Unable to access Webmail links when out of Canada

[PeterinThailand]

Was previously advised by on phone tech support that all your Webmail access links are not working for persons who are out of Canada and this problem has been going on since March 19.  This creates a major problem for your customers not to be able to get their emails for weeks now!   Please Escalate this major customer service problem up the chain of command for priority resolution.  Please also advise when we might be able to access our sympatico emails.

[dks]

Bell does this for security reasons, I believe. It has been this way since the very early days of public internet. I doubt it will change. 

[WelshTerrier]

@dks reply is correct. It is not somethig new. It has been there from the on set of Bell webmail to screen & protect all of our accounts. We may not like it..... but what are the alternatives.

[PeterinThailand]

Well i wouldnt call it good securiy when their own customers cant get their emails for many days and their support service has  no idea of tbe issues or how to resolve.

MYbe they are proud that their security is so tight that even their own customers cant get in.

[David027]

There are two issues here.  By design, Bell does not allow 3rd party e-mail clients like Outlook or  Apple's e-mail client to access the Bell servers from outside of Canada. As reported here, some people say it is due to security concerns, and that sounds to be a plausible "excuse".  I have found that even many Bell techs do not know this, and I have spent countless hours on Bell's help line from foreign destinations without success, before one agent finally clued me in to the fact that it is impossible to access one's Bell e-mail account from outside of North America.

Bell's supposed solution to this is not to offer an efficient, functional "secure" e-mail client of its own, but rather propose that Bell's web based WebMail application is the answer.  This is fraught with difficulties.  Because it is a web based solution, every time you access WebMail, it most download the entire WebMail interface, and all of the content in your e-mail account.  This is extremely cumbersome and time intensive, especially when connecting through slow internet connections that one may be faced with during foreign travel.  What's more, because all of the WebMail graphic interface, and all of the content of your e-mil account has to be downloaded with each connection, this solution can be very data intensive- and thus costly.  

Finally, in  my experience, perhaps because of this data intensive download, combined with whatever other technical factors come to bear here, more often than not I can not even connect to Webmail, and when I can it often takes several minutes to download the interface and my e-mail account's content.

The work around that I have found is to go into my Bell e-mail account through the WebMail interface before I leave Canada, and set up my account to forward all e-mail to a outlook.com, or gmail account, which I can access through my e-mail client on my phone or computer.

I hope this helps more than Bell helps regarding this long outstanding irritance..

[ZaneP]

Hi @David027 

"...Because it is a web based solution, every time you access WebMail, it most download the entire WebMail interface, and all of the content in your e-mail account."

 Web-based email systems always store subscriber email on a server. There is some local caching but you're not downloading multiple GB of data to a local device for each instance of a login.

But I'm probably misunderstanding your point. Perhaps you could clarify this a bit. Thanks.

[David027]

Thanks Zane

I don't mean to say that all of the content of all of your e-mails must be downloaded each time you access WebMail, but rather that the graphical interface of the WebMail application itself must be downloaded (versus an e-mail client where the interface remains resident on your device).  As well it seems that the headline and summary of every e-mail must be downloaded from the server each time you connect, rather than just an update synchronization of new content.  Of course opening any e-mail requires a download of that content from the server as well.

This may all happen quite quickly with a very fast e-mail connection, but so many times, I have watched the interface slowly build on my screen, followed by a slow build of the e-mail content, when logging in from a challenged connection, and often the build fails after just a few lines and then times out.

Recently, while in Mauritius I could rarely achieve a workable connection via WebMail, while the e-mails I had forwarded from my Bell account to my outlook.com account opened instantaneously on my Samsun native e-mail client.  I hope this makes sense!

[ZaneP]

There are many variables in play throughout this thread. Here's a few thoughts.

• Bell isn't ever going to introduce it's own client-side email software, or license and rebrand it from another vendor.
• ISP domain-based email is quickly retreating, and is no longer seen as a value-added benefit to retail customers. Bell and other ISPs are fine with this. Yes, there is an existing installed base of users who depend on email via their isp and need support. But it's a shrinking number.
• Generational change is a huge factor in the above. Social media platform access and IM is much more important than traditional email.
• No one should rely on ISP domain email as their sole source of email service.
• There are good security reasons why Bell email servers block 3rd party client-side access from non-Canada IP addresses . It's not an "excuse". Bell must take responsibility and thoroughly train support staff on this.
• Outlook.com and gmail.com are globally-based webmail services (Gmail has well over 1 billion subscribers).
• The Samsung, Outlook, and Gmail apps will load quickly on a mobile device.

Enjoy the weekend!

[David027]

Thanks for your insight Zane, and I agree fully with your assessment of the issue..  I guess the bottom line/complaint is that if WebMail is Bell's choice for service delivery, then it ought to focus on providing a stable effective platform, and based on countless complaints/comments here, and on my own personal experience, WebMail fails to deliver,

[Unhappy3]

Are you ever going to fix web access to emai for travellers or do you just want us to go to other providers. I am tired of you three dots going across my screen. 

[dks]

This has been addressed elsewhere, but the only option for outside of Canada access is to forward your Bell e-mail to Gmail or other provider. It is doubtful that this will change. 

[Not-woke]

I am wondering if Bell would consider my not meeting system requirements when overseas, in some countries, Bell blocks email delivery to a cell phone using the local country's cell network provider.  In those situations I have to wait until I have WiFi connection to receive emails.  Otherwise I consider all my devices as up-to-date or at least meeting the requirements. 

[Countesscoco]

When out of the country I am now finding I cannot access Bell webmail, especially when a provider is using Starlink.  It just times out.  I am told this is an issue with Bell's system, not Starlinks or any other service provider.  From what I have read online this is a continual issue with Bell's webmail system.  People are indicating that one should change to Rogers as it does not have this same issue.  What is Bell doing to fix it.  One needs to work when one is out of the country and access to emails is critical.

[Canada73]

My 2 cents worth.   I could not use Thunderbird in Mexico and South Africa for my sympatico email.  Webmail did work but it wa slow.  Over the last week I have tried 4 VPN. With 3 of them I cannot send mail. Making changes to SMTP settings made no difference. PROTON VPN works fine. All the VPN  programs on the market offer 30-day money-back guarantee.  If your overseas trip is going to be less than a month, you could install PROTON VPN with a one-month subscription.  PROTON VPN program is open source and based in Switzerland.

[SamD]

I agree Bell needs to find a solution to this extremely cumbersome process. The service provider needs to take some onus for providing better security and not just stop service.

The work around I found is sharing hotspot from my phone, open my mail on outlook and it seems to work. My plan includes free calling in 65 countries.

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day.

Thank you for posting your suggestion to share Hotspot from your mobile device.

When travelling outside of Canada and the United States, you can also access your email using Bell Webmail.

The only other option for outside of Canada email access, is to forward your Bell e-mail to Gmail or another provider.

Bell does this for security reasons. If anything, email security will only increase. It is doubtful that this will ever change. 

Take care.