Vodafone is shutting down a quarter of a million email accounts due to technical problems, specifically due to high rates of spam and delayed mail.
The telecommunications company believes this change will mostly affect older people, having launched many of the addresses in the 1990s.
This change is set to affect between 200,000 and 250,000 customers, with popular accounts such as Paradise and iHug closing down on November 30.
Just one of those customers affected is Elsa Olla, a woman in her 80s from Whangarei and avid user of iHug.
Ms Olla told Newshub she was "horrified" to learn her only email address is being shut down.
As National Secretary of the Heritage Rose Society, Ms Olla is the recipient of at least 20 emails a day.
The iHug user is "very daunted" at the prospect of trying to change everything over.
"I thought Vodafone was a secure company." she said.
The email service has encouraged users to opt for Microsoft or Google instead, offering a forwarding service and advice on how to set up a new account.
Newshub's created a handy step-by-step guide to help those like Elsa get things back on track.
- Set up a new web-based email account, such as Gmail. This requires entry of your personal details, including your birthday, phone number and current email address. In Ms Olla's case - the iHug address.
- Once that’s set up open the email Vodafone has sent you and click on the unique link to set up auto-forwarding to your new email address. This is the only way to set up auto-forwarding as the link contained in the email authenticates you as the email owner and means that only you can set this up. Enter in your new email and follow all other necessary prompts on the page.
- Go back to the Gmail tab, click the cogwheel in the top right-hand corner, then click down on to settings.
- From there, click "Accounts and import" and then "Add a mail account".
- Enter your Vodafone email and click "Import emails from my other account (POP3)", then proceed to enter your username and password, and click add account. Your Vodafone emails will slowly but surely start pouring through.
Visit vodafone.co.nz/email for more tips and tricks to make the move even easier.
Newshub.
