This topic

Cannot gift an email address - daily limit on account creation?

docdunning — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 12:04:13 GMT

I'm trying to gift an email address to a family member. I created the address a couple of days ago.

I get as far as entering the other person's name and an email address to send the link. But then when I click Continue, I get a blank screen with this error message on a red background:

Sorry, for security reasons we limit the number of accounts that can be created per day. Please try again later.

It happened yesterday and again today, although probably not a full 24 hours apart.

I don't see why gifting an address should be subject to an account creation limit.

Please help me to understand what's going on and what I need to do to resolve the issue.

Re: Cannot gift an email address - daily limit on account creation?

gg30340 — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 14:54:40 GMT

Do you have any outstanding orders in your MyBT as that can prevent other "orders" such as gifting emails from being placed.

Re: Cannot gift an email address - daily limit on account creation?

docdunning — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 15:34:44 GMT

@gg30340

Thanks for posting.

No, I'm not aware of any outstanding orders. To be fair, I have given notice (via OTS) that I'm switching to another provider in November, but BT should continue my current service without change until then.

I'll keep trying over the next day or two - maybe I'll end up having to contact Customer Services.

Re: Cannot gift an email address - daily limit on account creation?

gg30340 — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 16:35:47 GMT

If you are switching that will be classed as an open order until you have completed the switch.

BT systems seem to have a problem accepting another "order" which gifting is, when one is already open.

I take it you are aware that your BTMail service, including gifted accounts will be downgraded to BTMail basic accounts which can only be used with a web browser and not with email app/clients unless you "upgrade" to a BT Premium email account at £7.50 per month, when you move away from BT

Re: Cannot gift an email address - daily limit on account creation?

docdunning — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 17:14:26 GMT

If you are switching that will be classed as an open order until you have completed the switch.

Interesting. I just looked at my orders and there's nothing there about the switch. Maybe it's hidden from me.

And yes, thanks for the note about the service being downgraded - I'm very much aware of that.

BT's guidance tells me that I will be able to have another family member import my email address, and then gift it back to me. I'm just trying out the gifting process with a different address, to ensure that it works and so that we get some experience of the process.

FYI, we are also having problems with the import, but it would be off-topic to go into those.

Re: Cannot gift an email address - daily limit on account creation?

gg30340 — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 18:24:11 GMT

The gifting process does work.

I have gifted email accounts albeit not in the past year or so without any issues and I have given advice regarding the process to other posters and it worked for them.

You are correct that your email account can be associated to another BT Broadband account, as long as that BT Broadband account holder already has at least one BTMail account active.

Re: Cannot gift an email address - daily limit on account creation?

docdunning — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 21:26:18 GMT

@gg30340

Thanks again. I'll leave it for a day or two, try again, and then contact BT if it's still failing.

Re: Cannot gift an email address - daily limit on account creation?

gg30340 — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 10:56:54 GMT

See the following links to save repeating procedures

https://www.bt.com/help/email/manage-email-account/account-set-up/can-i-move-my-bt-email-address-to-another-account-

https://community.bt.com/t5/General-email-queries/Gifting-an-email-address-to-someone-who-doesn-t-have-a-BT-ID/td-p/2356922

Re: Cannot gift an email address - daily limit on account creation?

docdunning — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 19:50:40 GMT

@gg30340

Thanks - I've not tried again yet. I'll give it a try tomorrow, then call CS if I get nowhere.

I'll post back here with an update.

Re: Cannot gift an email address - daily limit on account creation?

docdunning — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 09:50:45 GMT

Tried again just now, having left several days since the last attempt.

I get to the first step where I enter the other person's name and an email address to send the link. Then I click "Continue" and get this unhelpful error notice. I don't see how this has any relevance to what I'm trying to achieve.

Time to call Customer Services - sigh.

Re: Cannot gift an email address - daily limit on account creation?

docdunning — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 18:51:59 GMT

An update on this - it struck me that I should try doing the address gifting in an incognito browser window.

And hey, it worked. It gave me a link that I can send to my sister, and the address is now listed in the section headed "Email addresses you have given to friends and family".

So I'm left thinking that there was some stale session state or cookie lying around that was triggering the error. Or maybe it's because when I signed in to My BT, I said "Allow all cookies". Not sure, but at least we're making progress.

Re: Cannot gift an email address - daily limit on account creation?

docdunning — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 15:40:26 GMT

@gg30340

I could do with a bit more help, please. My sister went to the page in the link that I sent her. According to BT's help for this process:

First, we'll ask you to either provide your existing BT ID or create a new one. This is so you can log in to My BT to manage your account.
You'll need to select the email address that's been set up for you or any other email address you already own and use. This will become your BT ID.
We'll ask you to provide some security information, including a password, your security validation question, and your contact details. This is because you'll now be solely responsible for this email address. Once you've entered all the required information, click Continue.
You'll get a confirmation message that your new email address is now active. You can log in and start using it straightaway.

Well, we get as far as step 1:

As you can see - there's no option to provide an existing BT ID.

She tried entering her BT ID email address in the two boxes on this page, but then was told "This profile already exists - Please choose 'I already have a BT ID' to continue".

But there's nowhere to choose that. Aaargh. Sadly, BT seem intent on putting obstacles in our way throughout the import/gift process.

What do you (or others) suggest as the way to complete the gift acceptance?

Re: Cannot gift an email address - daily limit on account creation?

gg30340 — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 19:54:59 GMT

Unfortunately I have no idea why there is not an option to use her existing BTID.

When I previously gifted and assisted in the gifting of a BTMail account it was to people who did not already have a BTID and they used the gifted email address as their "new" BTID.

I assume the email address that you have obscured is her current BTID. Is that correct?

Did she also try her BTID in the "Use another email address"?

I suspect there is an issue because she already has a BTID.

When BT stopped Yahoo being BT's email supplier and BTMail some bright spark came up with the idea of a BTID and MyBT in order to manage both email and broadband accounts using the same "master" BTMail email address and password to access both BTMail and MyBT.

It was pointed out the flaws in security of doing this but it went ahead anyway. Needless to say there were problems with this and BT changed it so that you could have a different email and password for your BTID and MyBT. This also caused various problems so they did away with a BT "master" email account and "sub" accounts and the option of gifting emails to family and friends was offered so that they could set up their own BTID and MyBT in order to manage their gifted email.

In short the whole BTMail system appears to have become a complicated mess when you try to do something that is not straight forward. As I have said above I have only ever done "gifting to non BTID holders and they went of without a problem.

The only options I can suggest is that she sets up a separate BTID using the "gifted" email address or that you contact BT 0330.1234.150 and ask to speak to the BTMail Team as you need assistance in gifting an email and hopefully they will be able to help.

Sorry I can not be of any more assistance but please keep me updated with which ever route you try.

Re: Cannot gift an email address - daily limit on account creation?

docdunning — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 22:07:49 GMT

@gg30340

Thanks for helping. Just to answer the couple of questions you had:

I assume the email address that you have obscured is her current BTID. Is that correct?

No, it's the address that I gifted. I guess the idea is that you might want to create a new BT ID using that address.

Did she also try her BTID in the "Use another email address"?

Yes, and that's when the system told her that "this profile already exists" and that she should choose "I already have a BT ID". Hmm - if only that option was available.

Btw, the screenshot is of the page that is shown immediately on pasting BT's gift link into the browser. The link is of this form, where {emailname} is the same as the one I blurred on the screenshot.

https://my.bt.com/appsprofile/registration/affiliatesignup.do?emailName={emailname}

So when the recipient goes to that link, the system can't know who you are, and it can't be making any decisions based on whether or not you already have a BT ID. It should offer the option to select an existing BT ID, as well as to create a new one.

I think my sister will have to contact the BT email team and try to get their help.