Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

:batty:
I guess you have picked up and earlier Virgin statement that Outlook was not supported because it was third party software?
(one Virgin Guru said that Virgin was the 1st party, I was the second party and any thing else connected to their website was third party and therefore not supported)
However, in real life Microsoft have introduced a policy with Windows 7 of only bundling a minimum of applications, in the hope that users will not install incompatible versions of the major components. However as Windows Live already works with Virgin Media there should be no problems in using Windows Live/Windows 7 with Virgin Media.
The underlying problem for Virgin Media users is that the company is is a conglomerate and has an Internet Gateway to four different ISP servers. The user can login to Virgin and then access its various products (TV, Broadband, Email etc...) and reach this page
https://my.virginmedia.com/dashboard/start
From there the user can go to email, the email gateway, and select the ISP
@virginmedia.com
@blueyonder.co.uk
@ntlworld.com
@virgin.net
After choosing the server, the configuration is not the same in each case and the user must take care not to choose a password which is different from the one used to sign in to the Virgin Media Home Page
I suggest that it is the existence of Virgin’s unusually complex access to email mail settings that makes Virgin Help’s refuse to go beyond advice on setting up Outlook Express. In particular Virgin Media email is not simple to configure for inexperienced users of Outlook because the latter offers several email protocols, not just Pop3.
I expect that as time goes on Virgin will sort this out and refrain from foolish comments like not supporting Outlook because it is third party software
:angel:

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

Where should VM draw the line - should they provide support for Flash, MS Office, COD:WAW, Avast Anti-virus, GameSpy?

All of the above are third party software, and if VM are expected to provide support for all major 3rd Party software products, they will have to hire hundreds, if not thousands of extra support staff, which will in turn increase our bills - all for someone else's software they do not get any revenue from.

Where's the sense in that?

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

Which is being addressed by the e-mail unification project

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

Lets just keep it simple then - Virgin Media do not support Outlook.

- the reason doesn't matter, the fact speaks for itself.

The interpretation of the reason given as 'foolish' is your own opinion & is not shared by everyone.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

@ Onclejean

You've also conveniently forgot, or not read, one of my posts that specifically said that I know lots of ex-telewest(now virgin) users who use outlook, have done for years and have never had any problems.

I also know many users that are ex-ntl(not as many as those on ex-telewest) that have used outlook for ages, again without problems.

Like i've also said before, if any of the plethora of email systems virgin adopted from NTL, Telewest etc were non standard, then you'd have more than users of MS outlook complaining.

I've got a Linksys router, which although it's badged that way is actually made by Cisco. Should virgin support my router as it's made by one of the biggest players in the world of networking. They don't and i'm happy with that. That's not to say my Linksys/Cisco rout won't work with Virgin, it does work, and very well. But if I get a problem with it, it isn't Virgin's problem. Exactly the same situation.

Would you care to tell us in what way outlook doesn't work, someone on here may know why in your case it doesn't work. I know you've mentioned multiple instances of it not working, but you've never told us exactly what doesn't work.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

That's just it. They add support for Outlook. Where do they end? Pegasus? Eudora? Thunderbird? The Bat? Opera Mail? Or, any one of the 100s of other mail clients available on Windows? What about the Mac? What about Linux? FreeBSD? any Unix or Unix clone? What about phones/PDAs? The iPhone, any Android handset? Windows Mobile? Symbian (Series 40, 60, 90 or UIQ)? I don't know how many email clients there are, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were 1000s of email clients available on all those platforms I listed.

Unfortunately, while it would be nice for Virgin (or any ISP) to support every available email client, but as you note, it is not practical.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

:geez:
No need to get cross! It confuses the discussion. I did see your contribution but you must have missed my early contributions.
The short answer to your question is that many inexperienced users cannot configure Outlook as their email client using the latter's "new" account settings.
A newcomer was complaining that he could not use Outlook with VM who would not help him. I explained how to do it. And yes , yes, a lot of users like him do complain as shown by this thread which started a very long while ago.

I personally have been able to run Outlook with Blueyonder since the latter started years ago.
:angel:

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

Me, cross, nope :).

OK, I see the point your making. I don't agree though, like others have said, where do you draw the line?

My question as to what issues you had with Outlook comes from the fact that you made reference to the fact that you thought that Virgin were operating non standard mail services (POP3/SMTP) which i took to mean you(or someone you knew) was having more of a problem than getting the mailbox and sending/receiving settings right.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

Erm, how does a thread that , over the space of 1 year, has had 2 (or possibly 3) users who are having problems with Outlook, show that a lot of users are having problems?

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

As I have said earlier Virgin do not support products that are not bundled with the operating systems regardless of how much you and others think they should be as this would entail extra training and relevant software to be installed on our systems which in turn would increase the cost of the service which by default makes it a non starter.

If you have to downloaded it, bought it, got it free with a magazine and want to install it on your system then Virgin will not support that product as it is a "THIRD PARTY PRODUCT" no ifs or buts.

You want to access Virgin email easily then use webmail, if you want to use an unsupported email client then find out how to use it and do not sulk when you call in and we say sorry its unsupported but we can help you install Outlook Express or Windows Mail.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

Just to point out - the 'operating systems' are THIRD PARTY products.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

Enough with the technicalities! They are providing an internet connection which requires an operating system to be used. Virgin have chosen to support the operating system which the majority of their customers and in fact the majority of everyone use so that they can support as many customers as they can.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

I use Linux which is unsupported and also Windows 7 is unsupported as yet, but without a O/S you have no computer to be supported.


As I said above

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

I agree that VM can only support a limited number of products, but it is a bit disingenuous to say they don't support 'third party' products when Windows itself is third party, as are all the users' computers (except the 'netbook offer').

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

Third party products that you put on afterwards which is what I have said throughout this thread, without an O/S you have no computer and the netbook uses XP.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

Just a pointer chief!... It still is Telewest and NO we didn't support outlook... we never have. The guys at technical support KNOW fine well that MS Outlook is basically a carbon copy of outlook express... do we want to help you set it up... yes we do... are we permitted to.. No.

Telewest set the support scope on this donkeys years ago.

as for the Richard comment.. NTL Telewest bought the VM name off Mr Branson.

So that company that you used to love and really miss is still that same company with a different name.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

Be interesting to see what VM do about e-mail support when they start supporting Windows 7, then.

Just to clarify, I think it is perfectly understandable and acceptable that VM only support the most common OS and e-mail client. I just think it is a bit disingenuous to claim this is purely because they 'don't support third-part software'.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

It depends if the is anything included with the O/S and if it turns out to be Windows Live Mail thats already unsupported, but if it is up to choose what email client you install then the only support regards email support would be for Webmail and you would have to configure your POP3 client yourself, the same as I and others already do who use the likes of Thunderbird or Outlook.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

It's part of the reason they are pushing Webmail rather than a specific e-mail client.

The move to the Google mail platform will only increase this shift.

---------- Post added at 11:41 ---------- Previous post was at 11:38 ----------

There is no e-mail client supplied with Windows 7. The only 'official' Microsoft client for 7 is Windows Live Mail so it is likely to become supported. Just as Windows Mail is supported for Vista.

Especially as Microsoft themselves have shifted their focus towards Windows Live Mail

But Virgin might be forced to do basic support for programs like Thunderbird and Opera - especially with the browser ballot screen that is likely to be in W7

Re: Virgin Media dint support Outlook
 

:batty:
With regard to John T's last post, I understand his position but personally conclude that Virgin are wrong about the way they respond to customers who want to use Outlook as the email client. Outlook is the email client for about half the INTERNET users according to a July 2009 survey (this includes versions back to Outlook for Dos). On the other hand Virgin is the preferred ISP of only a minority of users according to a similar 2009 survey around the same date. Virgin could at least inform its customers that if they first setup email using Outlook Express then they can easily copy the settings into Outlook. It is childish to respond that "Outlook is third party software and not supported". This seems a different class of problem to John T's example of router configuration, I guess the majority of users do not need to know anything about that, though the growth wireless networks is pushing the knowledge forward.

My conclusion is that for a long time cable ISP's were principally concerned with the supply of TV media and did not bother much about internet customers, though competition from the mobile sector may be changing this.

In the end a matter of choice in your ISP, I suppose. if you are not a TV client.
:angel:

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

Opera is a browser not a mail client and I think Firefox would be supported well before that gets supported.:D

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

If Virgin start to support Microsoft Outlook people will complain that Thunderbird or Incredimail isn't supported.
Do we then support them all, pick and choose or stick with what's installed with your OS?

Re: Virgin Media dint support Outlook
 

I suspect they'll just point people to the "use Windows Live" option in 7, which downloads Windows Mail.

Have you a link to this survey? Last I checked, Virgin were one of the largest (if not 2nd Largest) ISPs in the country. You don't get in that position by being the preferred ISP of a minority.

---------- Post added at 15:59 ---------- Previous post was at 15:58 ----------

Opera has a very capable Mail client built in.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

If we had to support every mail client used by customers then we would be spending to much time on every email call just googling for the setup instructions, which we all know is not going to happen.:D

---------- Post added at 16:02 ---------- Previous post was at 16:00 ----------

I am aware of that but as a browser Firefox is more likely to be supported before Opera.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

We are taking about e-mail here ;)

I said Thunderbird and Opera as they the only non-Microsoft programs that I can think of that will be likely be part of the browser ballot and include e-mail options (though I am aware Thunderbird is seperate to Firefox)

Neither Safari or Chrome have one included

Virgin will have a difficult justifying not covering basic support for all those in the ballot screen

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

Opera is more of an internet suite than a browser ;)

As for the topic, VM shouldn't really support any application imo. The customer picks the e-mail client so it's up to the customer to know how to use it, it is of course up to VM to provide things like POP3 / SMTP settings to the customer but not up to VM to tell the customer where to put them.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

---------- Post added at 16:50 ---------- Previous post was at 16:49 ----------

I think that has been answered below
For Virgin to support all POP3 clients the would have to be training and backup and the cost would outweigh the benefits of such support, I think Dev says it all we provide the details required as at present and you set up your own email client.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

For virgin to provide training for all available e-mail clients and security software we're asked to configure on a daily basis we'd be looking at losing the freephone number for tech and making it chargeable again and no customer wants a return to that never mind us in technical support.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

Exactly who out there wants to go back to 25ppm as of 14 months ago just so we can help you set up your email, which as it is not be a fault the would be no refunding of the call charges, so do you want to pay £5 for me and Mags and the rest of our colleagues to help you set up your product?.

I thought not!!

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

@ Onclejean

My "position" is that of an IT Technician with just under 10 years experience in everything from domestic computing to working at a multi-site large local authority and it's partner housing association.

Half of the internet uses outlook, source please. A big part of business use may be centred around Microsoft Outlook/Exchange, but there's a good percentage of businesses that are also based on other email/group ware applications such an Lotus Notes/Domino.

However, we aren't talking about businesses........in a residential environment most people use Outlook, err I think not, Outlook Express maybe, but not full Outlook.

Regarding my router "argument/angle", sorry, same thing. Your argument was that Outlook was such an important program to support, that virgin should support it. Well, in this day and age of every home having a multitude of devices that are capable of accessing the internet, don't you think Virgin should support all popular router types, they are of immense importance, you could argue that they are immeasurably more important that an email client, as without them you haven't got a connection to the device to receive or send email.

Also, i have to ask myself, has this thread run it's course, the forum is not owned/run/hosted by Virgin Media, they aren't going to alter their support offerings for one(maybe a couple) of people posting on an independent forum. We seem to just be going round in circles.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook express
 

I look and type questions in Google and I came upon this thread. It wasn't answered and I spent 2 hours looking for help. Found it. To get successful outlook express 6 mail with Netgear modems follow the instructions on the step by step guide on the below virgin web page. Don't forget to delete all previous online accounts in servers before you start or it will go to previous servers and it won't work. It's still not explained in their instructions and I have just got a Netgear adsl2 D0834G v5 router in March 2010 !!!

http://help.virginmedia.com/system/s...TICLE_ID=37917
.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

I used Outlook on my XP machine and had no issues with my ntl email account, then along came Windows 7 and bye bye.

People do realise that Outlook and Outlook Express are different, don't they?

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

I'm seriously facepalming hard on this thread. Double facepalming actually.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

It's all right for you geeks who work in the media and know a bit about computers, but us numpties find these things difficult when we have been used to a landline modem. It's also expensive when virgin help is on a prime charging number. Even then I have got and you might get a numpty working for Virgin. It wasn't in the Netgear instruction book or cd either on changing settings for email.

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

Sorry...what?

I don't know how to use my fridge, maybe I should call the electrician?

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

Virgin tech support for in scope services and programs is free on 151 when you have a Virgin landline

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

It's not just "Us Geeks" who know about Google. It's the numptys who still insist on using Bing!:angel:

BTW I don't work in the industry, 99% of what I've learnt has been found through Google/forums etc. I don't expect to be nanneyed all the time.(Thinks-must google my spelling:D)

Re: Virgin Media dont support Outlook
 

What I liked about Outlook was that your emails got downloaded so you could work on them offline. What I hated was that I never could back it up - all my contacts, calendar and emails could have been lost. And you couldn't copy an email message to a doc including sender date etc. I ended up forwarding them to myself.
Things got worse with a new laptop - nobody warned me about vista. Then VM went over to google platform, Outlook email no longer worked and I had to get my Blueyonder mail via webmail. Everything else went wrong, messages like "Firefox can't find Google" "Your MS Office is illegal" etc. slowdowns, gibberish typing (cursor slipping into line above), etc. So I finally decided to "get a Mac".
It's wonderful, EXCEPT for emails: hours and hours of phone calls with well-meaning VM and Mac techies, resetting each others' settings, even logging on to my computer, resulted in a complete mess, with some Blueyonder emails but not all arriving in Mac mail. Apple shop people puzzled. Then a young genius decided I should do IMAP and all my emails flooded in, complete with gmail-labels. But now I can't find them and I get nothing into Mac mail and outgoing ones are blocked. Had to go back to VM webmail, which frequently says oops can't get back to inbox. Why can't they talk to each other?