Talk21 emails via web and iOS have totally stopped working

[Gaud74]

We have been using Talk21 for over 20 years either from my PC, iPhone or iPad with very little issues.  last week my emails started saying invalid password or email, to retype my password.  initially it was just my iPad, then my iPhone and yesterday even the web browser stopped letting me in.  I stopped using the iPhone mail app and iPad mail app as this wouldn't work.  I tried just retyping the password, then deleting the account from the iPad , rebooting and creating a new account but the mail.btinternet.com is not responding.  so I just used the webmail to access my emails.  Today I am being told that I need to recover my account.  I follow the steps, fill in my details,  I am told they are incorrect so I then click 'I can't remember my security information'.  I get a web page to call BTINTERNET and the number isn't associated to any organisation so now I have no access to my emails.  My Son-in-law is an IT specialist and he has confirmed that he gets the same issues trying to access the email account.  I am now locked out of my account and have no way of contacting BTINTERNET to get help.  This Talk21 email account is my primary email address and for a retired 70+ person, I find this very frustrating.  I am now at a loss. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[gg30340]

Are you using the email address format:- (your user name)[email protected]

[Gaud74]

Hello,

Yes,  I have been using the [email protected] setting.  I get the same issue logging in to btinternet web mail.  So I currently have no access to my emails. We have tried everything suggested online.  All my bills come to this email address.  Changing my email address and notifying everyone will be a major inconvenience and I can’t be doing that.  If there is a way to speak with someone from btinternet (considering they are a communications company and list a contact number - that doesn’t work) or they resolve their issue with talk21 email access.  I have read that someone else is having a similar issue.

[imjolly]

you can try phoning BT CS 03301234150 and see if the can help.  I strongly suggest you start to move your emails from t21 so some other source like gmail.   

[Gaud74]

Hello,

Thank you for your reply.  I have been trying to get through to CS since yesterday but not having a client account number the automated service will not put me through.  I stopped my internet service with BT years ago but retained my talk21 email as it was permitted by BT.  I will try again but so far no joy.

[imjolly]

not having BT broadband you are fortunate that you still able to use BT email but new customer no longer can get email from many providers.  Just recently Virgin have notified customers with Virgin email addresses that they will no longer provide email facilities and they are being moved to email company Junara.  first year is free then you need to pay monthly to keep email.  Just wonder how long before BT follow Virgin?

[Kimberlin]

ISP’s who provide email services to former customers without a charge clearly make no money from those customers so it could be argued that if they then provide a sub par service it really isn’t the ISP’s problem. BT cleverly charge almost £100 a year to those who are happy to fork out that amount of money every year for their so called ‘Premium’ email service. Whether BT’s email service is any the better for the charge, only the paying customers know the answer to that question.

Quite frankly I applaud Virgin or any other ISP for offloading long gone customers. Staying with a particular email provider is 100 percent a choice by the user. I’ve ditched and switched plenty of email providers in the last 15 years, you just make a decision and get on with it, not sit there and complain because it’s too much bother or hassle.

There are at the end of the day plenty of other ‘free’ email providers out there who arguably provide an even better service than BT. BT would do well to learn from other providers who currently carry former customers for free and make some money out of them.

[Gaud74]

Hello,

thank you for your feedback .  I came onto this group to get help.  I am not sitting complaining.  I haven’t had an issues with btinternet or my talk21 account in decades.  Regardless to the fact that I no longer have an internet service with BT, BT permitted existing clients to retain their email address and so I did.  BT also offer a contact number for users of their email service so that if and when there is an issue ,  someone like me can get it resolved.  Obviously I am aware that there are other email providers but why change if it works.  After this sudden loss of email access ,  I will have to consider having an alternative email address  if BT will not help resolve my issue.  It would have been nice to be informed if they planned to close my account and not  just cut my email account , giving me time to transfer things.  It maybe just a technical glitch on BT’s side but why have a contact number that doesn’t work ?  And surely BT would have had the sense to automate an email to any clients who might be affected before closing the account if that’s what happened.  It is more likely just a technical issue.  

[gg30340 · Accepted solution]

Regarding the message that you have to recover your account, this is normally done when BT lock an account because there has been suspicious activity such as too many failed attempts to access the account.

I doubt that BT will have closed your email account particularly if it was an active email account in constant use. If it was going to be closed down BT would have informed you and given you a period of time in which you would be able to establish another email account and back up your emails and folders.

Do you have a BTID and a MyBT account in which you can manage your email account?

If you do have you been able to access your MyBT and have you been able to check the status of the email account?

I presume that when you were unable to access your email on your mobile devices you were using an email app or email client? When they stopped working did you try and change your password before trying to use webmail or did you access webmail without issue until it blocked access?

I suspect that there was an issue with the BT server you were connected to and with you deleting and reinstalling the account on your mobile device this has caused the account to be locked because of suspicious activity.

If you have not been able to unlock it because you have forgotten your security information and if you do not have a MyBT account or can not access it you will need to contact BT 0330.1234.150 and ask to speak to the email team to get them to unlock the account.

However you may find that a problem if you are unable to supply security details.

[Gaud74]

Thank you everyone who helped, especially BT email support team.

I got through to BT Email team who after verfiying my security information, unlocked my account and I now have access to my emails again.