Suggestions for email hosting

[#1]

>> "Are you using Namesco Lite Mail for receiving emails?"

No, I just use Namesco to forward my email to (several) email accounts on plusnet.

Recently, my brother was unable to send emails via plusnet's SMTP servers (it was being blocked) for over a week. Combined with the apparent reduction in tech support for email, I am starting to get nervous about plusnet's email service. Plus it will make it trivial to change broadband provider.

I already have an ATA linked to an A&A account, so I can port my landline over at a moment's notice... I'll be ready for either a move to SOGEA or to a 3rd-party FTTC service.

[#2]

>> "When I changed my Nameservers to Mythic I continued picking up emails from both. If I remember correctly it took 2/3 days before everything was moved to Mythic. Prior to changing the Nameservers I had added the Mythic spf record to the Namesco Lite Mail control panel, which allowed me to send emails from Mythic. I don't believe that I lost any messages. "

For my email, life is simple: I use POP3, I'm happy with moving my Outlook to a new server.

However, my wife uses IMAP on her tablet, collecting mail from her plusnet email account.... so I was thinking that if I set up a redirect at Mythic Beasts to her plusnet email account, then, in the short term she won't be affected! Then, after a few days, I can copy her IMAP emails (eg local folders on Thunderbird on my PC), remove the redirect, and reconfig the tablet to use Mythic Beasts. Last step would be to use Thunderbird to copy her historic emails up to her new IMAP email account.

Readers might be thinking "this is a lot of work to do", so I have 2 simple comments:

1) If I used a native plusnet email account, moving would be horrific, as I would need to update so many people with my new email address (not just friends, but how many login accounts use your plusnet email?)

2) If I was willing to have a 2 or 3 day email blackout, this would be a LOT easier. I'm trying to make sure I don't lose any mail. At least, I don't need to tell anyone about a changed email address!!!

[#3]

No, I'm not doing any email at Namesco: Namesco is simply forwarding email over to Plusnet.

So, an update:  I set up my namesco DNS to forward the mail to MB, as well as change the nameserver main entry to point my dns over to MB. 2 days later, it's working.

I got crafty, and set up mythical beasts to both keep my email on MB, as well as forwarding a copy to my plusnet account, and as a result no email was lost... and it also has the advantage that I can take the clioent migration at my on pace for my main domain name!

To move my wife's email over, I've set up an IMAP account for her plusnet account on my Outlook, and have taken a copy of all her email to a local folder. When I'm ready, I'll update that, then set up an IMAP into Mythic Beasts, and copy the mail over from the local folders.  

[#4]

And now 3 general comments regarding Mythic Beast vs Plusnet email servers:

1) Mail processing for incoming emails is a lot faster: yes, part of that is that it's no longer going first to NamesCo, then to Plusnet, but direct to the Mythic Beasts mail servers

2) Pop 3 email retrieval from Mythic Beasts seems to be a lot faster than from Plusnet.

3) The webmail (which actually uses the same webmail client, Round Cube) is actually usable: I can log in instantly, email loads (not just quickly, it actually LOADS, when PlusNet webmail often fails / times out)

I'm guessing this is the old "you get what you pay for": With Mythic Beasts, email and hosting is their business, so they will make sure it works well. With PlusNet, the core business is internet access, and email is seen, unfortunately, as "something thrown in for free" (the reality is that we DO pay for it, so we really OUGHT to get a decent service).

Now I understand how to set up & tweak the email and DNS setup at Mythic Beasts, it's actually quite easy to do stuff.

Next step is to move my "main" domain: I now have a way to move the email over that I know doesn't lose email, and can let me keep forwarding the email over to the old plusnet account until I change the email client.