Cookies on the Plusnet website

We use cookies from Plusnet and our partners so that you get the best experience on our website. They’ll remember your settings, improve social media features and make sure you get personalised offers.

By clicking ‘I Accept’ you accept all cookies, or you can choose which ones you’re happy for us to use. You can change these at any time.

| Change settings

How to continue using your existing email address

Help Archive Email How to continue using your existing email address

This article is not regularly maintained

This archived article may contain information that's not up-to-date. It's here so you can still refer to this older info, but it's not regularly maintained and our Customer Support Advisors won't be able to help with queries about it.

If you've got a question about this article, why not ask the Plusnet Community? Or, for the latest Help & Support articles, head over to plus.net/help

Select your provider

Plusnet Force9 Free-Online

If you've switched from another provider, chances are you may want to continue using your old email address.

If your previous provider allows this (you'll need to ask them if you're not sure) and you use an email program to check your messages (such as Outlook, Windows Mail, Mac Mail or Thunderbird) then you'll need to make a small change to your settings. Otherwise you'll be able to receive new messages but you won't be able to send them.

To fix this, change your outgoing server to relay.plus.net and if you're using authentication, switch that off.

If you're not sure how to do this, here are guides for the most popular email programs:

Windows Mail
Windows Live Mail
Microsoft Outlook 2007
Mozilla Thunderbird
Outlook Express

1. Windows Mail

Go to Tools on the top bar and select Accounts
The Internet Accounts window will appear

Select the name of the account you want to update, then click Properties
On the properties window, click the Servers tab
- Leave the Incoming mail (POP3), E-mail username and Password as they are, these settings allow you to receive messages and will not need changing
- Change the Outbound (SMTP) server to relay.plus.net
- At the bottom, make sure My server requires authentication is unticked
Click Apply and move to the next step
Now click the Advanced tab and make sure the settings match the ones you see below:

Click OK to finish.

You'll now be able to send email with the address supplied by your previous provider.

2. Windows Live Mail

Right click on the Email account you want to check and select Properties
On the properties window, click the Servers Tab
- Leave the Incoming mail (POP3), E-mail username and Password as they are, these settings allow you to receive messages and will not need changing
- Change the Outbound (SMTP) server to relay.plus.net
- At the bottom, make sure My server requires authentication is unticked
Click Apply and move to the next step
Now click the Advanced tab and make sure the settings match the ones you see below:

Click OK to finish

You'll now be able to send email with the address supplied by your previous provider.

3. Microsoft Outlook 2007

Go to Tools on the top bar and select Account Settings
The Account Settings window should appear, from here select the account you want to edit and click Change...
Change Outgoing mail server (SMTP) to relay.plus.net and click More Settings...
On the Internet E-mail Settings window, click the Outgoing Server tab and make sure that My Outgoing Server (SMTP) requires authentication is unticked
Now click the Advanced tab and make sure the settings match the ones you see below
Click OK and you'll be back at the Change Email Account window shown in step 3, click Next and then close the Congratulations screen
You'll be back at the Account Settings window shown seen in step 2, click Close to finish

You'll now be able to send email with the address supplied by your previous provider.

4. Mozilla Thunderbird 3

Open Thunderbird, go to Tools on the top bar and click Account Settings
Click Outgoing Server (SMTP) on the left hand menu, select the default SMTP account and click Edit on the right hand side
Now you'll see the SMTP server window
- The Server Name should be relay.plus.net and the Port should be 25
- If Use name and password is ticked, make sure that you enter your account username (the one you log into this website with) in the User Name box
- Make sure Use secure authentication is not ticked and Connection security is set to None
Click OK and you'll be back at the Account Settings window shown seen in step 2, click OK to finish.

You'll now be able to send email with the address supplied by your previous provider. When sending you'll be asked to enter a password, this needs to be your account password (the one you log into this website with). If you continue to have trouble sending mail, untick Use name and password and try again.

5. Outlook Express

Go to Tools on the top bar and select Accounts. The Internet Accounts window will appear
Click on the Mail tab to see a list of mail accounts currently set up on this machine. Double-click on the Account name you want to update to open the Properties window for that account
On the properties window, click the Servers Tab
- Leave the Incoming mail (POP3), Account name and Password as they are, these settings allow you to receive messages and will not need changing
- Change the Outbound (SMTP) server to relay.plus.net
- Make sure My server requires authentication at the bottom is unticked
Click Apply and move to the next step
Click the Advanced tab and make sure the Outgoing Mail settings match the ones you see below:

Click OK and you'll be back at the Internet Accounts window shown seen in step 2, click Close to finish

You'll now be able to send email with the address supplied by your previous provider.

If you've switched from another provider, chances are you may want to continue using your old email address.

If your previous provider allows this (you'll need to ask them if you're not sure) and you use an email program to check your messages (such as Outlook, Windows Mail, Mac Mail or Thunderbird) then you'll need to make a small change to your settings. Otherwise you'll be able to receive new messages but you won't be able to send them.

To fix this, change your outgoing server to relay.force9.net and if you're using authentication, switch that off.

If you're not sure how to do this, here are guides for the most popular email programs:

Windows Mail
Windows Live Mail
Microsoft Outlook 2007
Mozilla Thunderbird
Outlook Express

1. Windows Mail

Go to Tools on the top bar and select Accounts
The Internet Accounts window will appear

Select the name of the account you want to update, then click Properties
On the properties window, click the Servers tab
- Leave the Incoming mail (POP3), E-mail username and Password as they are, these settings allow you to receive messages and will not need changing
- Change the Outbound (SMTP) server to relay.force9.net
- At the bottom, make sure My server requires authentication is unticked
Click Apply and move to the next step
Now click the Advanced tab and make sure the settings match the ones you see below:

Click OK to finish.

You'll now be able to send email with the address supplied by your previous provider.

2. Windows Live Mail

Right click on the Email account you want to check and select Properties
On the properties window, click the Servers Tab
- Leave the Incoming mail (POP3), E-mail username and Password as they are, these settings allow you to receive messages and will not need changing
- Change the Outbound (SMTP) server to relay.force9.net
- At the bottom, make sure My server requires authentication is unticked
Click Apply and move to the next step
Now click the Advanced tab and make sure the settings match the ones you see below:

Click OK to finish

You'll now be able to send email with the address supplied by your previous provider.

3. Microsoft Outlook 2007

Go to Tools on the top bar and select Account Settings
The Account Settings window should appear, from here select the account you want to edit and click Change...
Change Outgoing mail server (SMTP) to relay.force9.net and click More Settings...
On the Internet E-mail Settings window, click the Outgoing Server tab and make sure that My Outgoing Server (SMTP) requires authentication is unticked
Now click the Advanced tab and make sure the settings match the ones you see below
Click OK and you'll be back at the Change Email Account window shown in step 3, click Next and then close the Congratulations screen
You'll be back at the Account Settings window shown seen in step 2, click Close to finish

You'll now be able to send email with the address supplied by your previous provider.

4. Mozilla Thunderbird 3

Open Thunderbird, go to Tools on the top bar and click Account Settings
Click Outgoing Server (SMTP) on the left hand menu, select the default SMTP account and click Edit on the right hand side
Now you'll see the SMTP server window
- The Server Name should be relay.force9.net and the Port should be 25
- If Use name and password is ticked, make sure that you enter your account username (the one you log into this website with) in the User Name box
- Make sure Use secure authentication is not ticked and Connection security is set to None
Click OK and you'll be back at the Account Settings window shown seen in step 2, click OK to finish.

You'll now be able to send email with the address supplied by your previous provider. When sending you'll be asked to enter a password, this needs to be your account password (the one you log into this website with). If you continue to have trouble sending mail, untick Use name and password and try again.

5. Outlook Express

Go to Tools on the top bar and select Accounts. The Internet Accounts window will appear
Click on the Mail tab to see a list of mail accounts currently set up on this machine. Double-click on the Account name you want to update to open the Properties window for that account
On the properties window, click the Servers Tab
- Leave the Incoming mail (POP3), Account name and Password as they are, these settings allow you to receive messages and will not need changing
- Change the Outbound (SMTP) server to relay.force9.net
- Make sure My server requires authentication at the bottom is unticked
Click Apply and move to the next step
Click the Advanced tab and make sure the Outgoing Mail settings match the ones you see below:

Click OK and you'll be back at the Internet Accounts window shown seen in step 2, click Close to finish

You'll now be able to send email with the address supplied by your previous provider.

If you've switched from another provider, chances are you may want to continue using your old email address.

If your previous provider allows this (you'll need to ask them if you're not sure) and you use an email program to check your messages (such as Outlook, Windows Mail, Mac Mail or Thunderbird) then you'll need to make a small change to your settings. Otherwise you'll be able to receive new messages but you won't be able to send them.

To fix this, change your outgoing server to relay.free-online.net and if you're using authentication, switch that off.

If you're not sure how to do this, here are guides for the most popular email programs:

Windows Mail
Windows Live Mail
Microsoft Outlook 2007
Mozilla Thunderbird
Outlook Express

1. Windows Mail

Go to Tools on the top bar and select Accounts
The Internet Accounts window will appear

Select the name of the account you want to update, then click Properties
On the properties window, click the Servers tab
- Leave the Incoming mail (POP3), E-mail username and Password as they are, these settings allow you to receive messages and will not need changing
- Change the Outbound (SMTP) server to relay.free-online.net
- At the bottom, make sure My server requires authentication is unticked
Click Apply and move to the next step
Now click the Advanced tab and make sure the settings match the ones you see below:

Click OK to finish.

You'll now be able to send email with the address supplied by your previous provider.

2. Windows Live Mail

Right click on the Email account you want to check and select Properties
On the properties window, click the Servers Tab
- Leave the Incoming mail (POP3), E-mail username and Password as they are, these settings allow you to receive messages and will not need changing
- Change the Outbound (SMTP) server to relay.free-online.net
- At the bottom, make sure My server requires authentication is unticked
Click Apply and move to the next step
Now click the Advanced tab and make sure the settings match the ones you see below:

Click OK to finish

You'll now be able to send email with the address supplied by your previous provider.

3. Microsoft Outlook 2007

Go to Tools on the top bar and select Account Settings
The Account Settings window should appear, from here select the account you want to edit and click Change...
Change Outgoing mail server (SMTP) to relay.free-online.net and click More Settings...
On the Internet E-mail Settings window, click the Outgoing Server tab and make sure that My Outgoing Server (SMTP) requires authentication is unticked
Now click the Advanced tab and make sure the settings match the ones you see below
Click OK and you'll be back at the Change Email Account window shown in step 3, click Next and then close the Congratulations screen
You'll be back at the Account Settings window shown seen in step 2, click Close to finish

You'll now be able to send email with the address supplied by your previous provider.

4. Mozilla Thunderbird 3

Open Thunderbird, go to Tools on the top bar and click Account Settings
Click Outgoing Server (SMTP) on the left hand menu, select the default SMTP account and click Edit on the right hand side
Now you'll see the SMTP server window
- The Server Name should be relay.free-online.net and the Port should be 25
- If Use name and password is ticked, make sure that you enter your account username (the one you log into this website with) in the User Name box
- Make sure Use secure authentication is not ticked and Connection security is set to None
Click OK and you'll be back at the Account Settings window shown seen in step 2, click OK to finish.

You'll now be able to send email with the address supplied by your previous provider. When sending you'll be asked to enter a password, this needs to be your account password (the one you log into this website with). If you continue to have trouble sending mail, untick Use name and password and try again.

5. Outlook Express

Go to Tools on the top bar and select Accounts. The Internet Accounts window will appear
Click on the Mail tab to see a list of mail accounts currently set up on this machine. Double-click on the Account name you want to update to open the Properties window for that account
On the properties window, click the Servers Tab
- Leave the Incoming mail (POP3), Account name and Password as they are, these settings allow you to receive messages and will not need changing
- Change the Outbound (SMTP) server to relay.free-online.net
- Make sure My server requires authentication at the bottom is unticked
Click Apply and move to the next step
Click the Advanced tab and make sure the Outgoing Mail settings match the ones you see below:

Click OK and you'll be back at the Internet Accounts window shown seen in step 2, click Close to finish

You'll now be able to send email with the address supplied by your previous provider.

This is an archived article and may contain information that's not up-to-date - more info

Was this article helpful?

Thanks!

Thanks. Your feedback is really appreciated and helps us to improve our help and support.

Still need help?

Get in touch

Chat to us online

Online chat is currently unavailable, please choose another option.

Please enable functional cookies to use this feature. You can change your cookie settings at anytime.
Start chat

Your browser's blocking online chat

To chat to us, please switch off any ad blocking software.
Give us a call

Our support phone lines are open 7 days a week.
Call us