What's my password?

[John H Stokes]

I have been happily using Thunderbird as my email client for some time now. Happy, that is, until my ISP (ATT) decided not to support the POP3 protocol and demanded the use of IMAP.

Last Wednesday morning, I had no problem using Thunderbird to check my email, but when I attempted to check it at lunchtime, Thunderbird searched for about a minute before telling me that it couldn't find the server.

I went online and learned that I needed to reconfigure Thunderbird to use the IMAP protocol. I've done that several times, but once I've finished and hit "Done," Thunderbird tells me the username or password is invalid, though I've used the username and password for years.

I can send/receive email with no problems if I log on to ATT.com, but Thunderbird is more full-featured and I'd much prefer to use it.

Can anyone suggest a solution to my problem?

Thank you,

[DanRaisch]

What is the exact text of the error message you receive when trying to get mail?
How did you "reconfigure" Thunderbird to use the IMAP protocol?

[tanstaafl]

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Convert_a_POP ... AP_account

[mgagnonlv]

Have you also updated the server information?

It's quite likely that POP3 was done using a server like pop.att.com, but that for Imap, you need to enter a different server address like imap.att.com.

Check on the ATT website.

[tanstaafl]

ISPs are usually poor email providers because they view email as just a cost center. I suggest you consider getting a Gmail address and adding a Gmail IMAP account instead. You might be able to configure your AT&T webmail to automatically forward all new mail to the gmail address, to make it easier to switch. Some ISPs even let you register a contact address with a different email provider, if you're worried about the AT&T billing dept etc. sending you email.

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Gmail