Orange email trials and tribulations

OK I normally only have praise for Orange - both the mobile phone service and internet account.

That was until the email I received advising me that I would need to change my username from the word or combination of aphanumeric characters I currently used.  The email instructed me to replace the original username for my phonenumber@orange.net.  Quite straightforward one would think - but therein lay my downfall!

Once I had changed my login I could not access my orange email.  I ran tests using the feature in my Outlook and it reported that it could find both pop (incoming) and smtp (outgoing) servers but that the incoming did not respond.  [I could check ie download emails if I connected via GPRS on my phone but not on the computer - laptop nor pocket pc].

So where does one go for help?  From hunting around I found the choice of phone call at 50p per minute or email form.  I chose the email form and got an automated response the next day to say that I needed to phone the 50p a minute number to solve my email problem.  This grated with me and I was spurred into trying things not instructed in the email, in hindsight maybe I should have been pessimistic and started with this.

1/2 hour of frustrated attempts and I came up with the solution but that's not my gripe.  Why should I have to have come up with the answer - why was there no recognition on the Orange site about this problem?  I cannot believe I am the only one to follow the email and have problems.

So what was the answer?  For username ONLY put your phone number.  Since I did this Outlook reports that the Incoming Server responds!  I have put the settings into my Pocket PC and seen all the Outlook test emails and some of my own come flooding in.

If you came here by googling for Orange email problems or orange incoming server error or pop server 2006 not responding I hope that this has helped you.