AOL for @verizon.net email account down for days

[tanstaafl]

"I don't see Security Settings on the AOL web browser mail."

https://help.aol.com/articles/Create-an ... p-password

"Generate an app password

1. Sign in to your AOL Account Security page.
2. Click Generate app password or Generate and manage app passwords.
3. Enter your app's name in the text field.
4. Click Generate password.
5. Follow the instructions below the password.
- Be sure to enter the password into your app without any spaces.
6. Click Done.

Use this app password and your email address to sign in to your email app."

I assume you log into https://login.aol.com/account/security

[Code Name]

"How about Outlook and Gmail email accounts? AOL generates a new random alpha characters password for them too that must be entered in TB for those accounts, right?"

No. Outlook and Gmail normally don't need a application specific password unless you configured their webmail to enable 2FA. And if you needed one you'd generate the application specific password using their web site, not AOLs.

https://www.google.com/landing/2step/ (gmail)
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/acc ... b4585e7eb4 (outlook)

Yes, agree. Got it.

I do not find 'Security Settings' in AOL web mail, nor a way to obtain a new random alpha characters password for 3rd party email clients like Tb. Maybe I'm missing something! But I don't find it.

[tanstaafl]

My impression is https://login.aol.com/account/security is not part of AOL webmail. Just like there is a gmail webmail site at https://www.google.com/gmail/ and a separate web site at https://myaccount.google.com/intro/security where you specify security settings such as whether using a less secure app like Thunderbird is supported etc.

[WaltS48]

I don't see Security Settings on the AOL web browser mail.

Have you tried going to the Verizon web mail account from the AOL home page?

I check both my AOL and Verizon accounts from that site weekly.

I also switched my Verizon account to IMAP in my Thunderbird's.

[Code Name]

AOL mail (Verizon.Net) has required a separate password for 3rd party programs such as Thunderbird for some time now.

You need to login via web browser to the account and locate the security settings screen. It may ask you to turn on "less secure" (in their opinion) programs. You then have to generate a specific app password that will be used to recognize TB or any other 3rd party program used to access their mail systems including Outlook, Betterbird, and others. Once that password is generated... and that will be generated by them as random alpha characters... you do not have a choice... copy that down or cut-paste it to a text editor to save.

Now access TB and navigate to the individual mail account that uses the AOL mail servers and use this NEW password in that location. Use it for incoming mail and also for outgoing mail. Also view their specific web page for verizon.net settings for server address, port, security.

When completed you will have two passwords. One to login to AOL itself via web browser or for their mail access that way, and one created specifically for TB or other program. Worth noting that Yahoo, which was also owned by Verizon at one point, does the same thing with their mail now.

Verizon sold off its Yahoo and AOL mail holdings a few months back to a company named "Global."

Which that prefix, for the last couple of months I have also been having problems accessing Verizon.Net mail on AOL servers. I have all of the IMAP settings correct as provided on their instructions page for ports and security. In fact these settings, including the 3rd party password had been working flawlessly until about 2 months back.

Now when I try to access my Verizon.Net mail on AOL servers, it will get refused at random times. I can usually populate my TB folders OK but when I try to move mail between folders, delete stuff from the junk folder, or empty the junk folder, there are connection problems. I get errors stating that TB is checking the server's capabilities (new one to me) and then the connection is refused.

However if I go back 10 mins later I can usually finish up what i was doing until it happens again. It is acting as if AOL's mail servers are purposefully limiting (throttling) third party programs such as TB. I have a copy of Seamonkey on a different system and that is experiencing the same problem, so it is definitely on the AOL end. When I log in using a web browser I do not have this problem.

So it is likely not TB or any other 3rd party program but a problem at the AOL end of things. If they do not fix it soon I expect that I will need to abandon them as will many others.

sunclad - THANK YOU! The information you provided helped allow me get all @verizon.net accounts that I personally have, along with all the @verizon.net accounts that my wife has and the @verizon.net accounts my friend has back working again on our individual Thunderbird accounts.

The newly generated random alpha characters passwords provided by AOL for 3rd party email clients (such as Thunderbird) allowed our Thunderbird clients access to AOL's servers for incoming and outgoing email service for our @verizon.net accounts. Each @verizon.net account required a new one-time password that Thunderbird uses to access those various email accounts.

By the way, my Mailbell Email Notifier and my iPad needed the email password updated - and it just so happens that the same newly generated random alpha characters password that Thunderbird uses works for the Mailbell notifier and the iPad too.

They all seem to be working perfectly now... and everyone is happy again!

Thank you very much...

[Code Name]

This log-in ( https://login.aol.com/?done=https%3A%2F ... 3D0&src=mc provided a means to Create and Manage third-party app passwords for AOL severs.

Create and manage third-party app passwords

Learn when an app password is necessary to use and how to generate one for third-party email apps.
Some older, third-party email apps (that do not use our AOL-branded sign in page) require you to enter a single password for login credentials. If you've activated 2-step verification for your AOL account, you'll need to generate and use an "app password" to access AOL Mail from these apps. An app password is a long, randomly generated code that gives a non-AOL app permission to access your AOL account. You’ll only need to provide this code once to sign in to your third-party email app.
Generate an app password
1. Sign in to your AOL Account Security page.
2. Click Generate app password or Generate and manage app passwords.
3. Enter your app's name in the text field.
4. Click Generate password.
5. Follow the instructions below the password.
- Be sure to enter the password into your app without any spaces.
6. Click Done.
Use this app password and your email address to sign in to your email app.