I have been using BT email (username@btinternet.com) for a number of years on my PC (Windows Live Mail version 12) and Google Pixel phone (Gmail app). The address is BT Mail (not Yahoo), it's worked for over ten years and I haven't done anything in the last few years like changing passwords that could have precipitated any problems.
As of Feb 22nd (10 days ago), my email stopped working on both email clients at the same time.
My phone Gmail app says "correct credentials needed", Windows Live Mail something similar, and both tell me my "username or password" is incorrect.
However, the same email account works for webmail (at email.bt.com), with the same username and password.
I just spent an exceptionally frustrating hour on BT online chat, with someone who appears to have no understanding of the issues whatsoever...or grasp of English. For instance, linking me to a Microsoft support webpage that has expired, claiming that BT email doesn't work with these clients (it has worked until ten days ago, and continues to do so with my family's accounts and my other btinternet account), admitting it does in fact work on Windows (finally), but sending me instructions for a different client, suggesting I reboot my PC (really??)... I could go on and on... (Oh, and the final straw was being told at the end of the chat to "please ring at 9pm on [BT number]", and calling at 9pm to find that the line closes at guess what? 9pm.)
Incidentally, the advisor kept insisting the problem was the client and it would be solved by using Outlook. Well, I downloaded Outlook, tried logging in and had exactly the same problem: it wouldn't recognise my "username or password".
Since then, I've tried adding my other btinternet email in both Windows Live Mail and Mozilla Thunderbird, on a different PC, just to rule out any other factors. It synced immediately. I tried adding the problem email address to both WLM/Thunderbird on the same PC and it had the same problem here - won't recognise username/password. So clearly the device/client are not at fault.
Can anyone help? It would appear to be a problem within the BT mail system somewhere, as the username/password work in webmail, but not in any email clients (Gmail app, Windows Live Mail, Outlook..). I suspect BT have made some changes to settings, as the email stopped working at the same time on both devices - although the representative on online chat denied/evaded this repeatedly.
I've noticed multiple postings on these forums with problems arising with unrecognised password etc... Funnily enough, they seem to have been miraculously resolved by posting on here. I hope I may be visited by the same miracle cure... Failing that, does anyone have suggestions? Would be very much appreciated.
(An aside: I did get an email, "We've made some important changes to our terms of service", from "BT Email Team" the day after it stopped functioning properly... Not sure if related to the problem or coincidental timing? And nothing to change there to fix it.)
