This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Avatar for Username

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

This thread was archived. Please ask a new question if you need help.

I use BT email with Thunderbird and frequently have to re-input my BT password. The connection frequently fails or doesn't occur.

davidsillince
davidsillince
more options

I get error messages such as "connection timed out", "cannot connect to BT email"; the connection is often very slow and frequently am asked to reinput my BT email password, sometimes repeatedly every few seconds. If I come out of Thunderbird and then go back in, it sometimes works. I have a very slow broadband connection, max 1.8Mbps. Is this a Thunderbird or BT problem?

I get error messages such as "connection timed out", "cannot connect to BT email"; the connection is often very slow and frequently am asked to reinput my BT email password, sometimes repeatedly every few seconds. If I come out of Thunderbird and then go back in, it sometimes works. I have a very slow broadband connection, max 1.8Mbps. Is this a Thunderbird or BT problem?

All Replies (5)

Matt
Matt
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
more options

Have you tried turning off email scanning in your anti virus product.

davidsillince
davidsillince Question owner
more options

Thank you Matt. I will try it and see if the situation improves. Because the problem is intermittent it may take a little while to know.

Zenos
Zenos
more options

Last time I checked, btinternet.com email was still being routed through Yahoo. Here are the relevant headers from a message I just sent to my own btinternet.com account (from a different non-bt/yahoo account): 

Received: from sonic.gate.mail.ne1.yahoo.com by sonic305.consmr.mail.ir2.yahoo.com with HTTP; Sun, 11 Mar 2018 11:24:59 +0000

… 

Received: from 127.0.0.1  (EHLO rgin07.bt.int.cpcloud.co.uk) (65.20.0.12) by mta1011.bt.mail.ir2.yahoo.com with SMTP; Sun, 11 Mar 2018 11:24:55 +0000
…
Received: from mailbox.xxxxxx.co.uk (78.33.230.123) by rgin07.bt.int.cpcloud.co.uk (9.0.019.24-1) id 5A9D35180780C89C for xxxxxx@btinternet.com; Sun, 11 Mar 2018 11:24:54 +0000

So yes, bt email goes via Critical Path and Yahoo. Just how much more unnecessarily complicated could they make it?

I know this isn't exactly helpful, but Yahoo's service is truly atrocious. I have closed my yahoo.co.uk account now, after serious security breaches, but it too was one of the more problem-afflicted accounts I had.

My own btinternet.com account frequently fails to connect. It may be simply oversubscribed or under-resourced and so doesn't make a timely connection.

davidsillince
davidsillince Question owner
more options

Zenos, thanks for your reply. Very interesting and perhaps explains the problem.

davidsillince
davidsillince Question owner
more options

The problem has continued, despite turning off email virus checking (in AVG Premium). I have now switched it back on. Perhaps, as Zenos said, it is a problem specifically with BT.