Gmail problem(s)

[Dave2002]

My gmail email has now more or less stopped working.

It took me a while to figure out why. It seems I've exceeded a storage limit of 15 Gbytes. I only found this out by trying to use the web interface. There's a suggestion to delete messages - and indeed I've been trying to do that, but things still don't work.

Another suggestion is to pay for more storage - around £15-£16 for a year of 100 Gbytes. However, given that deleting files doesn't seem to work, would paying for storage solve the problem? Also since I'm hoping to find a way to back off email, it would perhaps be cheaper to do that, and stick with the free gmail service - though that will only happen if I can kickstart the email back into life.

In the overall scale of things the annual subscription is not horrendous, if it'll fix the mail issue. However, I really have come to dislike some of Google's practices - effectively scouring my email for links, and prompting adverts etc., which is not dissimilar to what Amazon do. They're all in it together, IMO, and I don't particularly want to support any organisation which acts like that.

Will paying solve the problem? I don't know. Can I revert back to the free service later if I find a way to get things sorted?

[Bryn]

My gmail email has now more or less stopped working.

It took me a while to figure out why. It seems I've exceeded a storage limit of 15 Gbytes. I only found this out by trying to use the web interface. There's a suggestion to delete messages - and indeed I've been trying to do that, but things still don't work.

Another suggestion is to pay for more storage - around £15-£16 for a year of 100 Gbytes. However, given that deleting files doesn't seem to work, would paying for storage solve the problem? Also since I'm hoping to find a way to back off email, it would perhaps be cheaper to do that, and stick with the free gmail service - though that will only happen if I can kickstart the email back into life.

In the overall scale of things the annual subscription is not horrendous, if it'll fix the mail issue. However, I really have come to dislike some of Google's practices - effectively scouring my email for links, and prompting adverts etc., which is not dissimilar to what Amazon do. They're all in it together, IMO, and I don't particularly want to support any organisation which acts like that.

Will paying solve the problem? I don't know. Can I revert back to the free service later if I find a way to get things sorted?

Have you followed the recommendations at https://support.google.com/mail/answ...DDesktop&hl=en ? Note, especially, the 30 day rule.

[Dave2002]

Have you followed the recommendations at https://support.google.com/mail/answ...DDesktop&hl=en ? Note, especially, the 30 day rule.

I noted the 30 day rule, but I thought there was/is a way to force deletion from the Trash. Maybe that's not happening.

[french frank]

However, I really have come to dislike some of Google's practices

I've almost entirely purged Google from my internet use (still use search engine most of the time) for that reason. Are cost savings really such an attraction that even we settled oldies do as the transient Young Things do and dispense with landlines (with all their attached services, including email) altogether?

[Bryn]

I've almost entirely purged Google from my internet use (still use search engine most of the time) for that reason. Are cost savings really such an attraction that even we settled oldies do as the transient Young Things do and dispense with landlines (with all their attached services, including email) altogether?

I got rid of my telephone landline over a decade ago. The only landline I have had since then is the fibre one for Internet alone.

[cloughie]

I got rid of my telephone landline over a decade ago. The only landline I have had since then is the fibre one for Internet alone.

The antidote to that with me - I rarely use a mobile! Living in a village with poor mobile signals does not hasten any change and my regular calls are to landlines.

[Bryn]

The antidote to that with me - I rarely use a mobile! Living in a village with poor mobile signals does not hasten any change and my regular calls are to landlines.

Calls to non-premium landlines are included in my £11 monthly mobile contract. I am fortunate in that I have fewer connection failures at home than I did when I used the old BT landline.

[cloughie]

Calls to non-premium landlines are included in my £11 monthly mobile contract. I am fortunate in that I have fewer connection failures at home than I did when I used the old BT landline.

All down to personal choice what suits best, Bryn!

[Dave2002]

My gmail account is grinding back into life. This page and a detailed reading were helpful - https://support.google.com/mail/answ...DDesktop&hl=en

To get this to work it would appear that most of the work has to be done via the website. An email client - such as the Mac mail viewer won't do the force deletion as far as I can see, so no good for the particular problem I was facing. OTOH - having mail in Trash staying for 30 days could be useful sometimes, and might enable some wanted emails to be rescued.

Using the web interface seems to provide a more selective way of deciding which messages with large attachments can be deleted.

Re phones and landlines - we have a BT line used for internet, and also a phone account and a BT TV service - which we're currently rethinking**. Mobile phones do not work reliably. What really amuses me is that BT advertise a policy for internet - "If your internet doesn't work we'll give you mobile network access .... while we sort out the problem" - yep - if service A fails, we'll offer you service B instead (but that won't work either ....)!!!

** The BT TV service is partly by landline and partly by Freeview. However, Freeview doesn't work, so abandoned in favour of Freesat, so unless we really want some of the BT provided TV channels we could presumably save money by abandoning BT TV. If they could swap the service for a Freesat unit instead it might be more useful - but that's not something they do I think. Seems odd that they don't offer the free services via the internet - other perhaps than using apps (I've not checked this - we have several other ways of getting services via apps) - so that the programme Guide and record features would work on the YouView (Humax provided) box.

[french frank]

All down to personal choice what suits best, Bryn!

Absolutely, it is. And *personal* experience. I'm fairly eyes-open about BT - but I can't say their service - landline, broadband and, since the summer, mobile - has ever let me down. The service has been excellent. Occasional email failure rarely lasts more than a few minutes.

If people want to ring me, they know to ring the landline. If I'm out, they'll need to ring again later. Messages and phone calls to the mobile will get no reply until they're discovered, probably days or weeks later, simply because that isn't what I use the mobile for. I have a BT principal email account and a number of sub-accounts - all fine. (if I can't get my online banking done, I wait until the bank opens and then walk down the road). But I do favour a simple life. A > B .