UK Email Settings - Help and Advice

This page offers help and advice for those having trouble sending or receiving email. It includes a list of UK POP and SMTP server addresses

New to setting up email? This page gives you some basic information on what you need to do to set up your email application to access the major UK email services.

Receiving Email

This is done using a service called POP3. Your email application needs to have the correct POP3 address to allow you to collect your email. You will need a username and password to connect to a POP3 server.

Sending Email

This is done using a service called SMTP. Your email application needs to have an SMTP server address.

Note that to stop Spam, some email services only let you send email via their STMP server if you are connected to the Internet using that Internet provider. For example, Tiscali may not let you send emails from your Tiscali account if you are connected using BT Broadband

Outlook Express

To set up an email account, go to Tools > Accounts, select the Mail tab and go to Properties. Server information is under the Server tab.

Microsoft Outlook

Tools > Email accounts > Add a new email account. Select Pop3

AOL Email settings

Incoming mail server (POP3)	Outgoing mail server (SMTP)	Username (example)
pop.aol.com	smtp.uk.aol.com Must set port to 587	myaolname

BT Broadband Email settings

Incoming mail server (POP3)	Outgoing mail server (SMTP)	Username (example)
mail.btinternet.com	mail.btinternet.com	myname@btinternet.com

Note that with BT Broadband, you have to set SMTP Authentication.
For help with BT Broadband setup, see our BT Broadband FAQ

Lineone settings

Incoming mail server (POP3)	Outgoing mail server (SMTP)	Username (example)
pop3.lineone.net	smtp.lineone.net	myname@lineone.net

Sky Broadband Email settings

Incoming mail server (POP3)	Outgoing mail server (SMTP)	Username (example)
pop.tools.sky.com	smtp.tools.sky.com	myname@sky.com

For help with Sky Broadband, see our Sky Broadband FAQ

TalkTalk Email settings

Incoming mail server (POP3)	Outgoing mail server (SMTP)	Username (example)
mail.talktalk.net (pop3.talktalk.net also works)	smtp.talktalk.net	myname@talktalk.net

Talk21 Email settings

Incoming mail server (POP3)	Outgoing mail server (SMTP)	Username (example)
in.talk21.com	out.talk21.com	username@talk21.com

Tiscali Email settings

Incoming mail server (POP3)	Outgoing mail server (SMTP)	Username (example)
pop.tiscali.co.uk	smtp.tiscali.co.uk	myname@tiscali.co.uk

Virgin Media Email settings

Incoming mail server (POP3)	Outgoing mail server (SMTP)	Username (example)
pop.virgin.net	smtp.virgin.net	my.name@virgin.net

Other UK Email settings

	Incoming server (POP3)	Outgoing server (SMTP)
1 and 1 Internet	pop.1and1.com	smtp.1and1.com
BT Click	tbc	smtp.btclick.com
Clara	pop.clara.net	relay.clara.net
Construction Plus	tbc	smtp.constructionplus.net

Any settings you'd like us to add? Let us know

Help and Troubleshooting?

I can't send emails

If you see an error message such as "Problem sending message", you may be trying to send an email using a different Internet Service Provider to the one you're connected with.

When you send an email, you use the SMTP server you entered into your email application. Some UK Internet Service Providers only allow you to send emails via their SMTP server if you're also connecting to them using their Internet service - this helps protect against spam.

On a mobile? If you're trying to send email from your mobile phone, you'll need to use your network operator's SMTP server address, and not your email provider's SMTP server address. See our GPRS page for UK GPRS settings.

Can't log on to email

If, when attempting to log in to get your email, you're constantly prompted for your password, there are two possible causes:

You may already be logged on - Perhaps via a web browser or a PC program like Outlook. You're not allowed to log on to a POP server from a second machine.
Check that your email account has not been temporarily locked as you may have made repeated attempts to log on incorrectly. Try logging on via a web browser, if your provider offers a webmail service, to check that your account is working.

One useful way of checking that access to your email POP mailbox is working, is to try to connect using www.mail2web.com

Need more help?

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