Thunderbird Cannot Connect to Corporate Gmail After Okta Password Reset
I have been using the Thunderbird email client on my Mac for a long time to access my corporate Gmail account. (This is not a personal Gmail account, it is a corporate Gmail linked with Okta.)
In this corporate Gmail account, I do not have access to "App Password" settings or "Less Secure App Access" options. Everything was working fine until 25th April 25. On that day, I updated my Okta password, which also affected my Gmail account because Gmail is connected through Okta.
Since then, my Thunderbird email client has stopped working. It keeps asking me to allow Thunderbird to access Gmail, and even though I allowed it many times, the same pop-up keeps appearing. To troubleshoot the issue, I have tried the following steps:
- Reset my Okta password again to rule out any password issues. (I am able to log in to Gmail successfully with the new password and I can configure the same Gmail account with the Mac Mail app without any issue.)
- Upgraded the Thunderbird client to version 137.0.2.
- Cleared saved passwords and cleared cookies. (Note: "Accept cookies from sites" is enabled under Web Content settings.)
- Deleted the account from Thunderbird and tried to re-add it.
After this, I started getting the error: "Unable to log in at server. Probably wrong configuration, username, or password."
- While adding the account, I entered my name and email address, left the password field blank, unchecked "Remember Password", and filled in the configuration manually.
When I clicked on "Re-test", it detected the server settings correctly. But when I clicked on "Done", I got the same error again.
- Created a completely new profile in Thunderbird and tried again, but still faced the same issue:
"Unable to log in at server. Probably wrong configuration, username, or password."
- Uninstalled Thunderbird completely and reinstalled it, but the issue still remains. (Please refer to the attached screenshot.)
- I tried the troubleshooting mode, which disables all the add-ons and themes, but the issue is still the same.
Any help would be appreciated.
I'm not sure if this is relevant, but Gmail has made some changes (see the link https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7126229?visit_id=638814378228955739-1844270273&hl=en&rd=1). This might be causing the issue, though it was working fine until I reset my password on April 25th.
Chosen solution
It looks like my organisation had implemented Chrome Enterprise Premium DLP some time ago. I suspect this might be causing the issue, so I have raised it with them. I’ll mark this as solved for now. Thanks.
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What is the antivirus? VPN? If you cleared the old oauth:// token from Saved Passwords, then restarted TB and were unable to complete the OAuth2 process, it suggests external interference from AV or VPN.
sfhowes said
What is the antivirus? VPN? If you cleared the old oauth:// token from Saved Passwords, then restarted TB and were unable to complete the OAuth2 process, it suggests external interference from AV or VPN.
Thank you for your response!
There is no antivirus installed (only JumpCloud is used for admin management). I was not connected to any VPN during my attempts. Yes, I have cleared all the saved passwords and not just restarted TB, I also reinstalled TB and tried with a fresh profile, but still no success.
Before removing the account, I was getting the OAuth2 popup every 5 minutes or whenever I click on any folder, it tries to connect to the server, and I get OAuth2 popup, and I allowed TB to access my Gmail, like many times. Later, instead of removing the account, I created a new profile and tried to set up the account again. I got the OAuth2 popup at the initial setup, but then I received this error: "Unable to log in at server. Probably wrong configuration, username or password." After that, I deleted the account, tried setting it up again in the same profile, and also created another new profile and tried, but during the initial setup, I always get the same above error. Then I reinstalled TB and still no luck.
I just checked using my personal Gmail account, and it was successfully configured. Is there any issue with my corporate Gmail account, or is Thunderbird (TB) having trouble with corporate Gmail?
Note: For the corporate account, I don't have access to "App Passwords" or most security settings—they are all restricted.
Modified by imganeshkumar18
Chosen Solution
It looks like my organisation had implemented Chrome Enterprise Premium DLP some time ago. I suspect this might be causing the issue, so I have raised it with them. I’ll mark this as solved for now. Thanks.
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