Cannot send emails from virgin.net account in Thunderbird

[br1anstorm]

I have had a virgin.net account for many years.  I normally access it using Thunderbird, where I set it up a long time ago using POP server(s), and occasionally I access it as webmail on the Virgin media site.

I have just set up that same email account on a new laptop - again in Thunderbird, and again using POP servers.

Inward emails to my virgin.net address appear (as usual) on the webmail page, and also arrive into the Inbox in Thunderbird.

BUT - and here is the issue - I cannot send outward messages from my virgin.net account using Thunderbird on my laptop - not even when replying to an inward message. I get an error popup which says "Sending of the message failed. Unable to authenticate to Outgoing server (SMTP) smtp.virginmedia.com. Please check the password and verify the 'Authentication method' in 'Account Settings | Outgoing server (SMTP)'.  The popup also suggests putting in new (?!) password.

I have double-checked the server details, the authentication method, the port and the password in the "account settings" in Thunderbird.   All are correct. 

There's more.  I have my Gmail account - on my Android mobile phone - set up to "fetch" emails from my Virgin.net account (so I can deal with them when I don't have my laptop).  I continue to receive my inward virgin.net emails into the Gmail inbox.  But if I try to reply from that Gmail account, I get a Mail Delivery Subsystem message back [from Google?]saying "You no longer have access to brianxxxxxxx@virgin.net. To send this email choose a different "from" address and try again. Learn more at https://support.google.com".

What's going on?  Why am I apparently unable to access my own email account at virgin.net or send emails from either my laptop via Thunderbird or my Android phone via Gmail?  I am still logged in to virgin webmail via my browser and - I have checked - I can receive and send messages from the webmail page.  So my password is evidently correct and valid, and I still have access to the account via the Virgin Media email/webmail website page.

I'd appreciate any advice and help.  This is proving a real headache.

[Graham_A]

The issue with Gmail has come up before and if I recall correctly needs the account to be reset in Gmail to resolve.

On the broader issue is your virgin.net email address tied to your current VM broadband account as either the primary account or a secondary account.

If neither apply then you may have an orphaned account that is liable to deletion at any time without additional notice from Virgin Media.

[br1anstorm]

In my efforts to figure this problem (of access/authentication) out, I thought I would just try out the "curl" command in the terminal as suggested in one of the 'sticky' posts in this forum.  I cannot interpret what it showed - but this is what came up with (I have edited out the original command with my own account and password details).

SSL connection using TLSv1.2 / ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384
* start date: Oct 19 08:24:18 2021 GMT
* expire date: Nov 20 08:24:18 2022 GMT
< 220 csmtp1.tb.ukmail.iss.as9143.net cmsmtp ESMTP server ready
< 250-8BITMIME
> YnJpYW5hbm5pZS5zdGV3YXJ0AGJyaWFuYW5uaWUuc3Rld2FydABzMDgyNjQ5NzI2
< 525 5.7.13 Authentication Denied (VM304)

[Graham_A]

That VM304 message does suggest that the email address concerned has been locked out or deleted as an orphaned account.

[br1anstorm]

Thanks @Graham_A for that very swift reply (which crossed with my follow up post about trying a terminal command).

Two separate aspects here (and I'm not sure which is cart and which is horse!).

First, I am not now a Virgin Broadband customer/subscriber.  I have had my virgin.net account since I first ventured on to the internet as Virgin "dial-up" subscriber back when Noah was a boy.....  My ISP provider now and for some years - has been Plusnet, if that is relevant....

Does that mean my virgin.net email account is an "orphan" and liable to be deleted without warning!  The concept of an orphan account is new to me.  Does it imply that the entire account will or can be wiped out - no webmail either?

The second aspect is the Gmail "fetch" arrangement.  I'm ready to re-set the account in Gmail as you suggest, if this will indeed resolve that aspect.  But if the account itself is at risk of being somehow obliterated, does that mean total deletion and no Virgin email or webmail?  Or does the "orphan" status (if indeed that is the situation) only mean I cannot set up the account in my Thunderbird email client - which seems somewhat bizarre.

Looks as if I'm on a learning curve or in uncharted waters here. Further explanation would be welcome!

[br1anstorm]

Graham. I'm even more puzzled now. If the account has been locked out or deleted, why is the account still functioning - apparently as normal - as webmail via my browser and the Virgin media website, where emails are still coming in and i can send out replies? The issue seems only to be about access to the outgoing server when I try to send from either my laptop (using Thunderbird) or phone (via Gmail).

[Graham_A]

@br1anstorm  it is getting late so this is my last post on this issue.  You say that you are no longer a Virgin Media broadband customer. This means that any email addresses linked to the account should have been deleted by now.

The VM Forum Team staff should be able to advise you on the actual situation when they reach this thread later today.

[br1anstorm]

Being a "night owl" I'm replying, not to keep @Graham_A from his beauty sleep but to say - for the record - how much I appreciate his help.

I do hope the VM Forum Team will be able to pick up the thread and do some explaining.  I am not sure that I understand what's going on.  The reference to my email account being "linked to my Virgin broadband" isn't clear.   It was created, set up, and operated, long before broadband was available.  How come I have - and can operate - a virgin.net webmail account, and is this independent of broadband subscription or not?  Is any and every virgin.net email or webmail account conditional upon, and only available to, Virgin's broadband customers?

Given the massive implications for me if this email account is indeed deleted (or if, as now, continues to handle inward messages but does not allow me to send replies) it would be really good to have a clear, straightforward and detailed explanation of the situation.  What has changed?  Why has it changed?  What actions can I take - or what options are available - to get some sort of normal email facility functioning again?

[Hayley_S]

Hello @br1anstorm,

Welcome back, thanks for posting.

I am sorry for the issues with your Email.

Can you please tell me if you have an active broadband account with us? I was only able to locate a mobile account using your forums details.

Many thanks,

[br1anstorm]

Hello Hayley

Thanks for engaging on this issue.

I do not now have a Virgin broadband account.   I have had my virgin.net email address and account since I first connected to the internet - using Virgin dialup, some 20 or more years ago - before broadband was available (or indeed invented?). 

Throughout that time I have been able to access and use that account on a succession of computers using Outlook Express or Outlook (back in the old days....) and more recently using Thunderbird;  and at times (eg when travelling) I also check the account by logging in to the Virgin website to look at messages as webmail.

That address and account has always been my principal email address. It underpins and enables almost all my online activity from banking and insurance to contact with colleagues around the world.  That is why the current difficulty, which has arisen without any explanation or warning, is so serious.  At present I do not even have any indication of exactly what the issue is or why and how it has arisen.  Is it a password matter?  Is it an issue of settings?  Is it some sort of Spam block?  Is it a deliberate and unilateral action by Virgin Media? 

I am still puzzled as to why (a) I continue to receive messages into the account Inbox, and (b) I can still both receive and send messages when logged into the Virgin webmail site.  I would really like to know what is going on and would appreciate answers to all these questions.  I have, for example, not even had an answer to my simple question about whether email and webmail accounts are (as your question implies) only available to broadband subscribers.

I do indeed also have a virgin mobile account, but that seems irrelevant to the current situation.

I look forward to a proper explanation of the issue and of how it might be rectified.