Gmail stops collecting your other email in January 2027. Will your BT, Sky or Virgin address still work?
If Gmail shows you the emails sent to another address — a BT, Sky, Virgin, TalkTalk, Yahoo, AOL or Comcast one — or lets you send from it, that stops in January 2027. Your old address keeps working; Gmail just stops fetching it. Here is a two-minute check, and what to do instead. Rated 4.9 on Google.
- ● Two-minute check
- ● Mail already in Gmail stays
- ● Help if you want it
// THE SHORT ANSWER
What Google is switching off
Google is removing three Gmail features that work with email addresses from other providers:
- Check mail from other accounts (POP) — Gmail fetching the post from your other mailbox and showing it in Gmail.
- Gmailify — Gmail’s spam filtering and tidy tabs applied to another account.
- Send mail as another provider’s address — choosing your BT or Sky address in Gmail’s From line.
When: Google stopped letting anyone new set up the first two after the first quarter of 2026. People who already use them can carry on until January 2027, and “Send as” for other providers’ addresses goes in January 2027 too. Google has given the month, not a day.
What you keep: every message Gmail has already collected stays in your Gmail. Your other address is not closed by this — new mail still arrives in that provider’s mailbox. It just stops appearing in Gmail.
Last checked: 10 October 2026. Sources: Google Gmail Help on Gmailify and POP and third-party accounts and “Send as”.
// DOES IT AFFECT YOU?
A two-minute check
On a computer, open Gmail, click the cog at the top right, then See all settings, then the Accounts and Import tab.
- An address listed under Check mail from other accounts — affected. Gmail stops fetching it in January 2027.
- Another provider’s address listed under Send mail as — affected. You will not be able to send as it from Gmail.
- Your old provider forwards your mail to Gmail — not affected. Forwarding is done at the other end, not by Gmail.
- Your BT or Virgin account is added as a separate account in the Gmail app on your phone or tablet — not affected. Google says the app carries on.
- You read Gmail in Outlook, Thunderbird or Apple Mail — not affected. That is Gmail itself, not Gmail fetching anything.
- You imported your old messages into Gmail once — not affected. Those stay, and the one-off import is still available.
// WHAT TO DO INSTEAD
Four ways to keep your other email working
1. Forward new mail into Gmail. Log in to your other provider’s webmail and look in its settings for forwarding. If it offers it, new mail lands in Gmail as before. Replies will come from your Gmail address, so it suits people who are gradually moving to Gmail.
2. Use the Gmail app on your phone or tablet. Add the other address as a separate account in the Gmail app for Android, iPhone or iPad. Google says this carries on, because the app connects in the standard way (IMAP), and you can read and send from both.
3. Use a desktop email program. Outlook, Thunderbird or Apple Mail can hold your Gmail and your other address side by side, sending from whichever you choose. Our guide to adding Gmail to Outlook shows the Gmail half; your provider publishes the settings for the other.
4. Move to your Gmail address for good. Copy your old messages in once (Gmail’s Import mail and contacts still works for that), tell people your Gmail address, and update the logins that use the old one. If your provider is closing its email anyway, our guides walk through it: Virgin Media to Gmail and Plusnet to Gmail.
Our view: if you mostly use Gmail already, option 1 or 4 is simplest. If you need to keep sending from your old address — a business card, a bank or a club that knows it — option 2 or 3 keeps that working. Do it before January rather than after, so nothing goes quietly missing in the meantime.
// WORTH KNOWING
Two things that catch people out
Nothing tells you mail has stopped. Once Gmail stops fetching, the other mailbox simply fills up unseen. If you do nothing else, log in to your old provider’s webmail in January and check.
Old mailboxes have size limits. If Gmail used to collect and then delete mail from the other mailbox, that mailbox may never have needed space. Once Gmail stops, it can fill and start refusing new mail. Forwarding (option 1) avoids that; otherwise check its storage now and then.
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// GOOD QUESTIONS
Frequently asked
Will I lose the emails Gmail has already collected?
No. Google says all messages synced before the change stay in Gmail.
When exactly does it stop?
Google stopped new set-ups after the first quarter of 2026. Existing users can keep collecting until January 2027, and “Send as” for other providers’ addresses also goes in January 2027. Google has not given an exact day.
Does this change my Gmail address?
No. Your Gmail address, its mail and the Gmail app are unaffected. The change is only about Gmail fetching mail from, or sending as, other providers’ addresses.
Will forwarding from BT, Sky or Virgin to Gmail still work?
Forwarding is set up with your other provider, not in Gmail, so Google’s change does not stop it. Whether you can forward depends on your provider, so check its webmail settings or help pages.
I use Gmail for my Comcast, AOL or Yahoo email. Does this affect me?
Yes, if Gmail on the web collects that mail for you (Check mail from other accounts) or lets you send as that address. Both stop in January 2027 for any non-Google address. Reading the account in the Gmail phone app, or forwarding from the other provider, carries on. If you have a comcast.net address, it is also moving to Yahoo Mail: see Comcast email moving to Yahoo.
Can I still copy my old emails into Gmail?
Yes. Gmail’s Import mail and contacts, under Accounts and Import in settings, still does a one-off copy. It does not keep collecting new mail afterwards.
Rather we sorted it for you?
We set up forwarding, your phone or Outlook remotely while you watch — one-off remote help from £20. We move Virgin Media and Plusnet mailboxes into Gmail for £60 per address; for other providers we quote before we start. Call 01202 775566.
01202 775566 · help@365techies.co.uk · MON–FRI 9AM–5PM