Is my email working?

To check if your email is working perform a very simple test

• Send an email to yourself from your email address and reply to it.
• Send an email to yourself from your secondary email address and reply to it.

If this doesn't work, double check your email settings and your Internet connection.

You can check to see if your email address has been breached here

To help keep your email account secure, change the password regularly

• Use a combination of uppercase, lowercase numeric, and special characters (such as @ $ + = ; _ - { } etc.) with a minimum of 8 characters; the more, the better.
• No place names.
• No phone numbers.
• No date of birth.
• No car registration numbers.
• No phrases that a hacker could easily hack.
• The more complicated the better!

The LastPass password generator can be accessed by following the link below. It may save you time and help you: select 'All characters':

LastPass

Email not working; general problems; sending and receiving

• The server your email is on could be down.
• Check you don't have an Internet connection issue. Try turning off Wi-Fi and turning on Mobile Data on your phone. If it works, you probably have an issue with your Internet connection.
• Make sure a recent software upgrade has not changed any settings on your email client.
• Perform a device and router restart.
• Check the documentation from your email provider.
• If you have an email address on certain servers and an incorrect password has been entered multiple times, it is possible your I.P. address could become blocked. This is an important security feature to help keep out hackers. Check your email using Webmail or a VPN, or if using a phone, turn off your Wi-Fi and connect using Mobile Data. If performing the latter does not work, contact your Service Provider or Website Manager with your I.P. address to have it unblocked.

Find your I.P. address here.

You will see two versions: IPv4 & IPv6. Either can usually be used; however, start with the former version.

Not receiving your email

• Make sure your inbox is not full.
• Check your spam / junk folders. It could be in there. Always add what you consider to be safe / known, or regularly used email addresses to your safe / white list to ensure this doesn't happen.
• Someone may have made an error with your email address. A common error is using .com instead of .co.uk at the end of the email address.

Your recipients are not receiving the email you send

• Check you have the correct email address for whoever you want to send to.
• The recipient's mailbox could be full.
• The recipient's server their email is on could have issues or be down.

In an emergency

Option 1

Use A File Transfer Service

Assuming you don't have an Internet connection problem, use a file transfer service. Free and premium ones can be found on the Internet.

With their software, all you'll need to do is upload your files, zip any folders before uploading, enter your email address and your recipient's email address, and send it all on its way!

One of the best is WeTransfer.com which will allow you to send 2GB free at a time.

Option 2

Use Your Phone As A Hotspot

If the problem is your Internet connection and you need to use your computer and not your phone to send or receive emails, you can use your phone as a hotspot to connect your computer.

ou will need sufficient mobile data to do this, and costs may apply.

The instructions to do this are here