Email, passwords, accounts, and non-virgin email addresses

[alip]

Hi,

I am getting thoroughly confused.

We have a 'main' Virgin Media account - billing, package details, etc. Only used for that purpose, although there is an associated email address.

There are then 5 additional (6 in total) email addresses. For those I look after (4 of them), I set up the app passwords a while ago as I prefer to access them in Outlook to keep them all in one place. I'm now finding my phone and desktop Outlook are refusing to connect to two of them (one an @virginmedia.com and one an @ntlworld.com).

So, I thought - maybe it's time to reset the app passwords. 

I tried to log on. Couldn't. Was told (on web page) that I had to change the email address to a non-Virgin hosted one. So for 5 email addresses, I need 5 OTHER email addresses that I need to use to login, and to check for passwords, etc. So I don't lose these other email addresses, I will have to remember to check them regularly - even though nothing will be there as only used to logon. Am I right, or am I missing something?

I changed the 'logon' email address for the troublesome @virginmedia account to my hotmail account. By the time I got the 'validate' and 'change password' emails, they'd expired. Long time on the phone. Got logged in OK. BUT couldn't access forwarding rules. "Try again later!" was the suggestion. I have tried again later - and my password is no longer recognised!

I am very confused.

1) Am I changing the login email for the individual email account or for the 'main' virgin account? (I'm suspicious because the "You've requested to change the password" included my husband's name (main account) and not mine (email account).

2) Which email address do I use to log in to my email in a browser? The one that someone would use to send me a message, or the one I've had to set at hotmail?

3) Ditto for email apps... as I know can't access that account on either my phone or my desktop!

Please help... I feel I must be missing some information because surely no-one in their right minds would ask you to set up 6 email accounts just so you can access 6 others? (I have asked that question on both support calls, and each time have got a very vague "Yes".)

Alison

[ahrbee]

I am not an expert but I have had similar issues. I understand that, following a change of policy (that we customers were not told about), we do need separate non VM e-mail addresses to use as usernames for each VM email address. I have requested a link to a VM webpage outlining this major policy change and instructions as to how to comply; but I have been told by VM there is not one - and one is not needed!!! Personally, I think we customers should be the judge of that - and it is a disgraceful lack of customer care by VM.

I have been looking for a simple straightforward procedure to change a username - and to date have not found one despite asking on this forum and through a VM person. If anyone can help in this respect, I am sure many customers would be very grateful.

If you have email addresses that are seldom used and have to create gmail or other accounts for each one, perhaps it would be easier just to use the other account and close the VM secondary accounts. Perhaps this is actually the VM strategy to get us to move away from VM email. If so, I think it short-sighted because an email address is one reason for us staying with VM.

Hopefully, a VM moderator or VIP will answer this more thoroughly and we can all benefit.

[Graham_A]

@ahrbee The relevant VM help page can be found here.

https://www.virginmedia.com/dpb/help/change-my-virgin-media-email-address

[ahrbee]

Thank you Graham. You are seemingly more aware of the VM system than the VM person that I have been dealing with. I am pleased to see that there is an explanation and a procedure for complying. It is sad that customers were not informed directly by VM of this change and what we need to do.

The procedure seems straightforward, almost too straightforward. Once my [primary] account username has been changed to say a gmail email address, does my primary account password need to be updated? As far as I can see, this change does not require a new 4 word password for mail apps such as MAIL and outlook. Is this the case?

Thank you again for being very insightful.

[jpeg1]

"Perhaps this is actually the VM strategy to get us to move away from VM email. If so, I think it short-sighted because an email address is one reason for us staying with VM." 

You may very well be right. VM stopped issuing new email addresses 18 months ago.  Once everyone has new email addresses with other providers it will be much easier for them to shut down their email altogether. 

Even if you want to continue with the old VM email, I'd strongly advise you to set up an auto forward from them to your non VM addresses so that you are building up a backup record of all your incoming mail and contacts. 

[Graham_A · Accepted solution]

@ahrbee As far as I can tell there are two things that trigger the requirement for a generated app password for use with email clients.

1. Changing the password for the relevant My VM/email account.

2. Setting the account up on a new device or a different email client.

Changing the account password also triggers the need to use a third party email as as the account username.

[alip]

Thanks, Graham. As I may trigger that requirement again, I am moving my email away from Virgin. I'll then review the whole package. 😒 Alison