Impossible to access BT email abroad - help please!

[Questor18]

Sorry, I know this is an old thread but it seems to best reflect my problem. Since the beginning of 2018, I’ve found it impossible to download bt mail abroad with iOS Mail, while on a mobile connection. I can access via webmail or when on Wi-fi (mostly, anyway). Tried grabbing via gmail app, but that doesn’t work either. Would try auto forward to gmail, but can’t even do that on a mobile device! Has anyone found a solution, please 🙏🤞?

[New_To_UK · Accepted solution]

The security wrap around webmail and IMAP/POP (clients) are different and you would find that it’s easier to protect webmail which is why it always works when accessing from abroad. If you use clients from abroad, it’s not clever enough to distinguish between genuine and malicious attempts which is why it sometimes works and other times blocked. So the only workaround if it doesn’t work is to use webmail or wait a few more years for the advanced security wrap to catch up for clients. My guess is investment is not there as it’s primarily designed for the UK and as webmail works, you still have a way of accessing emails abroad even though not through your preferred way.

[New_To_UK]

I forgot to add, it may work if you connect via a VPN service with a UK IP address but I have not tested this.

[Questor18]

Many thanks for your response, much appreciated - at least I can stop trying to do the impossible! Have had occasional success using a VPN, but even that seems to have given up on me, recently.

[New_To_UK]

If VPN has worked on occasions then I suspect, the IP addresses provided by the service are normally shared between a large number of users and could have been blacklisted for malicious use. So here, trying a paid VPN provider and connecting to different UK servers within gmthat provider may help. It’s a trial game unfortunately to find the balance.

[Questor18]

Thanks, again. I’ll try borrowing a laptop to see if I can auto forward. A bit messy, but seems like the easiest way forward.

[New_To_UK]

Hope you are the newer BT Mail customer as Autoforward is not possible on BT Yahoo Mail anymore to setup 😞

[Questor18]

Sorry, I missed your last reply and, yes, I am on BT Mail, rather than Yahoo, so auto forwarding is working. Very many thanks.

[Simon-A]

Hi all,

I was about to post a similar question concerning receiving email while abroad, but I seem to have found a solution, very much assisted by this thread, so I thought I would post it in case it helped others.

I've moved to China and since being here I've not be able to receive BT emails, although I have been able to send them. I use a MacBook Pro and two iPhones, with either Mail or Outlook, through wi-fi and data, and with and without a VPN. Nothing worked. The webmail is fine so there's nothing wrong with the account.

Then I tried fixing the VPN on a UK server (I'm using VPNExpress) and bingo - down they all came. It seems that outgoing mail can go via any server, but incoming must be via a UK address. Not that I know what I'm talking about, I just tinkered until it worked...

Regards,

Simon.

[licquorice]

I hope you are paying for Premium mail otherwise your email address may be suddenly deleted if it is not associated with a broadband account.