Workarounds for VPN + BT Email

[stickybloke]

I travel overseas a lot and frequently use a VPN (ExpressVPN).  This regularly causes BT security to lock out my BT Email (through iOS Mail app) as, I guess, the system thinks I’m hopping around the world very rapidly as I switch in and out of my VPN.

Is there a clever setting (a port or something) that I can use to stop this?  I’ve had to reset my email password 6 times in the last 10 days because of this behaviour and that shouldn’t be necessary nowadays.

My previous workaround has been to set my BT email to just forward everything to my Gmail account but I’m finding that the BT email system keeps disabling the auto forward too.

If didn’t have so many of my accounts, logins etc linked to my BT email address I’d just bin it but sadly that’s not possible.  Need to find a workable fix.

[Keith_Beddoe]

https://www.bt.com/products/static/terms/feb2017btmail.html

Paragraph 7 is worth a read.

Paragraph 14 also, you could end up losing the email accounts.

[stickybloke]

Thanks for the reply.

I’m a UK-based long haul airline pilot.  Para 7 doesn’t apply.  I don’t think I’m breaching Paras 14 & 15 in any way nor have I since getting the email address back in about 1998.

I’m just to curious to know if there’s a way to use a VPN with BT Email without the security locking me out every time 🤷🏼‍♂️

[jac_95]

If you have the experience or want to try as a DIY project you could set up your own VPN server at your home address in the UK and then connect your devices to that using a VPN client and profile. This would also allow you to connect to your home network.

You can even set one up on a raspberry pi. Best to use a ddns address otherwise you'll be constantly needing to update your client configuration profile.

[gg30340]

I don't understand why your forwarding of BTMail stops working unless you are no longer a BT Broadband customer or paying for your email via a BTPremium email account.

Instead of forwarding have tried setting up your BTMail account to be accessed from your gmail account.

It however may still have the same issue because the BT servers will still need to be used by gmail but it could be worth a try.

If your VPN lets you set the location of its servers you could set it to a UK location which might not trigger their security system.

[Crizzle]

I had a similar issue whereby BitDefender VPN was preventing me from sending messages via bt email. Setting the location of the VPN server to UK/Automatic solved the issue.

[billybottle]

Strange to relate, but, I'm using Proton free VPN, which for the most part selects a server in NL. Sometimes my POP3 client (OE Classic fee v.5.3.1) can download seamlessly, other times-like the last two days- it will not. Disabling the VPN always allows access. Even with servers used that are in the USA, Singapore, Mexico, or Japan! So BT systems are not that smart. It's frustrating, as I intend upgrading to a paid service for my VPN soon. I think it's a liberty that BT take this action. However, the way the world and especially this government are putting their foot on the neck of privacy, it's not surprising. The only 100% sure workaround that I have found to date, as stated, is temporarily disconnect the VPN. But I'll keep looking! BTW I have been in two locations in the last month, and the issues were the same, mostly working while live on VPN. Hmm!

[licquorice]

I have absolutely no idea why anyone would need to send encrypted email via a VPN.

[Kimberlin]

@billybottle  As you are using the free version of ProtonVPN in the UK, it only connects to a small number of free servers and as you are aware will connect to the closest free server which is the Netherlands. This is because UK servers are only available on the paid option.

I agree with @licquorice  in respect that using a VPN to send encrypted emails is pretty much pointless, but from a personal perspective, when abroad, I use a VPN all the time, usually set to a UK server, and I have no issues at all with sending emails from my Protonmail account.

There is another recent thread whereby the user has also recently had issues with BT Mail running through a VPN:

https://community.bt.com/t5/General-email-queries/Locked-account-Again/m-p/2459578#M123263

Whether this is a specific issue with BT Mail, I have no idea, but as I say, I don’t have an issue running my mail App through a Swiss based VPN provider via a UK server. You may find depending on which VPN provider you eventually decide to subscribe to, that the problem might cease.

[billybottle]

The thing is, sometimes it will, sometimes it won't. I can disconnect from VPN, get mail, re-connect. But I feel I should not have to. As for using a UK server, that is sometimes something I want to avoid. Just because. UK.....I only use webmail for non critical stuff. I simply feel somewhat hard done by to have to cut connection and re-establish. The more they want to spy, the more I want to try and thwart them. Why I should let them, no one will convince me. I have had it work with the NL server, and others in far flung places. So, something somewhere can beat it, but what?