Virgin Media email is moving to Junara: what are your options?
Updated 30 October 2026 · 7 min read
If you have an address ending in @virginmedia.com, @blueyonder.co.uk, @virgin.net or @ntlworld.com, you have probably had a message about it. Virgin Media is no longer going to run its own email service. This guide explains, in plain terms, what is changing, how long you have, and how to keep your messages and contacts whichever way you go. We have only included facts we could check on Virgin Media's own pages, and we link to them at the bottom.
What is changing
On 9 September 2026, Virgin Media O2 announced that it is handing the day-to-day running of existing Virgin Media email accounts to Junara, which it describes as a specialist email provider owned by Atmail. Virgin Media stopped offering new email accounts back in 2022. Until now, existing accounts had carried on as before.
The change covers everyone with a Virgin Media email account, including the older ntlworld.com, blueyonder.co.uk and virgin.net addresses. It does not matter whether you still have Virgin Media broadband or left years ago.
Virgin Media says it is contacting account holders by email. Your own deadline is in that message, so the exact date is different from person to person. There is no single closing date for everyone.
Your three options
According to Virgin Media O2, you can choose one of these:
- Sign up with Junara and move your existing address and mailbox there. Virgin Media's help page says this comes at a cost and that each address is billed separately.
- Download your emails and data, and move to another email provider of your choice.
- Close your Virgin Media email account.
How long you have
Virgin Media says you will have at least 45 days to sign up with Junara from the date it sends you its first email. If you miss that, your mailbox is suspended. You then get an extra 120 days to sign up and reactivate the account and its contents before it is deleted.
Put together, that is a window of around 165 days from the first message. Virgin Media O2 says that if no action is taken after that window, the account will be permanently deleted. Its help page adds that a deleted mailbox cannot be recovered.
While a mailbox is suspended, you cannot open it on the Virgin Media website, and email apps will show errors. Automatic forwarding you have already set up keeps working during the suspension, but stops when the mailbox is deleted. If you need temporary access to a suspended mailbox, Virgin Media's help page gives 0345 454 1111 as the number to call.
What it costs to stay with Junara
Virgin Media O2 says that customers who still have Virgin Media broadband, landline or TV get the first 12 months of the new service free, plus a 99p transfer fee paid to Junara. Customers who have asked Virgin Media for extra support get the first 18 months free. Former customers who no longer have any Virgin Media service need to take a standard Junara plan to keep their address.
Virgin Media's help page does not list Junara's prices. It says monthly and annual prices are shown during sign-up. Check those prices before you decide, so you can compare them with other providers fairly.
Watch out for scam emails
Changes like this attract fraudsters. Virgin Media O2 says its messages about the change contain no clickable sign-up links and point you to the official Virgin Media website instead. Be wary of any unexpected message asking for your password, personal details or payment. If in doubt, type virginmedia.com into your browser yourself rather than clicking a link.
Before you decide: save your mail and contacts
Whatever you choose, make a copy of what matters first. It costs nothing and protects you if something goes wrong or a deadline slips past.
Note your deadline
Find the email from Virgin Media about the change and write down the sign-up date it gives you. Put a reminder in your calendar a week before.
Export your contacts
Download your address book from Virgin Media webmail as a file. Most webmail services offer a CSV or vCard export. Keep the file somewhere safe.
Copy your emails
The simplest way is an import tool at your new provider that connects to your old mailbox and copies the folders across. You can also set up the account in a desktop email program such as Thunderbird and let it download everything, which leaves you with a copy on your computer.
Save important attachments
Virgin Media itself recommends saving important emails and attachments before your sign-up date. Bank letters, receipts, photos and tickets are worth downloading separately.
List where you use the address
Search your inbox for your bank, GP surgery, school, energy supplier, council, online shops and streaming services. These all need your new address.
Moving to a new provider, step by step
If you decide not to stay with Junara, this is how to move to a new address without losing anything. We use Ayamail as the example, but the steps are the same with most providers.
Create your new account
Choose the address you want. Ayamail has a free plan with 3 GB, and paid plans if you need more space or want to bring the whole family.
Import your Virgin Media mail
In Ayamail's import tool, choose the option for another IMAP provider and enter your Virgin Media address and the incoming server settings for your account, the same ones an email app on your phone uses. Ayamail copies your folders in the background, so you can close the browser while it works. Do this while your Virgin Media mailbox is still active, not after it has been suspended.
Import your contacts
Upload the CSV or vCard file you exported earlier. Your address book is then ready in your new account.
Set up forwarding
If your Virgin Media account still works, turn on forwarding to your new address. Forwarding you already have keeps working during a suspension, but it stops for good when the old mailbox is deleted.
Tell people and update your accounts
Work through the list you made. Send a short message to friends and family with your new address, and change the login email on important accounts first.
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.
Staying with Junara or moving: how to choose
Staying with Junara is the least effort if you mainly want to keep the address itself, for example because it is printed on business cards or used by people you cannot easily reach. Look at what it will cost after any free period ends.
Moving is worth considering if you want an address that is not tied to a broadband company, so you never have to go through this again. It is also a chance to choose a service that fits your household, for example one with shared calendars or accounts for your children.
Where Ayamail fits
Ayamail is a paid-for email service with a free plan, and it is not linked to any broadband provider. 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. If you want to send a message that only the recipient can read, you can turn on PGP or send a password-protected message. Your files in Drive, your passwords in Pass, your photos in Album and your documents in Docs are encrypted on your own device before they are stored.
Families can share a plan, with a shared calendar and family album. Children under 15 get a child account that a parent creates and manages in the Family Center, where only approved senders can reach the child 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 Virgin Media address, a family plan gives everyone their own account, plus child accounts for under-15s.
Ready to move your Virgin Media email?
Start with the free plan, import your mail and contacts, and keep your old address forwarding while you update your accounts.
Questions and answers
- Is Virgin Media email closing down?
- Virgin Media is handing its email service to Junara. You can move your address to Junara for a cost, move to another provider or close the account. If you do nothing, the mailbox is suspended and later deleted.
- When will my Virgin Media email be deleted?
- There is no single date. Virgin Media says you have at least 45 days from its first email to sign up, then a further 120 days before a suspended mailbox is deleted. Your own date is in the email Virgin Media sent you.
- Can I keep my @virginmedia.com or @ntlworld.com address?
- Yes, but only by signing up with Junara. Virgin Media says sign-up has a cost and each address is billed separately. Current Virgin Media customers get the first 12 months free plus a 99p transfer fee, according to Virgin Media O2.
- How do I save my Virgin Media emails?
- Copy them to a new provider with an IMAP import tool, or download them with a desktop email program such as Thunderbird. Do it before your sign-up date, because a suspended mailbox cannot be opened in the browser.
- Will forwarding still work after the change?
- Virgin Media says automatic forwarding keeps working while a mailbox is suspended, but stops once it is deleted. Use the time to update your important accounts to your new address.
Sources
- Virgin Media: Our email service is changing to Junara (Checked 30 October 2026)
- Virgin Media O2 news: Helping customers understand upcoming changes to their Virgin Media email services (9 September 2026) (Checked 30 October 2026)