- Make sure cookies are allowed (Settings | Privacy & Security | Web Content}

- Remove all saved cookies for this account (Settings | Privacy & Security | Web Content Show Cookies button)

- Delete all saved passwords for this account (Settings | Privacy & Security | Passwords)

- Restart Thunderbird.

Hopefully you will be prompted for your credentials and they will be accepted this time.

I must mention - I have a Microsoft Outlook.com account I created for testing purposes only. I have NOT been able to make the outgoing (SMTP) server accept my credentials. I can receive, I cannot send. I see many other similar complaints here, but no guaranteed solutions. I hope you are not in that group,

Thanks for your reply Lin! I already had cookies allowed & had deleted the passwords. But I hadn’t seen where to delete cookies. I deleted the cookies & also the cache & was prompted for the login after restart, but as before, it doesn’t go past the screen “Do you trust email . com” , so I still can’t get to the next screen to accept permissions for TB. All the server settings are correct.

I started to read about adjusting stuff in the Config:Editor, but I am out of my depth looking at that! But if there was something to try there, I could attempt.

Other things to consider: Don't use a VPN while attempting to authenticate. Don't run a local web server or any other service listening on TCP port 80 while attempting to authenticate.

Thanks christ1, No VPN is running. I don’t know what your last comment about TCP port 80 means? I just have a home office with multiple computers, printers etc. I was able to get the other mac setup with TB, just not this one. So if there was a device interference, would that have been possible?

if there was a device interference, would that have been possible?

I don't think so.

Can you post your Troubleshooting Information? At the top right of the Thunderbird window, click the menu button ≡, then select Help > Troubleshooting Information. Press the "Copy text to clipboard button" and paste the information into your reply.

Hi christ1, Thanks for your help.Hopefully I did this right, I redacted an email & name in the troubleshooting text. I attempted to create a new profile yesterday, but that didn’t work, assuming I did it right!

 Application Basics
   Name: Thunderbird
   Version: 78.14.0
   Build ID: 20210901192859
   Distribution ID:

   Update Channel: release
   User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.11; rv:78.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/78.14.0
   OS: Darwin 15.6.0

   Multiprocess Windows: 0/0
             Disabled
   Remote Processes: 0
   Enterprise Policies: Inactive
   Google Location Service Key: Missing
   Google Safebrowsing Key: Missing
   Mozilla Location Service Key: Missing
   Safe Mode: false

 Mail and News Accounts
   account1:
     INCOMING: account1, , (imap) mail.z***.com:993, SSL, passwordCleartext
     OUTGOING: , mail.z***.com:465, SSL, passwordCleartext, true

   account2:
     INCOMING: account2, , (none) Local Folders, plain, passwordCleartext

   account3:
     INCOMING: account3, , (imap) outlook.office365.com:993, SSL, OAuth2
     OUTGOING: , smtp.office365.com:587, alwaysSTARTTLS, OAuth2, true

 Crash Reports for the Last 3 Days

 Remote Processes

   Type: Count

 Extensions

     Name
     Version
     Enabled
     ID

       Amazon.com
       1.1
       true
       amazondotcom@search.mozilla.org

       Bing
       1.0
       true
       bing@search.mozilla.org

       DuckDuckGo
       1.0
       true
       ddg@search.mozilla.org

       Google
       1.0
       true
       google@search.mozilla.org

       Wikipedia (en)
       1.0
       true
       wikipedia@search.mozilla.org

       ImportExportTools NG
       10.0.4
       false
       ImportExportToolsNG@cleidigh.kokkini.net

 Security Software

   Type: Name

     Antivirus:
     Antispyware:
     Firewall:

 Graphics

     Features
     Compositing: OpenGL
     Asynchronous Pan/Zoom: none
     WebGL 1 Driver WSI Info: CGL
     WebGL 1 Driver Renderer: Intel Inc. -- Intel(R) Iris(TM) Pro Graphics 6200
     WebGL 1 Driver Version: 4.1 INTEL-10.14.73
     WebGL 1 Driver Extensions: GL_ARB_blend_func_extended GL_ARB_draw_buffers_blend GL_ARB_draw_indirect GL_ARB_ES2_compatibility GL_ARB_explicit_attrib_location GL_ARB_gpu_shader_fp64 GL_ARB_gpu_shader5 GL_ARB_instanced_arrays GL_ARB_internalformat_query GL_ARB_occlusion_query2 GL_ARB_sample_shading GL_ARB_sampler_objects GL_ARB_separate_shader_objects GL_ARB_shader_bit_encoding GL_ARB_shader_subroutine GL_ARB_shading_language_include GL_ARB_tessellation_shader GL_ARB_texture_buffer_object_rgb32 GL_ARB_texture_cube_map_array GL_ARB_texture_gather GL_ARB_texture_query_lod GL_ARB_texture_rgb10_a2ui GL_ARB_texture_storage GL_ARB_texture_swizzle GL_ARB_timer_query GL_ARB_transform_feedback2 GL_ARB_transform_feedback3 GL_ARB_vertex_attrib_64bit GL_ARB_vertex_type_2_10_10_10_rev GL_ARB_viewport_array GL_EXT_debug_label GL_EXT_debug_marker GL_EXT_framebuffer_multisample_blit_scaled GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc GL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic GL_EXT_texture_sRGB_decode GL_APPLE_client_storage GL_APPLE_container_object_shareable GL_APPLE_flush_render GL_APPLE_object_purgeable GL_APPLE_rgb_422 GL_APPLE_row_bytes GL_APPLE_texture_range GL_ATI_texture_mirror_once GL_NV_texture_barrier
     WebGL 1 Extensions: ANGLE_instanced_arrays EXT_blend_minmax EXT_color_buffer_half_float EXT_float_blend EXT_frag_depth EXT_shader_texture_lod EXT_sRGB EXT_texture_compression_rgtc EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic MOZ_debug OES_element_index_uint OES_fbo_render_mipmap OES_standard_derivatives OES_texture_float OES_texture_float_linear OES_texture_half_float OES_texture_half_float_linear OES_vertex_array_object WEBGL_color_buffer_float WEBGL_compressed_texture_s3tc WEBGL_compressed_texture_s3tc_srgb WEBGL_debug_renderer_info WEBGL_debug_shaders WEBGL_depth_texture WEBGL_draw_buffers WEBGL_lose_context
     WebGL 2 Driver WSI Info: CGL
     WebGL 2 Driver Renderer: Intel Inc. -- Intel(R) Iris(TM) Pro Graphics 6200
     WebGL 2 Driver Version: 4.1 INTEL-10.14.73
     WebGL 2 Driver Extensions: GL_ARB_blend_func_extended GL_ARB_draw_buffers_blend GL_ARB_draw_indirect GL_ARB_ES2_compatibility GL_ARB_explicit_attrib_location GL_ARB_gpu_shader_fp64 GL_ARB_gpu_shader5 GL_ARB_instanced_arrays GL_ARB_internalformat_query GL_ARB_occlusion_query2 GL_ARB_sample_shading GL_ARB_sampler_objects GL_ARB_separate_shader_objects GL_ARB_shader_bit_encoding GL_ARB_shader_subroutine GL_ARB_shading_language_include GL_ARB_tessellation_shader GL_ARB_texture_buffer_object_rgb32 GL_ARB_texture_cube_map_array GL_ARB_texture_gather GL_ARB_texture_query_lod GL_ARB_texture_rgb10_a2ui GL_ARB_texture_storage GL_ARB_texture_swizzle GL_ARB_timer_query GL_ARB_transform_feedback2 GL_ARB_transform_feedback3 GL_ARB_vertex_attrib_64bit GL_ARB_vertex_type_2_10_10_10_rev GL_ARB_viewport_array GL_EXT_debug_label GL_EXT_debug_marker GL_EXT_framebuffer_multisample_blit_scaled GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc GL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic GL_EXT_texture_sRGB_decode GL_APPLE_client_storage GL_APPLE_container_object_shareable GL_APPLE_flush_render GL_APPLE_object_purgeable GL_APPLE_rgb_422 GL_APPLE_row_bytes GL_APPLE_texture_range GL_ATI_texture_mirror_once GL_NV_texture_barrier
     WebGL 2 Extensions: EXT_color_buffer_float EXT_float_blend EXT_texture_compression_rgtc EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic MOZ_debug OES_texture_float_linear WEBGL_compressed_texture_s3tc WEBGL_compressed_texture_s3tc_srgb WEBGL_debug_renderer_info WEBGL_debug_shaders WEBGL_lose_context
     Uses Tiling: true
     Uses Tiling (Content): true
     Off Main Thread Painting Enabled: true
     Off Main Thread Painting Worker Count: 3
     Target Frame Rate: 60

     GPU #1
     Active: Yes
     Vendor ID: 0x8086
     Device ID: 0x1622
     RAM: 0

   GPU #2

     Diagnostics
     AzureCanvasBackend: skia
     AzureContentBackend: skia
     AzureFallbackCanvasBackend: none
     CMSOutputProfile: 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

Thunderbird Version: 78.14.0

While your server settings for the Microsoft account look good, your outdated version of Thunderbird may be a problem. OAuth2 authentication has evolved since quite a bit, and this may be part of the problem. From your OP I'm not sure whether you do have the problem with this old version of TB only, or with a recent version as well.

Delete all saved passwords for this account (Settings | Privacy & Security | Passwords)

Did you follow Lin's suggestion? Note, with OAuth authentication Thunderbird does not remember the actual password, but an OAuth authentication token. If one still exists for the Microsoft account, delete it.

See also https://support.mozilla.org/kb/microsoft-oauth-authentication-and-thunderbird-202

I wondered if the older version was an issue. This old TB was switched to using OAuth 3 years ago & worked fine until the recent password update. I installed TB on another mac yesterday to test & it worked, but it was a newer version & also a newer OS.

Yes, per Lin’s input, I had deleted the passwords, cookies, & also cleared the cache too. Cookies are enabled & all settings are correct.

BUT, the first time I tried to login with the new password when it popped up, my saved passwords were still in Thunderbird at that point. So did that cause a conflict? I then removed the passwords afterwards, but oddly, I only got my 2FA on the very first login attempt. Now, I login & it never moves to the 2FA code & accept permissions boxes. Does any of this make a difference? I’m just wondering if I could get to the point where I can add my 2FA code, if it would work or not.

When I added TB to the other Mac, it never gave me any 2FA at all, it just added the account, which is weird, right?

I appreciate your help! This legacy Mac only used TB to receive & look at mail, not send it. It would be handy if I could still get it to work, but I realize the age limitations :D

I only got my 2FA on the very first login attempt. Now, I login & it never moves to the 2FA code & accept permissions boxes.

With OAuth you'll be prompted initially to authenticate, and allow Thunderbird to access your account. At that time you're also prompted for your 2FA code. Once successfully authenticated, Thunderbird remembers an OAuth authentication token, instead of your actual account password. Thunderbird will not prompt you to re-authenticate until the authentication token expires. That happens every once in a while. Thus there is no 2FA prompt either until you'll have to re-authenticate.

OK, thanks for clarifying how the token works, I had just assumed I would get a new code.

But when I added TB to the second Mac to test, I only entered my password & never got any 2FA codes at all. TB had never been on that mac & was a fresh install. Is that typical?

It sounds like I’ve done all I can do to troubleshoot this then? It’s perhaps just at the end of it’s life :(

Thanks for your help!

if the authentication is set to normal password and you use an application password I think it will still work for Microsoft properties.

See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/how-to-get-and-use-app-passwords-5896ed9b-4263-e681-128a-a6f2979a7944

if the authentication is set to normal password and you use an application password I think it will still work for Microsoft properties. See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/how-to-get-and-use-app-passwords-5896ed9b-4263-e681-128a-a6f2979a7944

Thanks Matt. I do not see a way to add an App password. The only options on the security page are authenticator, hardware token, & phone call. The app password option doesn’t seem available to me.

Matt, looking further at the App password thing, I see info on GoDaddy on what to do to enable this. They direct me to some MS Admin page that I don’t think I’ve ever been to in my life. It was terrifying to even look at! But they had detailed error logs whereas the basic security page just showed the failed logins. Part of the error: “Based on the information provided, ** was trying to sign into Thunderbird accessing Office 365 Exchange Online but received AADSTS399218. For security reasons, user confirmation is required to sign in to this tenant. No Conditional Access policies ran on this sign-in, so the block occurs at the tenant’s inbound settings. The user attempted an interactive browser sign-in with single-factor authentication…”

So it’s saying I used single factor sign in, even though I got & entered a 2FA code on the first attempt sign in? Looking up that code, it says there could be configuration errors or entering invalid credentials can also cause it. Maybe I fat fingered my new password. This is beyond my comprehension level bow, so I think I’ll have to tap out if this involves working on that scary Admin page :( Thank you for pointing me to it though, I appreciate your help!

It is unfortunate that Microsoft for all their billions of market capitalization have refused to build anything that is standards compliant in the email space. Neither Exchange or Outlook actually comply with email standards, they just sort of do. A bit like Gmail but worse.

I think what your exchange is telling you is that it thinks you should be using two factor authentication with oauth authentication (something of an impossibility) or an app password (which is specifically designed for applications that do not support two factor authentication). It is above my pay grade, sorry.

Perhaps the good folk as Godaddy as the marketer selling you the product can assist you in configuring it to allow access to your mail using open standards.