Webmail - Extremely Slow

[#1]

For a long time now I am finding that PN webmail is so slow and often disconnects or just doesn't connect at all.

Messages take an age to open - if at all.

I have tried this on my Mac connected to Fibre and on my work PC and both exactly the same slow service so am satisfied that it isn't anything my side that is affecting this.

It's not as though I have many messages as I use webmail as a filter before I download to my computer.

Anyone else experienced the same and have recommendations on how to rectify?

Thank you.

[#2]

I have signed up to this community solely to respond to this post. YES, I have the same problem! And it's been driving me crazy for a long time now, and cannot understand why it's not been mentioned before now (I've searched many times for a solution, but nobody else has seemed to have this particular problem).

It's been so bad recently, I've had to resort to running Windows Vista (which takes about 10 minutes to fire up on my ancient Dell C521 desktop) so I can use Windows Mail (I usually prefer to run Linux OSs and access my mail through PN Webmail, but it's become a complete PITA, especially if I want to send any attachments, with repeated 'message failed to send' errors.)

[#3]

Just tried SquirrelMail 'Basic Webmail', but it's no faster.

Meanwhile, have also found lots of posts on this forum complaining of slow email generally, but my Windows Mail works OK (after waiting an age to load Windows) so the issue really seems to be with Webmail...

[#4]

Thanks for your reply.

As mentioned in my opening post this has been ongoing for a long time and it has got so bad that I decided to seek help today.

I'm surprised if this hasn't been subject of discussion previously if experienced by others.

I was going to try SquirrelMail but it seems from your experience that this may be no better so perhaps it's the PN servers delaying things?

[#5]

It's now got even worse...

(See screenshot attached.)

[#6]

Snail mail   yes its SLOOOOOOOOOW again

[#7]

I had a long 'webchat' yesterday about this with PlusNet.  Apparently it is a known issue and is being worked on, and they hope to have some improvement in 4 weeks.  I queried this, did you mean 4 hours, but no, it is 4 WEEKS.  It was also suggested that the use of a client such a Thunderbird would speed things up (I use pure webmail with PN's own flawed systems including Squirrelmail, so everything is simply on their servers).  Now I find bazzer, presumably using a webmail client, complaining that the service is extremely slow for him, so that's not any kind of fix.

There is not one word about this serious service issue on any of the PN 'service status' notice boards that I can see.  I conclude that PN is offering a service which it does not really support any more.  My wife and I have both webmail very useful and of course rely on it, so I regard it as disgraceful that PN seems to have simply abandoned its customers with no warning and no explanation.

[#8]

Yes its always had periods of running slow,logging itself out mid-email,taking 5 mins to save a msg then stating timeout error,not sending msgs - error statement, failing to add attachments, NOT logging itself out after 5mins - repeatedly, BUT this week has been horrendous with for the 1st time "error connection" and "server not responding" msgs coming up on screen. Its USELESS for a small business, and I have given up ringing their call cte to be told by unhelpful PN staff to "try changing your browser", "do you clear cache/cookies?", and as they DONT use it daily they have no REAL experience of using it, they just read deflecting statements and offer deflecting advice from their procedural script sheets - ie dont try to identify the problem offering good customer service and try to "do you proud". I have many screen captures of this over months, but don't have the time to argue with PN staff about them not having a customer services email address to send info to. "there's a system for this on the website blah blah blah"....we want to speak with someone at PN who can LISTEN, receive info from customers, then go away and deal with it. NOT spend time we haven't got, cos we're trying to catch up after waiting on a poor email system, learning about your different, unfriendly, system of complaining. Start treating us like customers, not your cash cattle that HAVE TO abide by your timely systems. PLUSNET - please have someone look at your customer complaints and then respond to them showing CUSTOMER CARE. btw, I visit many other sites and use other webmail sites, uploading and downloading files daily WITHOUT any of the issues mentioned with PN webmail.

I bet there's hundreds of us......fedup with it.

[#9]

^ Hear, hear! Appalling customer service, 'do you proud' my armpit!

Currently taking 15 seconds to 'delete' an email, then another 15 seconds to 'load' the next one. Snail mail indeed.

[#10]

This is an absolute joke of service. Plusnet Webmail is now virtually unusable (see attachment).

[#11]

I spoke to PN customer services earlier this week. I was told that there are major changes ongoing within PN and that they "might" be impacting the webmail service.

It was not definite that they were but might be an explanation for the slow performance.

Unfortunately I was not given any information or hope that this issue which I am finding to be constant as opposed to being intermittent will be prioritised or resolved.

Prior to raising this thread I assumed it might be my computers that were at fault but clearly it seems not.

[#12]

Maintaining email service performance is proving difficult for many providers.  This year I've seen similar issues with lcn.com, outlook.com (Office365) and PlusNet - in other words, all of the email services I uses.

So this is not a Plusnet specific issue - it arises from an exponential growth in spam email - you might not see it due to the proficiency of spam filters, but it all needs sending and processing through to the end recipient where the choice of filtering is applied.

IIRC earlier this year lcn.com doubled the size of their email server and webmail server farms.  It would not surprise me if PlusNet is doing something similar, hence the forecast (in another topic on this subject) of 4 weeks to resolve.

[#13]

OK so it's just as bad/worse this week. Today is still very slow and has failed to move to next screen/menu a few times, stating "failure to connect with website/page". Here we go with another week of FRUSTRATION. So the PN staff DO read these posts, Hi to you all, but NO PN staff have replied here to multiple customer negative comments and stated problems and issues.....Some customers appear to have put themselves out by contacting PN to ask what's going on, and seem to have had some sort of indication of "issues/work going on behind the scenes" with a potential 4 week timeframe until correction. Where is/are any communications by PN to ALL their paying customers of any ongoing issues/work going on, with an apology for any inconvenience during such period? Why have we not had an email describing issues and what is being done to resolve? When will PN communicate with its customers about a service provided and paid for that is not meeting a decent working standard? WHY ARE YOU HIDING FROM YOUR CUSTOMERS??  If your customers took your service and then didn't pay and didn't communicate with you about the subject.....What would you do Plusnet?How would you feel Plusnet? What would you expect from that other party Plusnet?......Come join the webmail party we've got going!! Come join the fun!!

BTW, I don't care how other webmail services are/have performed(the other one I use hasn't had these issues), I care about the service I pay for with the service provider I pay.

[#14]

Diabolical service!

Can't even get onto login page now! (See attached screenshot.)

[#15]

I can access the login screen and get into my mail....eventually but it's very slow.