Virgin Media Email Is Closing: What Customers Need to Do
45+ DAYS TO DECIDE • KEEP YOUR ADDRESS WITH JUNARA • OR MOVE YOUR EMAIL ELSEWHERE
Virgin Media is closing its legacy email service. Customers using existing Virgin Media email addresses are being contacted in phases and given at least 45 days from their first communication to decide what happens to their mailbox.
If you want to keep an existing @ntlworld.com, @blueyonder.co.uk, @virgin.net or @virginmedia.com address, Virgin Media says you will be able to transfer it to specialist email provider Junara. Eligible current Virgin Media broadband, landline or TV customers are offered the first 12 months free, subject to a 99p transfer fee paid to Junara. Customers who have told Virgin Media they need additional support are offered the first 18 months free.
Updated 5 October 2026: I rechecked Virgin Media’s live email-help pages and Junara’s Virgin Media migration and pricing pages. The main position is unchanged, but I have tightened this guide around the current phased rollout. Junara’s live Virgin Media FAQ says a suspended mailbox can be reactivated for 120 days after its sign-up deadline, while its pricing page still requires the email address to be verified before showing the available plans. I have also made the missed-deadline route clearer for readers who have already lost access.
What is Virgin Media changing?
Virgin Media has confirmed that it is closing the remaining email accounts it still operates and transferring ongoing management of the service to Junara, a specialist email provider owned by Atmail.
This does not mean every affected email address disappears immediately. Virgin Media says customers are being contacted in phases and get at least a 45-day decision window from their first communication to transfer to Junara, move to another email provider or close the account. If the initial sign-up deadline is missed, both Virgin Media and Junara now describe an additional 120-day recovery window before permanent deletion.
Affected users get at least 45 days from Virgin Media’s first communication to choose what to do.
ntlworld.com, blueyonder.co.uk, virgin.net and virginmedia.com addresses are affected.
Eligible current Virgin Media broadband, landline or TV customers are offered 12 months free, subject to a 99p transfer fee. Customers who have told Virgin Media they need additional support are offered 18 months free.
Important: the 45-day period is tied to Virgin Media contacting affected users. Check the specific message sent to your account for your own deadline and instructions rather than assuming everyone has the same calendar cut-off date.
Which Virgin Media email addresses are affected?
The closure covers Virgin Media’s remaining legacy email accounts, including addresses inherited through earlier cable and broadband brands. If you want the background to those older names, our history of Virgin Media broadband explains how NTL, Telewest, Blueyonder and Virgin.net fit into the wider story.
| Email domain | Affected by the change? | What users need to do |
|---|---|---|
| @ntlworld.com | Affected | Choose Junara, another email provider or closure within the stated window. |
| @blueyonder.co.uk | Affected | Choose Junara, another email provider or closure within the stated window. |
| @virgin.net | Affected | Choose Junara, another email provider or closure within the stated window. |
| @virginmedia.com | Affected | Choose Junara, another email provider or closure within the stated window. |
Virgin Media stopped creating new Virgin Media email addresses for new customers in 2022, but existing users were allowed to continue using their established mailboxes. This latest change deals with those remaining accounts.
Your three main options
Move to Junara
This is the route for users who want to keep their existing Virgin Media email address. Eligible current Virgin Media broadband, landline or TV customers are offered 12 months free, subject to the 99p transfer fee.
Move to another provider
You can create a new address with a dedicated email provider and begin moving important accounts and contacts away from your Virgin Media address.
Let the account close
If you no longer need the address, you can allow it to close — but first make sure nothing important still depends on it.
What happens if you move to Junara?
Virgin Media says customers who choose Junara will have a route to keep their existing Virgin Media email address rather than abandoning it and starting again with a completely new address.
Your existing address can be retained
The main attraction of the Junara option is continuity. If your ntlworld, Blueyonder, virgin.net or virginmedia.com address is used by family, banks, subscriptions and other services, transferring it avoids an immediate address change. If you specifically use an NTLworld address, see our guide to keeping an @ntlworld.com email address.
The free period does not last indefinitely
Current Virgin Media broadband, landline or TV customers are offered the first 12 months free, subject to a 99p transfer fee, while customers who have told Virgin Media they need additional support are offered 18 months free. After the free period, continuing to use the mailbox requires a paid Junara subscription. Junara currently shows the available plan and price only after the email address is verified.
If you are a former Virgin Media customer: Virgin Media says people who no longer take its broadband, landline or TV services need a standard Junara plan if they want to keep the old email address. For current customers, do not choose based only on the introductory free period; check the plan shown for your mailbox and see our separate breakdown of Junara email pricing and the confirmed Virgin Media offer.
What I would do before your 45-day-plus window ends
Even if you intend to keep your current address through Junara, this is a useful opportunity to check how dependent you are on an ISP-supplied email account.
Read Virgin Media’s message
Use the instructions and deadline sent directly to your account. If you have already gone past it, see what happens if you miss the Virgin Media Junara deadline. Be cautious with unexpected emails and verify important account actions through Virgin Media’s official website.
Save important email
Keep copies of messages, attachments and contact details you cannot afford to lose, especially if you are considering closing the old mailbox.
Check account recovery details
Look for banking, shopping, social media, utility, insurance and other accounts that still use your Virgin Media address for sign-in or password recovery.
Choose your long-term email
Decide whether preserving the exact old address is worth moving to Junara or whether you would rather move to an email account independent of your broadband provider. If you choose the latter, our guide explains how to move Virgin Media email to Gmail or Outlook.
Update important contacts
If you change address, tell people and organisations that regularly contact you before the old mailbox disappears.
Keep the old address active during the move
Where possible, avoid leaving the migration until the final days. A period of overlap makes it easier to spot services or contacts you forgot to update.
Should you keep the old address or move away?
The address is deeply embedded in your life
- ✓You have used the same Virgin Media address for many years.
- ✓Many services still use it for login or account recovery.
- ✓Friends, family or customers already know the address.
- ✓You are comfortable paying for it once the free period ends.
You want an address independent of your ISP
- ✓You want to avoid your email being tied to a broadband company.
- ✓You already use Gmail, Outlook or another dedicated provider.
- ✓You do not want another paid service once your introductory free period ends.
- ✓You are happy to spend time updating accounts and contacts.
There is no single right choice. For a heavily used address, paying to preserve it may be far less disruptive than changing dozens of accounts. For lighter users, this may be the right time to switch permanently to an email address that does not depend on who supplies your broadband.
Watch for fake migration emails
A large email migration creates an obvious opportunity for phishing. Virgin Media says it will contact affected customers directly and that its migration emails will not contain clickable sign-up links, but scammers can still imitate the subject matter or branding.
Safer approach: do not use an unexpected email link to sign up or enter payment details. Virgin Media says its first communication directs customers to the official Virgin Media website rather than placing a clickable sign-up link in the migration email. Type or open the official site yourself and follow the account-specific instructions from there.
Virgin Media’s own scam guidance advises customers not to click suspicious links and to sign in through My Virgin Media to check the status of their account.
Frequently asked questions
Is Virgin Media closing its email service?
Yes. Virgin Media has confirmed that it is closing its remaining email service and transferring users who want to preserve their existing address to specialist provider Junara.
Which Virgin Media email addresses are affected?
The change affects addresses ending in @ntlworld.com, @blueyonder.co.uk, @virgin.net and @virginmedia.com.
Do I have to move to Junara?
No. Virgin Media says customers can move to Junara, move their email use to another provider, or allow the existing account to close.
Sources and further information
- Virgin Media O2: Helping customers understand upcoming changes to their Virgin Media email services — official details on the 45-day decision period, additional 120-day recovery window, 99p transfer fee and 12- or 18-month free periods.
- Virgin Media Help: How to manage my email account — current guidance on retaining an existing address, moving to Junara, saving mailbox data and what to do after missing a deadline.
- Virgin Media Help: Email server settings — current guidance for ntlworld, Blueyonder and virgin.net addresses and access after migration.
- Virgin Media Help: How to spot, report and prevent scams — official guidance for checking suspicious messages and avoiding phishing links.
- Junara: Virgin Media email migration — current migration FAQ covering supported domains, phased deadlines, the 120-day reactivation period, transfer process and mailbox access.
- Junara: Pricing — current pricing route showing that available plans and prices are displayed after the email address is entered and verified.
- ISPreview: Virgin Media closes email service and shifts users to Junara — independent reporting on the migration announcement.