• Try accessing webmail and see if POP access is disabled. There have been reports of Microsoft disabling it for @msn.com addresses, so switch it back on if needed.

• There are currently about 14 threads about this login issue for @hotmail.com addresses on this forum, caused by Microsoft not allowing logins for them while @outlook.com just work. Although it should have been resolved by now, the issues appears to continue and may also apply to @msn.com addresses.

Please see this question for the workaround: try to create an outlook.com alias and use that for the login name.

Most likely, this is not a user/pass issue, and not caused by Thunderbird.

Tonnes: All of the above settings were checked and double checked (IT specialist habit I guess). Just got off the phone w/ Microsoft. They are aware of the issue and said they should have it resolved in the next 24-48 hrs. Apparently I'm not the only one having issues. The word from support is the only way to access Outlook/MSN mail is to use your web browser of choice and go directly through Outlook.com. I would leave this up so others can read what's up. I will post another reply when I get back into my email through Thunderbird.

Tonnes: Microsoft said that I have to wipe the account and start over. Would that work and if so, how do I keep all my settings, archived mail and mail that is in the inbox?

Well, I have some doubts, but it depends. Why did you have to change the password in the first place? Was it because of the same login failure, or some other reason?

As you may know, there have been serious issues for hotmail.com addresses logging in lately. There is another question for an msn.com address similar to yours, but there was no feedback about the given workaround for hotmail.com addresses so far. However and depending on the answer to the above, it could very well be related.

Wiping out the account is one method, but no guarantee, so you would risk doing it for nothing. Since it is a POP account, there would be no mail on the server if you do not allow them to, so the server is empty in terms of other folders and synchronization. Since local folder content can be moved from within accounts within Thunderbird, yes, you could set up everything new and move existing messages there.

I think you have several other options though that I would try first:

• Try removing the stored password in Thunderbird first instead of entering new or similar credentials, then close the Password Manager, then try again.
• OR change (only) the server name to pop-mail.outlook.com in Thunderbird’s Server Settings, leave everything else untouched. If that server does work, Microsoft is at fault.
• OR use telnet (using OpenSSL’s s_client in fact) to check if the POP server accepts the user/password combination, and use openssl s_client -crlf -connect pop3.live.com:995. Again, be sure to check if POP access is still enabled using webmail as there have been reports of it getting disabled for no reason.
• OR (my first choice) create a test profile for Thunderbird, set it up for the MSN account only (make sure to check "Leave messages on server" before retrieving mail) using the exact same credentials and settings. The easiest would be to add -p to your existing Thunderbird shortcut or menu entry as described in the linked article so it starts up with the Profile Manager, where you can add a profile and select one of them each time you start Thunderbird. When the issue is resolved, you can remove the test profile as well as -p in the shortcut.

A thing that stands out is the AuthResult in your error message - it’s 2 (usually 0), and hard to find on the Internet, and I can’t tell what it stands for. In the other question referred to above, it’s 3, and that error lead to this issue at Microsoft’s forum stating you may need to switch to TLS. Also note the same workaround (adding an outlook.com alias) given there.

Does any of this help?

Tonnes: I usually change my password every two weeks. This one I had to change after a week because Xbox One refused to recognize it. Everything was ok for email access until I changed the password. Let me try a few of your suggestions and get back to you.

Thanks

Tonnes: Tried the first two steps. Same results; starting to think I'm in a BAD Monty Python skit version of Henry the Eighth I Am. How do I do step three? Not sure I'm familiar with the program/software you reference>

Thanks

Try using an App password with 2-Step Verification:

Hotmail (Outlook Mail it is called now): Go to https://account.microsoft.com/ and log into your Hotmail/Microsoft Account. Go to "Security & privacy", then "More security settings" under "Account security". Go down to "Two-step verification" to set your App passwords.

Bruce A Johnson: THANKS! That got me in but what a pain in the #$%^& ! Is there an easier work around/fix for this or is Microsoft being an asshat because we won't use their program to get our email?

Why 2-Step Verification?

Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, and other e-mail providers are slowing forcing everyone to use 2-Step Verification because of the sheer volume of people who have had their e-mail accounts taken over by spammers. The spammers gained control of those e-mail accounts because those people used easy-to-guess passwords.

From personal experience as a computer tech, some people will always use easy-to-guess passwords, no matter how many times they are told (and even begged), to use better passwords.

So now everyone has to get used to 2-Step Verification because of those people.

Bruce A Johnson, Tonnes, and everyone else: Any chance that TB is going to go full on email server and allow us to use an email address that ends ".thunderbird.com"?

Thanks

Thunderbird is just an e-mail client, and as it stands now, Mozilla is pulling back from Thunderbird. I don't believe that anyone associated with Mozilla or Thunderbird has any such aspirations.

Plus, the domain name "thunderbird.com" is owned by a real estate company.

Bruce A Johnson: Thanks. It was a thought. I really like Thunderbird ans was hoping to be able to see it become more than just an email browser. Google and Microsoft both have issues that can be irritating at best and huge at worst. Don't know of any other email servers out there worth looking into, sorry AOL and Yahoo.

Thanks again for the help and time.

Tonnes: I'd still like more info on step 3 if you have the time.

Thanks

Good to see the issue is resolved. Sorry about not mentioning 2-Step Verification - it’s in fact the primary solution given by Microsoft but kind of got into the background due to the alias solution. ;)

For OpenSSL / s_client, which you would need for SSL connections since regular Telnet won’t work, you could download a Windows verson from here. - Unzip its contents in a temporary or other folder first. - Then either run openssl s_client -crlf -connect pop3.live.com:995 from the command prompt in that folder, or start up openssl.exe first and enter s_client -crlf -connect pop3.live.com:995 only. - Then enter user <username> <enter>, followed by pass <password> <enter>.

The login attempt should be successful, although I’m not sure how Hotmail responds to another client now and any prompts for an app password. I haven’t needed it so far so can’t tell, but perhaps you can?