email backup changed to gmail, now I can't access via outlook?

[alionsol1]

Hi

I accessed my email via website and it said to add a backup. But now it won't let me sign in other than by using my gmail on signin page, plus I can't access my virgin emails on outlook. And I don't know how to change it back, or make it so I can get them without being on virgin website.

Are there any ideas out there?

[coenoby]

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@alionsol1 wrote:

Are there any ideas out there?

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It is confusing however, the facts are:

"I accessed my email via website and it said to add a backup. But now it won't let me sign in other than by using my gmail on signin page,"

When you had to add your Gmail account it was not to act as a backup email account. Your Gmail account has now become:

1. the email address that VM will use to send you verification emails when you make any changes to your VM account, such as resetting the password for example
2. the username that you have to enter when signing into your My Virgin Media (MVM) account or your VM webmail account. Your VM email account will remain as it always was but you can no longer access it using your VM email address as the username.

"And I don't know how to change it back, or make it so I can get them without being on virgin website."

Sadly there is no way to change your VM username (signin address)  back to your VM email address. You can only change it to a different non VM email address. So a different Gmail address or an email address from another provider such as Outlook, Yahoo or an Apple iCloud address for example.

"I can't access my virgin emails on outlook."

Another change VM have made is that  you now have to use a "Mail App" password in email apps rather than the one you use to sign into your webmail account. I suspect that's why Outlook is failing and it will until you generate a Mail App password and update the settings in Outlook accordingly.To generate a Mail App password for your email account:

1. sign into your My Virgin Media (MVM) account using the Gmail address as the username. Then go to "Account settings", then "Virgin Media Mail settings".
2. VM will send a verification email to your Gmail account. Once you have entered the verification code into MVM you will be able to generate a new Mail App password from your MVM account.
3. You then need to update the settings in Outlook to use that new Mail App password. Just to clarify, the username in Outlook's setting should still be you VM email address not your Gmail address.

As I said, it is more complicated using VM email these days but I have tried to keep it as simple as possible.

Coenoby

[mentasm]

Speaking as someone who just fell foul of this, it's probably the worst implementation of an account/password system I've ever encountered. It's needlessly complicated and it doesn't offer anywhere near enough detail as to the repercussions of making the change. All I wanted to do was update my primary email password, but was forced to change my VM login to a non-VM email address. So now my primary VM login is tied to a Gmail account, which I absolutely do not want (it's needlessly confusing). Why the hell doesn't it just ask for a backup/recovery account like every other provider in existence?! Not being able to centrally manage all of the passwords/app passwords like you used to is also terribly counter-intuitive. It's more likely to encourage people to use the same password for every account for ease than it is to encourage unique passwords. Just look at the essay you had to write just to try and explain it. It's a horrible system.

Surely support can revert this? It can't be literally impossible to do so from the admin side of things.

[coenoby]

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@mentasm wrote:

.Just look at the essay you had to write just to try and explain it. It's a horrible system.

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I am just a VM customer trying to offer what help I can to other customers. I'm not defending the new setup, just explaining how it works.

VM stopped issuing new email accounts in May 2022 so clearly they do not see the provision of an email service as being part of their business model going forward.

Although I have been a VM customer for years I have never used VM email as my main email account and I am always surprised that so many people do. It has always had its flaws.These days there are many excellent free email services that are not tied to a specific broadband provider.

For what it's worth, my advice to you would be to consider moving over to using your Gmail account as your main email account.

Coenoby