Problem adding gmail account to thunderbird

claire07

I have two virgin media email accounts and it has always worked fine.  However I am now leaving virgin and so will be losing the email addresses and have opened a gmail account.  However when I go to add the gmail account to Thunderbird it was rejected and after googling previous threads it says I need an app password.

So I have followed the advice and got an app password but when I add it to the gmail account in Thunderbird it is still rejected and says it is unable to log on.

I feel totally out of my depth and would appreciate any help.

k_man

Remember you can always use the web interface instead, no configuration necessary.
Also ensures consistency if using on mobile too.

Local email clients aren't usually necessary with cloud based email.

However if you really want to use Thunderbird, firstly make sure it is up to date.

And have enabled IMAP in Gmail settings.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/thunderbird-and-gmail

claire07

Yes I think I'll have to admit defeat.  I have enabled IMAP in gmail and have got the latest version of Thunderbird.  I thought I'd sorted it with the app password but hey ho.  I've wasted too much time on it already!

TELLIT01

I don't know if there are general problems with Thunderbird at the moment.  I was adding an address yesterday and kept getting 'incorrect password' messages.  I knew both the email address and password were correct but gave up in disgust for a while.  I had rebooted the computer in the meantime and decided to give it one last go.  Details were accepted immediately.  This wasn't gmail, which is why I wonder if there were wider problems.

claire07

That gave me hope I might have a chance so I gave it another go.  I created another app password for gmail and entered it in the gmail account in Thunderbird and it still didn't work.  I'm really pleased you have got it working OK but I think I'm going to have to get used to going direct to gmail and get used to the layout.

J_B

Have you tried using 'two factor authentication' (I think that's what it's called)

I have two GM accounts on TB which work fine, but when I had a new phone TFA was a much simpler way to get it to work properly

claire07

Yes I've used 2FA, created app password and it still won't let me log in so I think I'm going to give it a miss now and try to get used to going direct to gmail.