Windows 10 will reach EOS (end of support) on October 14, 2025. For more information, see this article.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Can't connect Xfinity e-mail account to Thunderbird

  • 3 ŋuɖoɖowo
  • 1 masɔmasɔ sia le esi
  • 33 views
  • Nuɖoɖo mlɔetɔ ajit011

more options

I installed Thunderbird (T-bird), and on the "Set Up Your Existing Email Address" tab, I entered my Xfinity e-mail address/password and clicked on "Continue". T-Bird is able to find the proper configuration in the Mozilla ISP database. I clicked the IMAP radio button and then "Done". That opens a popup window with the heading "Enter credentials for <my-email-address> on imap.comcast.net, but the window never prompts for anything (a prompt for my Xfinity password is what I expected). Instead I just get a message headlined "Unable to connect", with the subtitle "The connection was refused when attempting to contact localhost". This is followed by three suggestions for why that might be the case. I verified that: 1. The Xfinity site is NOT "temporarily unavailable" - I can log into Xfinity directly and see my messages. 2. My computer's network connection is operational since I can load any website at will. 3. I do have Windows firewall enabled, and I suspect that is root of the problem. How can I permit T-Bird to access the web??? Thanks.

I installed Thunderbird (T-bird), and on the "Set Up Your Existing Email Address" tab, I entered my Xfinity e-mail address/password and clicked on "Continue". T-Bird is able to find the proper configuration in the Mozilla ISP database. I clicked the IMAP radio button and then "Done". That opens a popup window with the heading "Enter credentials for <my-email-address> on imap.comcast.net, but the window never prompts for anything (a prompt for my Xfinity password is what I expected). Instead I just get a message headlined "Unable to connect", with the subtitle "The connection was refused when attempting to contact localhost". This is followed by three suggestions for why that might be the case. I verified that: 1. The Xfinity site is NOT "temporarily unavailable" - I can log into Xfinity directly and see my messages. 2. My computer's network connection is operational since I can load any website at will. 3. I do have Windows firewall enabled, and I suspect that is root of the problem. How can I permit T-Bird to access the web??? Thanks.

Ŋuɖoɖo si wotia

Changing the authorization method from oauth2 to "normal password" resolved the issue.

Xle ŋuɖoɖo sia le goya me 👍 0

All Replies (3)

more options

Since posting the original question, I figured out how to allow Thunderbird to communicate through the firewall. As you can see in the attached screenshot, Thunderbird is allowed private access through the firewall.

Helpful?

more options

Addendum 2. I verified that Microsoft Office Outlook (my current, deeply despised mail client) has the 'same permission as Thunderbird, and I'm able to see email in Outlook (but I'd rather use Thunderbird, if only I could figure out how!).

Helpful?

more options

Ɖɔɖɔɖo si wotia

Changing the authorization method from oauth2 to "normal password" resolved the issue.

Helpful?

Bia biabia

You must log in to your account to reply to posts. Please start a new question, if you do not have an account yet.