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Xtra Mail, one of the oldest locally-owned webmail providers, will become a paid service in less than three weeks. Spark customers have a big decision to make.
Judging by the flurry of emails I’ve received from Listener readers in recent weeks, a lot of Xtra Mail customers are alarmed, bewildered and a little brassed off that the web mail free ride is coming to an end.
After all, some of them have had an Xtra email address for the best part of three decades, and it was pitched to them as a free add-on when they signed up for ADSL or even dial-up broadband back in the mists of time.
Two tiers of premium service
From May 16, Xtra Mail will go from being free to costing $5.95 a month ($71.40 a year) for Spark broadband, pay-monthly mobile or landline customers, and $9.95 a month ($119.40) for those who don’t have a Spark broadband or landline service or who use Spark’s prepaid mobile service. Thousands of people fall into both categories.
Some see this as a pernicious form of “shrinkflation”, where you gradually start receiving less for a service you pay the same or more for. But there is truth to Spark’s claim that webmail is expensive to provide, particularly when it comes to keeping your email secure.
Australia’s internet providers have also been gradually winding down or starting to charge for webmail services like BigPond and OzeMail, citing the inability to gain the same economies of scale as the webmail giants Google and Microsoft.
If you are staying…
If you decide to stay with Xtra Mail, you don’t need to do anything, you’ll simply receive a bigger bill each month, depending on what Spark services you currently use to continue accessing the Xtra Mail service. This isn’t a bad option if you can afford the cost and want to avoid the hassle of changing email addresses.
In March, Spark’s webmail provider SMX migrated Xtra Mail to “a modern and future-focused cloud solution based at Microsoft Azure’s Australian data centre”, according to Spark. So that should help with security and the performance of Xtra Mail. It’s not as though you are staying on a sinking ship if you decide to stick with Xtra Mail.
But if you are one of the many Xtra Mail account holders using it to run a business, consider using this as an opportunity to move to a more professional personal domain, with your own email addresses and associated website. Spark doesn’t recommend Xtra Mail for business use. It has Microsoft 365 accounts (including Outlook email) it can sell you for that purpose.
If you are going…
If, on the other hand, you opt to move to a different provider, now is the time to plan for an orderly transition before you start accruing premium charges.
The six key questions to answer if you’re leaving Xtra Mail
Which webmail provider should I shift to?
Before you shut down your Xtra Mail account, which involves this fairly simple procedure, you should set up an account with a new web mail provider. In this piece, I’ve outlined what I think are the best alternatives - spoiler alert - Gmail or Outlook are your go-to options in terms of features, security, ease of use, and free vs premium options.
There is another, slightly more complicated option that nevertheless allows you to set up your web domain of choice and use email addresses associated with it. For instance, my personal website is www.petergriffin.co.nz, and my email address is peter@petergriffin.co.nz.
You don’t need to set up a website but can simply use the domain to send and receive email. You’ll need to choose a domain name provider - the Domain Name Commission has a list of local providers. Offshore providers such as Godaddy.com also offer domain names and email addresses. You can expect to pay $30-$100 a year, depending on whether you simply want a domain and some email address, or a bundle offering you email hosting as well.
If you opt to buy your own personal domain and custom email addresses, you can use your provider’s webmail account or have emails sent and delivered from an email client on your computer, such as Outlook, or Mail (for Mac users). Another option, which I do, is to have email sent and received via a web mail provider like Gmail. That way, I get my own personal domain, but enjoy all the benefits of a major webmail platform with Google’s resources behind it.
The downside of renting your own domain is that you are locked into paying for it long term. If you let payment lapse, your domain will go back on the available list and could be snapped up by someone else.
What should I do with my old emails?
The most pressing question for those departing Xtra Mail is how to save years of precious emails, photos, and files stored in Xtra Mail. If you’ve been zealous over the years about culling your inbox, this will be easy.
Once you’ve set up your new webmail provider, you simply forward your emails to your new email address. You can then organise them into folders, archive them or just let them sit there. Xtra Mail allows you to speed up this process by ticking multiple emails in one batch, so you can send groups of emails across, cutting down the work involved.
There’s an even easier solution, too. Gmail, Outlook and other webmail providers allow you to export all of your emails from Xtra Mail and repopulate them in your new webmail provider of choice. This involves downloading a .zip file including all of your emails and attachments and importing it into your new webmail platform. This could take a few minutes or a few hours depending on how many emails and attachments you are transferring.
Similarly, you can download the .zip file to your computer and import it into a mail client like Outlook or Mail, so you have all of your old emails in one place and can browse through them when you are offline.
You can also export your entire contacts list from Xtra Mail as a .csv file. You simply download this file to your computer and import it into your new webmail provider, so you have all of your contact details in place when you start using it.
What about all those website sign-ins I’ve used Xtra Mail for?
This is where the hassle factor increases significantly. Think of all the services you have signed up to with your Xtra Mail email address that will need to be changed, everything from Netflix, Air New Zealand, and MyIRD, to Sky, Amazon, and Spark itself. Unfortunately, the internet doesn’t have a redirect service like New Zealand Post offers when you move house, informing organisations of your new address.
You will need to log into every account and change your email address, a clunky process that will take a fair bit of time. Start with the really important ones, like utility companies, government agencies, streaming providers, and e-commerce operators.
How do I let people know my new address?
Once you’ve switched to a new webmail provider or set up a custom domain to receive email to your computer, you can activate mail forwarding in Xtra Mail. It means that all emails will redirect to your new email address until you close down the Xtra Mail account (which you’ll need to do before May 16 to avoid paying the new subscription fee).
You can also set up an “vacation notice” response in Xtra Mail informing those who email you of your new email address.
You should also go through your contacts and send a bcc (blind carbon copy) email to all of them letting them know your new email address. Don’t simply CC in everyone, exposing their email addresses in the process. Outside of family and friends, contacts may not appreciate that!
What if I change my mind?
If you move to another webmail provider and decide you hate it because Xtra Mail was so familiar and inviting, you can go back (and start paying). Spark is giving Xtra Mail 90 days to reactivate their account, including all the emails contained in their account when they shut it down. Otherwise, everything will be deleted and won’t be recoverable after the 90-day cut-off.
What if I need help with this?
This will be a big and complex task for many Xtra Mail users. You may want to recruit a trusted tech-savvy family member or friend to help you through the process.
Spark won’t hold your hand through the transition, but it has partnered with the Digital Inclusion Alliance Aotearoa, which can help.
“Their Stepping UP programme has more than 350 digital skills providers available at selected libraries and community centres nationwide. Contact your local library or visit steppingup.nz to find a digital skills provider near you,” Spark advises.
Also check out the Geekzone forums, where a lot of discussion on the Xtra Mail changes has been taking place. One key point that discussion raised - if you shut down your Xtra email address, that address could be used by a new customer in future.
They won’t have access to your emails, but it could cause confusion if your contacts keep emailing your old address. That’s why it is really important to let people know about your change of address, particularly if you are using Xtra Mail to run a business.
