Migration of an Email Address or Phone Number

With Internet Service Providers (ISPs) commencing charging for email services if you do not take their broadband or telephone services (e.g. TalkTalk, Tiscali), it is prudent to reduce your email addresses that you maintain and either move to your new broadband providers email services or select a free email provider like Outlook.com or Gmail.

If you move to your new broadband supplier, the future disadvantage is that you may need to repeat the process if you move supplier again to take advantage of a lower priced deal or you move house to a new area requiring a change of ISP.

In addition, you may have an Andriod phone where you will be using Google/Gmail facilities for backup, photos, etc..  In that case, using Gmail may be the obvious solution.

Moving email addresses requires some thought about the systems that you use.  This is especially important when it comes to products using Two-factor authentication, sometimes referred to as two-step verification or dual-factor authentication.  This security process, which we encourage all users to adopt to protect their data, forces users to provide two different authentication factors to verify themselves.  This process is done to better protect both the user’s credentials and the resources the user can access.  However, where one of these involves the old email address, once this address is deleted, one is potentially locked out of your accounts.  Thus it is important to ensure all these accounts are using the new email address before the old one is deleted.

One area where many customers create a big issue is when a phone is upgraded or replaced and they get a new phone number!  All I can say is don’t!  With two-factor authentication, one of these may be your phone number with a text verification facility and this stops when you don’t have access to the old phone number therefore, never change your phone number!  Always transfer your existing number to your new phone and/or new phone service provider.  This is called porting your mobile number.  All phone services providers support this facility.  Therefore, never change your mobile number unless for privacy/security reasons.

The following is a list of systems that need to be migrated to or informed of a new email address or a phone number.  This is a starter checklist for contacts that need to know a change of email address (or Phone Number).

• • • Microsoft Account, including One-Drive, Office365, Skype, etc..
    • AppleID including iCloud, iTunes, etc..
    • Dropbox
    • Google
    • Antivirus Supplier – Norton, McAfee, etc. Beware of auto-renew and not knowing about it in the future.
    • Purchasing – Ebay, Amazon / Kindle, Paypal, Shops / Stores / online retailers used for an ongoing relationship.
    • Communication companies – Telephone, mobile supplier, broadband, Whatsapp, Facebook, etc..
    • Financial Institutions – Banks, Building Societies, Share Holdings, ISAs, Mortgage, etc..
    • Insurance Companies – Comparison companies used, House Insurance, Car Insurance, Life  Insurance, etc..
    • Job – Employers, personnel systems, payroll, pensions, tax, company mobiles, learning portals, etc..
    • Business – Contacts, Customers, suppliers, gov.uk, tax, VAT, insurance, accountant, systems used, etc..
    • Medical – Dentist, Doctor, Hospital Appointments, pharmacy, etc..
    • Entertainment, Sky, Netflix, Theaters, Entertainment Venues and Companies, O2 Priority, etc..
    • Household – Gas, Electricity, Solar Energy, Council, Garden Waste Services, magazine and paper online services
    • Motoring – Garage services, Manufacturer for warranties or recalls, DVLA Vehicle Licensing Online, etc..
    • Relations and friends, hobby clubs
    • Children – Schools, Children Clubs, nursaries, their Friends, etc..

Everyone has different email relationships, however, the more electronic / non-paper billing is used, the more important an updated email address becomes.

Tips while doing:-

1. 1. 1. Go though your old emails compiling a list is an address book.
      2. WHEN changing and updating details, when a password is require, record it with date and if a weak or is the same password use elsewhere, change it. make it strong and unique!
      3. Don’t record passwords on a PC unless in OneDrive’s Personal Vault or in a dedicated password manager such as Truekey, Norton’s Password Manager, etc..  These password managers secure logins and important information in your private, online vault.  They can create and store complex passwords when you need them.  All information is encrypted before it leaves your device.