In today’s fast-paced digital world, email has become an indispensable tool for communication, especially for those who have embraced technology to stay connected and run their businesses efficiently.
So, when a major email service provider like Telstra experiences an outage, it can cause more than just a minor inconvenience—it can disrupt the flow of daily life and business operations for Australians.
Recently, Telstra customers faced a significant disruption when an outage affected Bigpond/Telstra email services for over 12 hours.
The issue began on a Monday afternoon and stretched into the following Tuesday morning, leaving many customers unable to access their emails, a situation that can be particularly stressful for those who rely on email for both personal and professional communication.
Telstra acknowledged the outage around 3pm on Monday, with the company alerting customers to the issue. Although Telstra Mail was back online by 7pm, some users, particularly those accessing their email through third-party apps like Outlook instead of webmail, continued to experience sign-in difficulties. Telstra advised that a password reset might resolve these problems and continued to monitor and investigate any lingering issues.
As the hours ticked by, frustration grew among Telstra’s customer base. Business owners, like Phillip who runs a transport business, felt the sting acutely. He shared his ordeal with 2GB, expressing the helplessness he felt when he was unable to send invoices or conduct his business as usual.
The company’s support team was on hand to assist customers via phone or message through the My Telstra app or website, although some, like Phillip, reported long wait times and less-than-satisfactory updates from the support staff.
While Telstra has worked to resolve the email outage and restore services, some users may still face difficulties, especially when using third-party apps. This incident serves as an important reminder to always have a backup plan for digital communication.
What was your experience during the outage? How did you manage your communication needs, and did you find any helpful workarounds? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Also read: Telstra apologises and pays for costly violation of Australia’s strict spam laws
A few weeks ago I had a problem with my Telstra emails. I luckily found out after one of my children did not receive an email that I had sent, I tried again but they were not getting them. I contacted Telstra, who said I would be contacted by technical assistance. I received a phone call by them(by a female immigrant worker who was difficult to understand), but was told they could not fix the problem and they would refer me to another tech. support person. A week later we received another call , my wife answered the phone and told them that she would get me. The person(another immigrant), who again was hard for my wife to understand, then hung up without talking to me, I have not heard from them since. Customer support from Telstra used to be excellent, but now it is virtually non-existant.
More problems with Telstra emails, I constantly receive emails, supposedly from Telstra, saying I had to pay my Telstra account. Luckily I have not accessed the scam link in the email. I would have thought that Telstra of all people should be able to block these devious emails, when I check who the email is from, it definitely is not from Telstra. I have had no joy in trying to contact them to complain.