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OAuth2 is REQUIRED now for MS Outlook email, now I get prompts for passwords

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  • 5 have this problem
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  • Last reply by csmith11

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I got an email from Microsoft saying my Live.com or Outlook.com email accounts won't be supported in Thunderbird UNLESS I change the settings to OAuth2 in incoming and outgoing server settings.

I even REMOVED the email account and re-added it making sure it was OAuth2.

But for my live.com & outlook.com email accounts I continually get prompts for passwords from Thunderbird. Sometimes I can't even click the RED X at the upper right to shut the prompt down. I just happens over and over until I give it what it wants.

I am tempted to shut down all Microsoft email accounts and switch to Gmail.

I have Thunderbird version 115.12.2 (64-bit) I used Windows 11 23H2 build 22631.3810 Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22700.1020.0

Any idea how to stop these prompts?

I like Thunderbird much more than any other email program I have ever used, and would like to keep it

I got an email from Microsoft saying my Live.com or Outlook.com email accounts won't be supported in Thunderbird UNLESS I change the settings to OAuth2 in incoming and outgoing server settings. I even REMOVED the email account and re-added it making sure it was OAuth2. But for my live.com & outlook.com email accounts I continually get prompts for passwords from Thunderbird. Sometimes I can't even click the RED X at the upper right to shut the prompt down. I just happens over and over until I give it what it wants. I am tempted to shut down all Microsoft email accounts and switch to Gmail. I have Thunderbird version 115.12.2 (64-bit) I used Windows 11 23H2 build 22631.3810 Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22700.1020.0 Any idea how to stop these prompts? I like Thunderbird much more than any other email program I have ever used, and would like to keep it

Chosen solution

I just wanted to say I was JUST ABOUT to delete most if not all of my outlook.com accounts because of the constant nagging me for passwords and then the problem resolved itself...I HOPE.

An update to Nebula seemed to fix it. I hope it stays fixed!

Fingers and toes crossed!

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YOU need to authenticate to get mail. Those request are asking you to do that.

Clicking the X in the corner of the widow just means you remain unauthenticated and can not get your mail for that account. So every folder you click, every time Thunderbird tries to get mail etc results in another authentication request. So the cure is log in using the windows being provided, when they are provided. Late attempts just offer some sort of timeout message.

Note that Google started the oauth craze. So you will not get a different result there. Or at Yahoo, they jumped on that band wagon a couple of years ago, along with AOL. I think some of the European providers like GMX still allow passwords, but I do not know for how long.

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So you are saying that every time I turn on Thunderbird using OAuth2 a window will pop up asking for my password then?

GMAIL doesn't do that. And GMAIL says SSL/TLS under IMAP and SSL/TLS under SMTP and both are OAuth2  !!!

If it does that every time I will switch to the New Outlook App, which sucks...but it doesn't prompt me.

I thought Thunderbird would REMEMBER my login information?

Modified by nicholasb55

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nicholasb55 said

I thought Thunderbird would REMEMBER my login information?

Lets test that. If you have successfully completed the oAuth authentication process there will be entries in the password manager for oAuth tokens on that server. Do you have any? https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/password-manager-remember-delete-change-tb

Do you use a VPN? I have heard of those triggering triggering Microsoft to expire tokens as the location you are logging in from changes with the VPN endpoint. The assumption is you have been hacked. Likewise you might have issues when using internet hot-spots like cafes. What Microsoft choose to use to trigger the expiry of the saved token and insist on a full re authentication is not something they advertise.

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I changed outgoing SMTP to STARTTLS, it still hangs up or prompts.

I think Live and outlook, et. al. accounts won't work with Thunderbird anymore.

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nicholasb55 said

I changed outgoing SMTP to STARTTLS, it still hangs up or prompts. I think Live and outlook, et. al. accounts won't work with Thunderbird anymore.

Except mine do. In multiple versions of Thunderbird. But I don't have any antivirus but Defender either. Perhaps that is the difference.

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I'll try removing and reinstalling them

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I am still waiting for your answer to the questions I asked. Do you have oauth tokens in your password manager or not? It is a relatively simple question.

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I just took my accounts OFF and reinstalled them in Thunderbird. I get the need for security. But I think this is more about Microsoft trying to keep eyeballs on their webpage.

Most of the people I interact with have GMAIL accounts though.

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Matt said

I am still waiting for your answer to the questions I asked. Do you have oauth tokens in your password manager or not? It is a relatively simple question.

oauth tokens? How do I tell that I do?

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I can see the passwords are saved and when I click on VIEW PASSWORDS I see them. How do see the "tokens"?

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In the password manager I see oauth://login.microsoft...then the microsoft account name, then something under password that doesn't look like a password

Is that what you wanted to know?

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Matt said

I am still waiting for your answer to the questions I asked. Do you have oauth tokens in your password manager or not? It is a relatively simple question.

This may seem like a "simple question" and I am sure it is. I am just used to adding an account logging and it just working

Since I took the account off Thunderbird hasn't prompted me. But one the accounts it prompted this morning was one account I swear I removed and readded later.

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Well it's STILL asking me for passwords. And it's doing it over and over again, like some sort of Gestapo interrogation in a bad movie. It asks the SAME questions over and over again. It moves on to another account and then back to the other account.

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under CONNECTION SETTINGS should I check DO NOT PROMPT FOR AUTHENTICATION IF PASSWORD IS SAVED ?? Currently it's UNCHECKED

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Here's a link to a page I found

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1273224

Here's my connection settings page:

Maybe I should just put a check mark in the option DO NOT PROMPT FOR AUTHENTICATION IF PASSWORD IS SAVED  ???

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I tried EVERYTHING, adding the accounts didn't work. If you have OAuth2 SSL/TLS under IMAP and the OAuth2 and then STARTTLS under SMTP the Thunderbird program will prompt me for each of these accounts. I won't do this under the new Outlook App,

This ticks me off so much I think I will switch to GMAIL SINCE Thunderbird CAN NOT access Outlook or Live or Hotmail accounts any longer!

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Well I see me going to bed for the night gave you plenty of time to post here. On topics as vastly ranging as proxies to answering the question of if you has oauth: tokens.

I really do not know how you got to some of the places you went, and I really don't think following that line of attack will render anything productive as you asked me how to do what I have clearly told you what to do.

What I do think is the problems you are seeing are probably caused from outside of Thunderbird, my suspicion is your antivirus product is highly likely to be an issue, or even THE issue.

For us to better investigate this issue, we will need some more information.

Could you please do the following?

  1. Open the menu Fx57Menu > Help > Troubleshooting Information, then click Copy text to Clipboard.
  2. Go to https://pastebin.mozilla.org/, paste the clipboard by right clicking in the large text area, select paste from the menu, change the retention period to expire in 28 days, use the Paste Snippet button to create a page containing your info, then copy the resulting URL (address) of the page created.
  3. Open a reply to this post, and paste the URL to your troubleshooting information you just copied.
  4. Please also provide results for the following test on your system

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Matt said

Well I see me going to bed for the night gave you plenty of time to post here. On topics as vastly ranging as proxies to answering the question of if you has oauth: tokens. I really do not know how you got to some of the places you went, and I really don't think following that line of attack will render anything productive as you asked me how to do what I have clearly told you what to do. What I do think is the problems you are seeing are probably caused from outside of Thunderbird, my suspicion is your antivirus product is highly likely to be an issue, or even THE issue. For us to better investigate this issue, we will need some more information. Could you please do the following?
  1. Open the menu Fx57Menu > Help > Troubleshooting Information, then click Copy text to Clipboard.
  2. Go to https://pastebin.mozilla.org/, paste the clipboard by right clicking in the large text area, select paste from the menu, change the retention period to expire in 28 days, use the Paste Snippet button to create a page containing your info, then copy the resulting URL (address) of the page created.
  3. Open a reply to this post, and paste the URL to your troubleshooting information you just copied.
  4. Please also provide results for the following test on your system

https://pastebin.mozilla.org/7dzS35jV

Here you go, I didn't see 28 days only 21.

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Also I don't think it's suddenly my Norton 360. It's the same program. I just tried following the email Microsoft sent and followed the link here

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/modern-authentication-methods-now-needed-to-continue-syncing-outlook-email-in-non-microsoft-email-apps-c5d65390-9676-4763-b41f-d7986499a90d

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It would seem you have 15 different imap accounts for various live/hotmail/outlook email addresses that use the outlook server.

You previously said "In the password manager I see oauth://login.microsoft...then the microsoft account name, then something under password that doesn't look like a password"

Yes they are the saved tokens. But you have 15 different accounts, all are using what looks like the correct server settings

Do you have '15' different oauth://login.microsoft.....tokens saved in the Passwords area - one for each User name = email address?

  • Settings > Privacy & Security
  • Under 'Passwords' section
  • Click on 'Saved Passwords'
  • Click on 'Show Passwords'

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