Randomly signed out of webmail and unable to log back in again.

[Mart888]

I need to know please - is anyone else having the following problem as well?

On my computer I am unable to access my emails via the VM website. I change my PW and it works for a while. Then, randomly, after a week or so, for no reason my end, I am signed out and the only way I can access my email is to change my PW again. This has been going on for months now yet there seems to be no recognition by Virgin that there is a problem. I am convinced it can't be just me.

Interestingly I can still get my email on my phone. It doesn't even ask me for the new PW.

Please, insightful people, can you help?

Thanks in advance

(It's a blueyonder email address but I've changed the domain to gmail, as instructed).

[Robert_P]

Hello Mart888

Sorry to hear of the email access issues experienced, we understand the frustration this can cause.

We can see you are currently in a Private Message with our colleague John, we will arrange for this thread to be closed but feel free to contact John via the Private Messages in regards to this.

Rob

[Mart888]

John has not been able to help me. So what do you suggest please? It is not only me with this issue. It's in the press and all over this forum.

[Mart888]

Dear Graham,

Sorry to bother you but I'm still being randomly signed out of my VM account. This has been going on for 3 months now and I'm no closer to sorting it out. I'm not using an app, just the webmail. 

I am able to successfully change my PW (the main one, not the app one). That works for a while but then, a week later (eg), I'm signed out again and have no way to access my emails other that to change the PW yet again. Do you have any idea why this should be?

The problem is across several devices and is also reported widely on this forum so clearly the issue is not my end, contrary to what the advisor seems to believe.

Hoping you might have some ideas. This is incredibly frustrating, Thanks in advance.

[coenoby]

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@Mart888 wrote:

Hoping you might have some ideas.

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Just a thought but it would be worth checking the Automatic Sign Out setting in your Webmail account. Perhaps that VM Team member who contacted you by PM asked you do that, in which case I'm sorry to bother you.

Click on the cog symbol top right of the main webmail screen and then click on Security from the menu that comes up on the left hand side.

That will show the Automatic sign out setting that is currently active. You could try setting that to "Disable" to see if that makes any difference.

Having said that, even if you are automatically signed out of the system you should still be able to sign back in again with no problem.  Just another thought though, when you exit webmail do you actually sign out or do you just close the browser tab?

Coenoby

[Mart888]

Dear Coenoby,

Thank you so much - at last someone who has actually understood the issue and given meaningful advice. I'm sorry to say that the VM advisors have failed entirely in doing this. 

You are correct! I looked into that security setting and it was indeed set to Automatic sign out at 1 Week. I didn't know about that setting and have certainly never changed it. 

I've now disabled it. However, when repeatedly signed out of webmail (whether or not due to this setting?) I was not then able to sign back in again. The only way I could access my email was to create a new PW (something one obviously shouldn't need to do on a weekly basis). That being the case, it would be hard to know whether or not this security setting was the cause of my issue.

To answer your question, during this whole debacle, I've never voluntarily signed out. I have only opened and closed the browser tab. For a period I could reopen that tab and access email but, periodically (after 1 week???), I'd open the tab only to find myself signed out and then I'd be prompted repeatedly, in an endless loop, to enter email and PW. It never actually gave a message that the details were incorrect, but I couldn't log in until I changed the PW yet again.

I'll have to wait and see whether changing this security setting resolves the issue. But to add to the mix, 2 days ago I finally managed to speak to a Second Line advisor overseas who (having assured me they knew what they were doing) told me they had made changes to the account that would resolve the problem; they wouldn't actually provide any details. 

So, I can only hope and pray that either the actions of the Second Line Team or changing this security setting will result in my email functioning properly again, as it had done previously for years. If it starts working again I may never know which but all I care about is that it works!

NB I won't go into details as I feel like I'm suffering PTSD from all the time wasted on this but I should add that the issue has been far from clear, logical or consistent. There have been multiple factors - eg being able to log in on certain devices but not others and those then switching around, which I've found utterly bewildering. In addition, most of the time I've been able to log in on my Android phone but then, all of a sudden I couldn't.... and then I could again. Random and all over the place.

Perhaps strangest of all is the fact that, through all the recent PW changes made on my computer, I have nonetheless been able to go to the saved webmail "tab" on my home screen of my phone without having to log in at all. I'm no technical expert but how this is possible I simply cannot imagine. What a mess.

Anyway, thank you so much for replying and to giving proper thought and consideration to my intensely frustrating problems which, I know from other posts here, are not unique to me.

Sorry this is so long 🙂

[Arissa_H]

Hi Mart888 👋🏼.

Thank you for replying back to Coenoby 😊.

I understand this can be frustration but I can see you are in private message with one of our team members, I assure you, we will do everything we can to help you with this. Please continue on there so we can further assist.  

[Mart888]

Actually, the only meaningful help I've received on this forum has been from members of the public, not from your advisor. He never seemed to take on board my issue and repeatedly denied there was any problem - despite the fact that countless others on this forum report being in the same boat. 

It is unacceptable of you to guide me away from knowledgeable and intelligent members of the public (such as Coenoby) who have, very kindly, given proper attention to my problem and offered helpful suggestions. Instead, you want me to communicate with a VM advisor who has been unable to offer any real assistance and who has made it quite clear he doesn't give a hoot about the inconvenience and frustration I've suffered since last November.

I have nothing more to say to the advisor. I tried to get reassurance that my complaint would be dealt with but, from his response, that is looking extremely unlikely. It's been a massive waste of my time.

[coenoby]

@Mart888 

I'm disappointed to hear that you are unhappy with the support you have received from VM staff.

I can only offer two pieces of advice:

1) Rather than just exiting VM webmail you really should be signing out of your webmail account. That's easy enough. Whether on your phone or a laptop, when you have finished using webmail, just click or press the round profile picture (or the circle) on the top right hand side of the screen, A drop down menu will appear and you should just click or press "Sign out". That will close your webmail account session cleanly  rather than just leave it hanging in limbo. In simple terms it's the equivalent to locking your front door when you leave your house.

I cannot say definitively that just leaving your webmail session open in the background is what's causing your problems but it is a security risk.

2) If you are unhappy with the reliability of the VM email service you could consider switching to an email service from a dedicated email provider. Take a look at these and see what best suits your needs https://www.lifewire.com/best-free-email-accounts 

As a final point, bear in mind that VM stopped issuing new email accounts in May 2022 which suggests that providing an email service is not high on their list of business priorities going forward. Also, if or when you switch to another broadband provider VM will close your VM email accounts after 90 days.

Therefore using a non VM email account will future proof you whatever happens.

I hope that you find these points are helpful.

Coenoby

[Mart888]

Thanks very much for the info above - much appreciated. 

Just to comment quickly, I take your point about signing out of my account but, since I've been using it in that way for many years, it surely couldn't be the cause of this issue. Since these problems arose back in November - ie being randomly signed out of my account and unable to gain access to my mail - it was nothing but a relief when I managed to sign in again. For much of the time it was absolutely impossible and so, once signed in, I would have been very nervous to sign out only to find myself locked out again! I must say, that feeling persists.

I agree, it does seem that VM are probably not bothered with their email service going forward, but it is quite a major operation to change one's email address what with the many subscriptions I have or bureaucracy related to my mother who has dementia - hospitals, health, financial stuff, council tax etc etc. I would be quite worried that I might miss something.

Anyway, thanks once again for all your help and advice. All the best.