Keeping my BT Email?

Does anybody know a confirmed way of keeping my BT email accounts active when I want to migrate to another ISP (looking to go to Sky)?

I've had mixed messages from talking to the BT Broadband Options team (0800 800 030) varying from "no you can't", to "call 0800 800 150 and speak to the broadband people there".

All I need to do is be able to keep my BT email accounts active for as long as it takes me to decide on a possible email hosting company.

I thought it was possible to downgrade the account to PAYG dialup but I've been told it's not possible. I'm not sure who to believe anymore.

You go onto a pay n go dial up account which you need to dial into every 90 days. Mail hosting I use 1and1 but sometimes they are off the boil a bit bu cant think of anybody better.

Set up a google mail address (its free) and then set it to forward you email to any address you like. The when ever you change your ISP you just forward to your new email adress. You could start the changes now and forward them to your BT address and change it when you are all sorted

I suspect they might be telling you it's not possible to plug Premium Mail and therefore make more money

It is possible - exactly as Paul has already said. Just set up PAYG dial-up and dial up every 90 days

In reply to:

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dial up every 90 days

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You don't even need to do this - I migrated to Nildram 14 months ago and have never dialled up to BTOW since, but all my email addresses are still active.

I had heard this to be true, but hadn't wanted to risk this.
The emails they are supposed to send to warn you rarely materialise according to some people I know who have wanted to dump the email

I'm considering moving to sky as well although I'm tied to BT for a few more months yet. The kids and I want sky sports telly and the see, speak, surf package seems the best option so I'll have to ditch BTB. I'm in the process of moving my email off BTYahoo and on to yahoo in preparation. Its been fairly painless so far.

I have had an up and down experience with BT (binned the HH) so I will not be particularly sad to go but I'm under no illusions that sky will be any better. I've looked at the sky forum here and its seems similar to BTB. For many it works first time and for the others its a bad experience with poor support centres not helping.

With this in mind I'm planning to keep my email decoupled from the ISP so I will not use skys email (do they have one?). I'll run with sky for the 12 months. If its OK and the telly proves value for money I'll stay. If not I'll move to another ISP. What I don't want to do is keeping changing my email address.

Sky TV when you have had it as long as me its not good value for money always putting the prices up. Just downgraded the package as I'm sick of the price increases all of the time. Looked at their broadband but its being mis-sold to the hilt. Speak, see surf ain't all it's cracked up to be. Personally the speak see and surf is no use to me and the savings once I adjust their packages to suit my needs was only a few pounds per month.

Do report back how it is, I am very, very interested to hear what you think.

To be honest, nobody has tried to plug the Premium mail option, in fact I've specifically mentioned about using the Premium mail option and nobody has been able to say yes or no.

It's a merry go round!

I have EXACTLY the same problem mate.
I have just left BT but my parents want to keep their email address. I phoned BT 5 times and they ALL gave different answers.
I eventually asked an English BT Tech guy and he said when you migrate, you're account should be downgraded to PAYG and you're emails will be active for 90 days, as long as you keep dialing up every 90 days - or you could go for premium mail at