This topic

Account access

dlr65 — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:53:38 GMT

I downgraded my BT email to the free one. This means I can no longer have it downloaded to my computer mail and can only access it by signing in on my BT account. What use is it when I come to sign in I'm told they will email me a code ,when I've no access to the account?? There doesn't seem to be any online help FAQ available to help me. Can anyone advise please?

Re: Account access

licquorice — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 13:36:05 GMT

Obviously the code needs to be sent to an alternative email address or texted to a mobile which you should have configured in MyBT

Re: Account access

dlr65 — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 13:38:20 GMT

I can't bypass it to configure the info in the account!

Re: Account access

licquorice — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 13:48:25 GMT

Call customer services

0330 1234 150

Re: Account access

dlr65 — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 13:49:43 GMT

Thanks, was just trying to avoid having to call them if there was a simple solution!

Re: Account access

chrisjp — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 16:05:08 GMT

"What use is it when I come to sign in I'm told they will email me a code, when I've no access to the account??"

Yes it is pretty silly of BT to make access to your email dependent on sending a code to your email. What IT genius thought that one up?
OK, you can set up another email address to which the code can be sent, but not everyone has more than one email address.
Codes can be sent to mobile phones as texts or to landline phones where they are read out.
Why doesn't BT offer these as options?

Re: Account access

dlr65 — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 16:07:45 GMT

So how do I access my account to even add a new email?? :D.

I even tried to see if I could still access through the BT App on my phone but still the same issue!!

Re: Account access

dlr65 — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 16:09:57 GMT

hah.....not sure what I've done but I've managed to access my emails!! It was the user account I couldn't get in so I've managed to by-pass that!! Whoohooo.....thanks all for your input!!

Re: Account access

suebet — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 07:08:20 GMT

I have found it really annoying to have to have my phone with me when trying to access BT mail on my computer. However have now linked my phone to my computer so the text shows on my computer screen without need for the mobile to be in my hand

Re: Account access

gg30340 — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 09:26:02 GMT

@chrisjpwrote:
"What use is it when I come to sign in I'm told they will email me a code, when I've no access to the account??"

Yes it is pretty silly of BT to make access to your email dependent on sending a code to your email. What IT genius thought that one up?
OK, you can set up another email address to which the code can be sent, but not everyone has more than one email address.
Codes can be sent to mobile phones as texts or to landline phones where they are read out.
Why doesn't BT offer these as options?

When setting up their MyBT the user should have seen and completed in the "Personal details" section under the "Contact Section which is used for the 2FA or other recovery problems :-

"This is the email address and mobile number we will use to send recovery details to if something goes wrong. The email address used must be different to your BT ID username".

In most instances if a mobile number is included the PIN number will be sent to that and when logging on using a web browser the log on page offers both the mobile or the email address as a choice and the PIN number is sent to that.

The easiest way to avoid the 2FA is to use an email client such as Thunderbird of an email app both of which do not require a 2FA PIN to access the email account.