kimberlin — Fri, 29 May 2026 20:53:42 GMT

Well considering that those email addresses are now going to be on public show for possibly several more hours, i.e. the following day, if it were me, I'd discontinue using those email addresses immediately and have BT permanently delete the addresses as soon as some sort of email management/sorting/purging has taken place.

Set up a new account, such as Gmail, start moving the most recent important stuff over and do a mass dump of old mail. I cannot see why anyone outside of a business organisation could possibly have reason to retain around 87500 emails possibly amassed over several years. One would hope that there is some sort of technical mistake in the email count.

Re: Loading email

gg30340 — Fri, 29 May 2026 21:16:48 GMT

Moved because of email addresses. Please remove the email addresses and return to the following thread.

Loading email - BT Community

Re: Loading email

gg30340 — Fri, 29 May 2026 21:04:41 GMT

@Andy_Pearson

I have moved your post to a safe area until the email addresses are removed.

Re: Loading email

Andy_Pearson — Fri, 29 May 2026 21:22:13 GMT

Thank you. I have known for 20 years that I shouldn't include email addresses, I can only put it down to a temporary lack of common sense which I'll put down to an 'age thing', thanks again....