One of the main concerns longtime broadband customers have when looking to switch providers is whether they can keep their existing email address that is linked to their broadband account.
In fact, we found in a recent survey that two million UK households are not switching their broadband for fear of losing their email address. and this is costing them around £121 a year in lost savings.
When you sign up for a new broadband package, most providers will include a free email address that many users, especially those who have been with their providers for a long time, use as their main email account personal or family.
but can you keep the email address linked to your provider if you change your broadband provider? The short answer is yes, sometimes, but the real question is: should you keep your email address when you switch broadband?
keep your email address when you switch broadband providers
Our survey found that nearly half of people with a provider-specific email address have had that same one for more than ten years. and about 40% of them say they haven’t changed their broadband since they signed up.
Although it’s a legitimate concern when you’re considering changing your broadband provider, there are some quick and easy ways to make sure it doesn’t become a problem.
Not all providers will allow you to keep your email address once it changes. For example, Virgin Media will delete your email account once you are gone. however, several other providers allow you to retain access to your email address for a monthly fee. and these rates are not set with the same scrutiny as your broadband or landline rates.
Find out what each of the major broadband providers does with your email address if you switch from them.
can i keep my email address if i leave bt?
You can still access your bt email address for 60 days after switching to a new broadband provider. after that, you’ll need to subscribe to bt’s premium mail service to retain access.
In June 2016, bt increased its monthly service fees for existing broadband customers from £1.60 per month to £5 per month. meaning previous customers who still needed access to their email inbox and contacts saw their monthly costs triple unless they decided to switch back to bt.
can i keep my email address if i leave sky?
If you have a sky email address, you can continue to use it after switching to a new provider without paying a fee. however, sky will eventually close inactive accounts, so if you want to keep using it, you should use it regularly.
can i keep my email address if i leave virgin media?
virgin media will give you 90 days to access your email account after you switch providers. after that 90 day period, the account will be closed and all your messages and contacts will be deleted.
can i keep my email address if i leave talktalk?
You can still access your talktalk email account for 12 months after switching, during which time you can still send and receive messages, but you won’t be able to use the “my account” feature to change passwords and actively manage your account. in this case, it’s best to set up any email forwarding before canceling, in case you can’t set up that feature later.
Also, talktalk email accounts that remain inactive for six months will be automatically deleted.
can i keep my email address if i leave plusnet?
just like bt, you can still access your plusnet email account after switching to a new provider if you’re willing to pay a monthly fee. When changing, you must notify plusnet that you wish to continue using the email address, or it will be deleted along with the rest of your account information.
transfer your email account to a free email service
If you left your old email account linked to the provider for three years, you could end up paying £180 to continue accessing your inbox. it would be more profitable to spend a few minutes switching to a free email address. this is how it is configured:
Note: Be sure to migrate to a new free email account before switching providers, as setting up a new email account and forwarding all your messages and contacts will require access to your old email account .
move your email to gmail
Once you’ve set up your new email, it’s a good idea to export your contacts from your old account and send an email to your primary contacts letting them know you’ll be using a new address going forward.
Finally, to keep your information safe, delete all your old emails, especially those that may contain personal information. then set a new, strong password to make sure the old account stays secure until it’s finally closed.
set up an autoresponder
You may also want to set up an autoresponder for your old email address to let your friends and family know that your email has been forwarded to a new address.
This is essentially the same process as setting up an out of office message. Be sure to include your new email address and explain that you’ll be replying from this address so they know not to mark it as spam.
update accounts linked to your email address
Depending on how long you’ve had your email address, you may have many additional services tied to this address. Make sure to update as many login details as possible while you still have access to your old provider-linked address, as you may need to confirm the new details. here is a checklist of things you need to do:
If you’re not sure if you’ve changed them all, check the “saved accounts” section of your browser. Every time you fill out a form or log in to a website, your browser offers you the option to save your login details. google chrome password manager will have a list of all these websites along with their login details and passwords. browse through them to see if there are any that require you to sign in with your email address.
Even if you forget any, you should still be able to log in with your old email address, as long as you still remember the password.