Leaving BT broadband: what happens to your BT email?
Updated 30 October 2026 · 7 min read
Many people have used a btinternet.com or other BT address for years, and it is often the login for their bank, GP surgery and online shopping. When you switch broadband to another company, the address does not simply vanish, but what you can do with it changes. This guide sets out your options using BT's own help pages, which we link to at the bottom, and shows how to move your mail and contacts if you decide to go.
Your options when your BT Broadband ends
BT's help page lists four choices:
- Basic email, which is free. This is what you get if you do not choose anything.
- Premium email, which BT lists at £7.50 a month, paid by direct debit. You need to live in the UK and have a UK bank account.
- Link your address to a friend's or family member's BT Broadband account. BT says this is free and can be done at any time.
- Close your BT email.
What Basic email means in practice
If you do nothing, BT says it will move you to Basic email on your broadband end date. Basic is free, but it is limited. BT says Basic can only be used through bt.com and that you cannot use it with an email client or on your device. In other words, the Mail app on your phone, Outlook on your computer or Thunderbird will stop working with the account.
Basic also gives you one email address, and you cannot create new ones. If you have several addresses on your BT account, for example one for each family member, check which one you will keep. BT's Standard and Premium options allow up to 11 addresses.
You can upgrade from Basic to Premium later through My BT, and you can move from Premium down to Basic in the same place.
What it costs to keep full access
Premium email is the option that keeps your BT email working much like before. BT lists it at £7.50 a month. Over a year that adds up, so it is worth deciding whether you want to keep paying for the address or move to a new one and pay nothing, or pay for something that also gives you more.
There is one more free route. If someone in your family or a friend has BT Broadband, they can link your address to their account. BT says you can then keep your email free of charge. That can be a sensible option if you live with or near someone who stays with BT.
If you close your BT email
BT says that when you close your email, you have 60 days to upgrade to Premium. If you do not, all the email addresses linked to your BT ID are deleted, along with your personal data, and it cannot be recovered. BT mentions a short window to recover only the address itself, not your messages.
So if you plan to close the account, save everything you need first.
Do this before your broadband end date
Because Basic email cannot be used in an email app, the easiest time to copy your mail is while your BT email still works as it does today.
Check your end date
Find the date your BT Broadband ends in My BT or in the confirmation from your new broadband provider. Plan to finish copying your mail a few days before.
Export your contacts
Download your BT address book as a file. Most webmail services offer CSV or vCard. Keep the file safe.
Copy your emails
Use an import tool at your new provider, or set up the account in a desktop program such as Thunderbird and let it download all your folders. Either way you end up with a full copy that does not depend on BT.
Decide about each address
If several people in your home use BT addresses, agree who keeps what. Basic only keeps one address.
Moving to a new provider, step by step
If you decide not to pay for Premium, here is how to move without losing anything. We use Ayamail as the example, but the steps are similar elsewhere.
Create your new account
Choose a new address. Ayamail has a free plan with 3 GB, and paid plans for more space, a partner or the whole family.
Import your BT mail
In Ayamail's import tool, choose the option for another IMAP provider and enter your BT address and the incoming server settings your email app uses today. Ayamail copies your folders in the background. If you have already saved your mail with Thunderbird, you can also import it as an mbox file.
Import your contacts
Upload the CSV or vCard file you saved. Your address book is ready in your new account.
Forward new mail for a while
If you keep Basic or Premium for a period, set up forwarding to your new address so nothing is missed while people catch up.
Update your important accounts
Change the email on your bank, energy, council, school, GP and shopping accounts first. Then send friends and family your new address.
Want the full checklist?
Our general switching guide covers moving email, contacts and calendars from any provider, with tips for forwarding and updating your accounts.
Keep, link or move: how to choose
Keep Premium if the address is essential and you are happy to pay for it every month. Link it to a family member's BT account if that is possible, because it costs nothing. Accept Basic only if you are comfortable reading mail on bt.com in a browser, since apps will not work.
Move if you would rather have an address that does not depend on any broadband provider. Next time you switch broadband, your email stays exactly where it is.
Where Ayamail fits
Ayamail is not tied to a broadband company. It works in the browser and in the email apps you already use, through IMAP, SMTP, CalDAV and CardDAV. Your mail is protected with TLS on the way to and from our servers, and it is stored on our own servers with Hetzner in Germany. For messages that only the recipient should read, you can turn on PGP or send a password-protected message. Your files in Drive, passwords in Pass, photos in Album and documents in Docs are encrypted on your own device before they are stored.
If several people at home used BT addresses, a Duo or Family plan gives everyone their own account with shared storage. Children under 15 get a child account that a parent creates and manages in the Family Center, where only approved senders can reach them by default. Prices are on our pricing page and depend on your country.
Moving the whole household?
If more than one person at home used a BT address, a family plan gives everyone their own account, plus child accounts for under-15s.
Move your BT email without losing anything
Start with the free plan, import your mail and contacts, and switch your accounts over at your own pace.
Questions and answers
- Can I keep my BT email address if I leave BT?
- Yes. BT moves you to free Basic email unless you choose otherwise. You can also pay for Premium email, or link the address to a friend's or family member's BT Broadband account for free.
- How much does it cost to keep BT email?
- BT lists Premium email at £7.50 a month by direct debit. Basic email is free but can only be used on bt.com, not in an email app.
- Can I use BT Basic email on my phone?
- BT says Basic email is accessed through bt.com only and cannot be used with an email client or on your device. You can still open bt.com in your phone's browser.
- What happens if I close my BT email?
- BT says you have 60 days to upgrade to Premium. After that, all addresses linked to your BT ID are deleted with their personal data, and it cannot be recovered.
- How do I move my BT emails to a new provider?
- Copy them before your broadband ends, while your email app still works. Use an IMAP import tool at your new provider or download everything with Thunderbird, then export your contacts as CSV or vCard.
Sources
- BT: What happens to my email address when my BT Broadband service stops? (Checked 30 October 2026)
- BT: BT email products (Basic, Standard and Premium) (Checked 30 October 2026)