Suddenly can't access POP, SMTP
I just started having problems using T'bird to read my mail from my Gmail account. "It worked yesterday", or actually a few days ago, but not since then. The attached error screenshot is what I got after it asked for my Gmail password. In the past it hasn't asked for that since initial set up, and something is screwed up.
And the settings with have worked for years now have me confused:
POP: it was pop.googlemail.com, but looking online, maybe it's pop.gmail.com? The mail directory is named pop.googlemail.com. Are these names "synonyms"? If I change it, do I have to rename the mail directory in my profile?
The online info says port 995 and TLS on. But (see POPsettings screenshot) there are STARTTLS and SSL/TLS, no mere TLS.
SMTP: same question re smtp.googlemail.com vs. smtp.gmail.com
And similarly the online (latest) info says SSL off, TLS on, port 587. See SMTPSettings screenshot: it worked until recently with googlemail, SSL/TLS, and port 465.
I had hope to move this profile over to a new machine, but not until this puzzle is gone.
Thanks very much. BG
Chosen solution
You can just rename the servers to *.gmail.com, as long as you don't change the account type, POP or IMAP.
I don't know why it stopped working, but OAuth2 has been required for some time. Google frequently examines the security status of accounts.
Read this answer in context 👍 0All Replies (4)
The security on incoming and outgoing should be SSL/TLS, but the authentication method should be OAuth2 for both servers. If for some reason OAuth2 isn't offered in the menu with googlemail in the server names, change it to gmail. Check that cookies are accepted in TB Options/Privacy & Security, and in the same section remove the passwords from Saved Passwords. Then, restart TB and enter the account password in the OAuth window when prompted.
Thanks very much for the info above, but another question or two before I try it:
(1) If I have to change the name from <pop/smtp>.googlemail.com to .gmail.com, do I have to rename the directory correspondingly in the mail folder?
(2) Why did it work as it was until just a few days ago?
Thanks. BG
Chosen Solution
You can just rename the servers to *.gmail.com, as long as you don't change the account type, POP or IMAP.
I don't know why it stopped working, but OAuth2 has been required for some time. Google frequently examines the security status of accounts.
Fixed! Thanks very much.
Note that in all the searching I did for using POP/SMTP with T'bird and Gmail, there was never a mention of the OAuth2 setting.
BG