Email not working in gmail

[randomapples]

I've been using my BT internet email in Gmail for a number of years now and never had any issues. However, in the last couple of days it has been stating 'Correct credentials needed' and every time I try to enter my email and password it says one is incorrect. I tried deleting and re-adding it but it won't let me for the same reason. Having read a couple of posts it would appear there is now different subscription levels for email which means I can no longer use Gmail. If this is true, I am disappointed as I had no notification of this change and this has always been my primary email account and it is useful for receiving notification for all emails in one app. Is there something I can do to fix this or do I have to subscribe or face using Webmail and logging in everytime as the BT app does not seem very reliable from reading reviews

[imjolly · Accepted solution]

if you are no longer a BT broadband customer it would appear that your email account has been downgraded to basic so access no only using web browser.  You can pay for premium email to give you app access

[gg30340]

Presumably when you mention gmail you are meaning using the gmail app to access your BTMail account.

You can continue to use gmail to access any gmail accounts that you may have but what you can not do if you are not a BT Broadband customer is use your BTMail email account via an email client or app such as the gmail app as it will have been downgraded to a BTMail Basic account.

This is not a new change, it has been in force for a good many years and is shown in the BTMail Terms and Conditions. You would also have been notified about that when you left BT Broadband.

See link and the information regarding getting a BT Premium email account.

BT Email products | Email Help | | BT Help

If you are a BT Broadband account holder and you are able to use the gmail app you need to make sure that you have set your BTMail account up as an IMAP account and not a POP3 account in the gmail app.

gmail have stopped the use of POP3 accounts in their app. If you have the BTMail account set up as a POP3 account you would need to re-set up the BTMail account as an IMAP account.

[randomapples]

Yes I've been accessing my BT internet email through the Gmail app for at least 10 years. I've had my email since around 2005 when my mum set up one for each of our family, had BT broadband myself around 2013-2017ish but don't remember being told such and have been using Gmail to access it since for at least 10 years but have only had issues in the last week or so. I think I'll just have to put up with using Webmail and not getting notifications because I don't want to pay £7.50 a month for something I've been able to use for free for at least a decade. Thank you for your help though

[Kimberlin]

@randomapples  There’s always the option of just dumping your BT email address completely and just using Gmail through their App. It’s whether you have the will to let go of your current BT email address or not. I’ve changed email address myself a few years back from Gmail to a subscription paid service. Yes, I accept it can be an utter pain in the arris, but it is what it is. 

[gg30340]

If the email account was set up on your mother's broadband account does she still have BT Broadband?

Did she "gift" the BTMail account to you which would have required you to set up your own BTID and accept the email account?

If you subsequently got your own BTBroadband account did you "associate" your BTMail account to that BT Broadband account?

See link about "gift" email accounts and "associate" email accounts.

Creating BT Email addresses | Email Help | | BT Help

If your email account was never "gifted" or "associated" to you the management of the email account would have remained with your mother's BT Broadband account and would be "downgraded" to a BTMail Basic account if she left BT Broadband.

If that is the case then you have been lucky to have been able to use it on an email client for so long. It means that BT have finally caught up with you being able to use email clients for free.

You will still be able to use BTMail webmail for free which is better than what most ISP email providers have done and that is to close and delete their email service when you leave them.

[randomapples]

I have no idea how it was setup, as I say it was away back around 2005 or earlier. My mum had been with BT for years but as they do not yet provide full fibre broadband in our area, she has only very recently changed to another ISP so this is probably why it has changed. I'll just use the webmail for now. The BT email has been my primary email all that time so I'll just continue using the webmail.

[gg30340]

From what you have posted it would appear that your BTMail account was still part of your mother's BT Broadband package.

When she moved ISP she will have been notified about the "downgrading" of the BTMail email accounts associated with her package because she would be showing as being the "owner/manager" of the email accounts.

Your email account has now obviously been "downgraded" hence the reason you can not use the gmail app or any other email app without subscribing to a BTMail Premium email account which understandably you do not want to do.