deleted the account added it back in everything good.

What is the type of the new account - POP or IMAP? Is this an aol.com email address or different, e.g. verizon.net?

The old accounts are pop but when went on online for help I think it told me to do imap . Tried both. The email account was originally a Verizon account that was moved to aol years ago. I can get on aol fine with password but both before i deleted the account on thunderbird and now it don't look like the email address can connect to the server . I really need to get back my email account. All my files were on it but won't let me add the address back if it doesn't connect back up to the server.

Set up your account as POP, and make sure to use Oauth2 authentication for both, the incoming, and outgoing server (pop.aol.com on 995 and smtp.aol.com on 465), remove the passwords from Saved Passwords in Preferences, accept cookies in Preferences/Privacy & Security, restart TB, enter the account password in the OAuth window when prompted.

Presumably that will not restore and mail from the previously used POP account. Follow these instructions to get back your existing mail. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1339721

If I manually set up the account as a pop it does not give me the option to use authentication Oauth. When it auto sets up I have attached the pic of what it gives me. It looks like it finds a set up that works. It worked on another email account that I tested. But when it sends it out to connect to the server it never hits. What worries me is the same kind of issue I think was happening that caused me to do the update for the AOL, They had sent emails out that after Dec 7th you would need to do that. I just assumed this was part of the problem. Any thoughts. Thanks for your help.

I checked out the link you sent about the folders. The thing is I deleted another account i had linked to AOL and when I added it back all the folders were still there.

If I manually set up the account as a pop it does not give me the option to use authentication Oauth.

There was a reason for asking whether your email address is aol.com or verizon.net, which you didn't answer. If it is verizon.net use manual account configuration, and the AOL server names as suggested above in connection with OAuth2 authentication. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1361629#answer-1467504

sorry I thought I answered that, It is verizon.net I tried that but it doesn't give the option for Oauth2 . The options are autodetect, normal password , encrypted password, kerberos / gssapi, and NTLM. I tried the auto detect. When I enter the info i get the green box saying that it had found the server. When I click done it just starts spinning saying checking password. After 5 minutes or so I get the last message. Unable to log in at server. probably wrong configuration user name or password. You know what i might try as a flyer is to change the password on aol. I keep going back to for some reason this account had issue with getting emails while my other verizon /aol accounts did not. Sorry to bother you but again thanks for the help. Any thoughts?

As stated above, you need to use the AOL servers instead of the Verizon servers in order to get the OAuth2 menu item.

I did attach the wrong clip but I tried the aol extension too.I put in the aol extensions and it does not give you the option of 0Auth2 on the menu nor does it connect to the server. What am I doing wrong then? I attached another picture. Thanks again fyi i removed my user name in case you think that is an issue but when i send the request it is on there.

The AOL servers pop.aol.com and smtp.aol.com are supported in TB for OAuth2, but pop.verizon.net and smtp.verizon.net are not.

Are you saying there is no 'Oauth2' menu item in the 'Authentication method' drop-down menu for both, the incoming and outgoing server?

yes I have attached a screen shot . One thing I did was click on advance config which I am not sure what it did but it did add the account back on but it still failed to connect to server. What sucks is I have a lot of very important stuff in this account I lost including a lot of medical stuff I need. I have read a lot of stuff on here but I getting the feeling my problem gets back more to the fact that I couldn't connect for a few days before. Like I mentioned earlier I tested the deleting an account on my extra email account i had that I don't use and worked fine. Deleted the account, added it back and everything was there. Both are Verizon.net accounts that were migrated over to AOL years ago. I really appreciate your effort I am starting to worry this stuff is gone for good which is not good.

If nothing else works create an app password on the AOL website. Remove the account passwords from Saved Passwords in Preferences/Privacy & Security, restart TB, enter the app password when prompted.

For pop.verizon.net and smtp.verizon.net, use 'Normal password' authentication with the app password.

https://help.aol.com/articles/Create-and-manage-app-password

That did it. My folders are not there but i think all the emails that were saved in the folders are. I got over 500 emails coming in. I really appreciate your patience and your help.

Sorry me again, new issue. I can't send email out. It login failed and asks to enter a password. I have triple checked my new password for the account but it doesn't let me connect to the smtp.verizon.net. Incoming mail works fine. Any thoughts?

You need to use the app password you created before.

Ok thanks again for you patience. One final question. I tried changing the password to match but didn't work. Will I need to use the same password all the time now because I created the 3rd party app password or will I be able to change it in the future. Thanks in advance.

I tried changing the password to match but didn't work.

I don't understand what that means.

You created the app password specifically for Thunderbird. The app password needs to be used for both, the incoming, and outgoing server. You can create a new app password at any time in case it's needed. The app password has got nothing to do with your main account password, which does not change.

after I got everything back i went in aol and changed the password and then changed it in TB but it didn't work. I ended up changing back both passwords to the original password that was generated when I used the new app and that worked.