Gmail "Import mail" not working with Virgin Media?
Gmail's "Import mail" often fails with Virgin Media ("Google couldn't validate this combination of information") and, when it works, puts every email in the inbox with no folders. Copy over IMAP instead, with Thunderbird or a copying tool, using a Virgin Media Mail app password.
Gmail's Settings › Accounts and Import › Import mail and contacts looks like the obvious way to bring your Virgin Media emails across. People moving from ntlworld, blueyonder, virgin.net and virginmedia.com run into three problems with it.
1. It won't connect
Virgin Media email now needs a Virgin Media Mail app password, not your normal password. If you type your My Virgin Media password, the import is refused, usually with the message "Google couldn't validate this combination of information". Create an app password first, then try again. Some users still find the importer can't connect to Virgin's servers.
2. Your folders disappear
Even when it works, Gmail's importer brings messages into your inbox, without your Virgin folders, so years of carefully filed email arrive as one long list.
3. Gmail's other option is ending
Gmail's older "Check mail from other accounts" (POP) feature is being withdrawn: Google stopped it for new users in 2026 and existing users lose it by January 2027 (Google help). It also only collected new mail, not your folders.
What works instead
- Copy folder by folder over IMAP. This keeps every folder (as Gmail labels), the original dates and read/unread status. You can do it by hand with Thunderbird (free, slow), or let Keep My Emails do it for £14.99 one-time.
- Expect Gmail's daily limit. Gmail accepts about 500 MB of uploaded email per day; bigger mailboxes need several days. By hand you'll see "Account exceeded command or bandwidth limits"; Keep My Emails pauses and resumes for you.
Keep every email, in a few minutes
Keep My Emails moves your whole Virgin Media mailbox, every folder with its original dates, to Gmail, Outlook or iCloud, or gives you a download. Check your mailbox for free first. One payment, no subscription.
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