If your email address ends in btinternet.com, sky.com, virginmedia.com, ntlworld.com, talktalk.net or tiscali.co.uk, it came with your broadband. For many people it is the address their family, their bank and their doctor have used for twenty years. It is worth knowing two things about it: what happens to it if you change broadband, and how to read it in an app you actually like.
Can I keep it if I change broadband?
Each company has its own rule, and the rules are not the same. The safe habit with all four is to ask before you leave, not after.
BT. You can keep your address after leaving BT Broadband. The free option, BT calls it Basic email, can only be read on the BT website, not in an email app. To keep using it in an app, BT offers Premium email for £7.50 a month, and you have 60 days after leaving to choose it. If you close your email and do not upgrade, BT deletes the addresses after those 60 days.
Sky. Sky lets former customers keep their sky.com address without paying. Keep signing in to it from time to time, because a mailbox nobody opens can be closed and cannot be brought back.
Virgin Media. Virgin Media is the strictest of the four. Its addresses, including ntlworld.com and blueyonder.co.uk, need an active Virgin Media broadband account, and Virgin Media usually closes them within 90 days of the broadband ending. If you are leaving, forward or save anything you want to keep, and give your new address to the people who matter before that window runs out.
TalkTalk. TalkTalk keeps addresses going for people who leave, for a yearly fee. Without it, the mailbox can be limited to the TalkTalk website and later closed. TalkTalk also looks after older Tiscali, Pipex, Onetel and LineOne addresses, and the same rules apply to them.
Prices and rules change, so check with your provider before you cancel. What does not change is the lesson: an address you are proud of is worth a phone call before the contract ends.
What each one needs to work in an email app
All four work in ordinary email apps, including Patriot Mail. The one extra step, when there is one, is a special password called an app password, and it is what trips most people up.
BT needs nothing extra. Use your full BT address and the password you read your mail with at email.bt.com, which can be different from your My BT password. BT does not use app passwords. Our BT guide has the details.
Sky email runs on Yahoo's systems. Try your normal Sky password first. Some Sky accounts are still asked for an app password, made on the Sky website. See the Sky guide.
Virgin Media always needs an app password, made in the My Virgin Media app, for any email app. See the Virgin Media guide.
TalkTalk is just as easy as BT. Use the password you read your mail with on the TalkTalk website, which may not be the same as your My TalkTalk account password. Patriot Mail fills in the rest for you, including for tiscali.co.uk and pipex.com addresses. See the TalkTalk guide.
If an app ever asks you for server names, our email settings page lists them for every provider we know.
Which apps can read it
Any email app that lets you add an account with your address and a password can read these four mailboxes. The common ones:
- The Mail app on an iPhone, iPad or Mac. Built in, and it works with all four once you have the right password. Here is how Patriot Mail compares.
- Outlook. Works on a computer and on a phone. If you used the old Mail app on a Windows computer, Microsoft switched it off at the end of 2024 and moved people to the new Outlook. Here is what that change means.
- Thunderbird. A free program for Windows and Mac computers that many people have used for years. Here is how it compares.
- Patriot Mail. Free, with no subscription, on the web, iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Why people choose Patriot Mail for an address like this
Patriot Mail was made for people who want their inbox calm and easy to read:
- A plain, uncluttered list, so the messages you want are easy to spot.
- Bigger text, up to twice its normal size, on every screen.
- Big, clearly labeled buttons that are hard to miss.
- Block a sender, or a whole company, as many as you like, at no charge.
One honest note: no email app can read a BT Basic mailbox, because BT only allows Basic email on its own website. If you are on Basic, keep using the BT website, or move to Premium email if you would rather read it in an app.
The short version
Your broadband email address can outlive your broadband, but only if you ask before you leave. BT and TalkTalk charge to keep it fully working, Sky keeps it free if you keep using it, and Virgin Media closes it soon after you go.
To read it in an app, Virgin Media needs an app password, Sky may ask for one, and BT and TalkTalk need only your mail password. Then pick the app that is easiest on your eyes.