Solved Microsoft's POP3 email problem

jro11 said:

I'm afraid there's no way to know what I am doing. What I'm doing is nonsense. and doing it again is equally nonsensical. And think of all the permutations of selectables that make no difference, I'll have, to choose, to tell me nothing.

(on the other hand, I can think of lots of good reasons why competing software companies might want people to do these sorts of things until they really believe there's some rational reason behind it and eventually tell other people: "Well of course. If it's not working out you absolutely need to make an app password..." Microsoft is no different. While going through this I thought to save off all Diane's Contacts (another .pst file I believe). Used to be that you could save off your emails separately; your contacts separately; your calendar items separately; your ToDos... Now there's no apparent way you can save off your calendar items or ToDos...

Click to expand...

You’ve totally lost me.
You’re concerning yourself with all this above when I thought you were in fear of losing your wifes (and your) gmail accounts. I normally wouldn’t say this, but I strongly suggest you take my advice and start a dummy account, play with it until the cows come home, until you have mastered what is needed to add addresses to Outlook.
You keep playing with your Gmail accounts, it will end in tears if you don’t know what you are doing. Diane will be most upset.
I say this with the upmost kindness.

A summary of the situation
Three computers are involved.
1 JR's computer: A win10 desktop with a badly misbehaving Outlook, accessing POP3 account JRaccount@gmail.com, that needs to be spread across to monitors to get all the columns to show up, and therefore to be able to put it to use. Microsoft has attempted to correct the problem and has succeeded in 3 times to make matters worse each time--and not even recognize what they'd done wrong (that's a problem with Chat). And a Droid cellphone (we got cellphones about 6 months ago)
2 D's computer: A win10 desktop that at least isn't having many problems and an iPhone. My machinations on the third computer seem to be affecting her computer and maybe her iPhone.
3 Computer3 (C3): A W11 laptop I bought for D that she couldn't stand and gave it back to me. When I bought Office365 and allotted a copy to these 3 computers everything started, due to OneDrive, to fall apart. The reason I'm on it (I managed to attach a real size monitor to it) is because this computer is supposed to eventually hold everything in my win10 desktop, JR's computer.

I was smart enough to ensure that each of these computers were associated with three different email accounts running on three different Outlook365 programs: JRaccount@gmail.com; Daccount@gmail.com; and Dmsaccount@outlook.com.
This morning I was trying to gain control of Computer3 by adding another user to its Outlook.com account (the only user it had was Dmsaccount@outlook.com). When I tried to add JRaccount@gmail.com to Outlook running on Computer3, was when everything started going wrong.
1) It was not accepting my multiple attempts to add the POP3 JRaccount@gmail.com.
2) Eventually it was firmly suggested I needed to use?/enable?/mount? an App password. I had heard the term, but I had no idea what an App password is.
3) When I implemented the first App password nothing changed--it still didn't allow me to mount my POP3 .JRaccount@gmail.com.
4) When someone noticed there were other App passwords on the screenshot I sent and suggested I delete them--and I did so, IMMEDIATELY Diane who was working on D's computer noticed the windows I sent pics of popping up continuously. Some concerned smtp.gmail.com and some concerned pop.gmail.com. There were around 100 of these windows popping up. Every time I dismissed one, another showed up.
5) Eventually I enabled another App password on Computer3 and found it had changed the password associated with Diane's account on D's computer! Then she started getting messages on her phone... She's since stopped using Outlook365 on D's computer except to look up contacts. Not being able to use Outlook reliably is affecting her ability to pay bills, etc. Unfortunately, she uses the same email account on her phone.
(I use a completely different email account on my phone. I want my phone to act like a phone, and not like a computer sending me all my subscriptions, emails, books, etc.)
6) Anything I do I must do from Computer3. It has Outlook365 running with only one account running Dmsaccount@outlook.com. I don't know if it is a pop3 account or an IMAP account,
and I don't know how to find out. I wonder if the same Outlook365 program can accommodate both an IMAP account and a POP3 account. Just the fact I can't mount my POP3 account doesn't mean it can't.

You suggest I create a fictitious account and exercise it, but what can I do?
If I come up with a fictitious account, say jrxxx@gmail.com what can I do?
1) I won't be able to mount it on Outlook365 on Computer3. (I can't mount JRaccount@gmail.com on Computer3.)
2) I won't be able to install a second copy of Outlook 365 on Computer3.
3) I will be able to bring it up on the Internet on Gmail.com, but so what, all the email addresses are running on Gmail.com.

4) Without help from someone who knows the ins and outs of App passwords or Google I can't move an inch.
......Without help from Tier2 Microsoft tech support I won't be able to sort out the problems with the three versions of Outlook365 running on 2 Win10 computers and one Win11 computer AND I'm not sure what Microsoft Tier ANYTHING knows about Google's App passwords.

I'm between a rock and a hard place.

Good night...

Honestly, just let the Outlook wizard set everything up as imap, It's a far better system than the old obsolete pop3.

1) It was not accepting my multiple attempts to add the POP3 JRaccount@gmail.com.
2) Eventually it was firmly suggested I needed to use?/enable?/mount? an App password. I had heard the term, but I had no idea what an App password is.
3) When I implemented the first App password nothing changed--it still didn't allow me to mount my POP3 .JRaccount@gmail.com.
4) When someone noticed there were other App passwords on the screenshot I sent and suggested I delete them--and I did so, IMMEDIATELY Diane who was working on D's computer noticed the windows I sent pics of popping up continuously. Some concerned smtp.gmail.com and some concerned pop.gmail.com. There were around 100 of these windows popping up. Every time I dismissed one, another showed up.


If your Gmail account app passwords affected your wife's account, then something fishy is going on. Either your two Gmail accounts are somehow tied together (is one a sub account of the other?), or Google had an app password (previously generated and perhaps one in your list) that was being used to support your Outlook 365 account. If Google only had one service identified for that app password (i.e. Outlook365, then your changing the app password would affect your wife's machine. I would start by contacting MS Support and tell them you are trying to add a POP account to your third machine. They should be familiar with app passwords. You should also mention the fact that you are using a Microsoft 365 family plan, and that one of the other MS accounts on that plan was affected by you changing the app password on your specific MS account. This should not be the case as all MS accounts in a Microsoft family plan should be treated as individual/standalone MS accounts.

I'm not at all familiar with Google and its products, but here are some suggested reading links:

Sign in with app passwords - Google Account Help

How do application specific passwords work in Google accounts?

Using the Mail applet in control panel create a new profile in Outlook, add a single email account that you use complete with AppPassword (Obtained from your email provider), let us know how that behaves.

Good morning. (I pulled an all nighter...trying to learn what an AppPassword is.)
To try and answer your (z3r010, garyb0125) input succinctly,
- POP3 I (and many on this forum - you have to have a good reason when you're fighting Microsoft/Google to keep it) have good reasons for using POP3 accounts. I don't have the time to get into it right now, but it will make an interesting thread. Note: our reasons for having POP accounts are different from the differences between a POP account and an IMAP account.
- Diane's two addresses: I don't understand the relationships (never heard of primary and secondary email addresses that related to each other, hierarchically speaking. Despit her willingness to give up Outlook on her ONLY computer, I consider it important to get Outlook running on it. I inadvertently changed her password (on her Gmail account everywhere, on gmail.com and on her phone) and now Google is calling her droid that IS NOT A TELEPHONE to two-step verify that password! How I solve this problem is currently a mystery..

I'm doing so much cutting and pasting in only this thread that it requires two monitors!

When I set up Computer3 with Output365 on I used only her Dmsaccount@outlook.com . In other words, if I sent emails to Daccount@gmail.com they did not arrive anywhere (except the website gmail.com) on Computer3. In other words there was no relatioship between her two email addresses and any instance of Outlook. That this thing happened yesterday is a total surprise.

I do not feel I can involve MS Tier1 tech support on this. They will just continue to create new profiles and potentially make the problem worse--though how I cannot say.

Rollback Jockey: Please be very specific about Control Panel/Mail Applet. Under Control Panel there is an entry called Mail (Microsoft Outlook). I am assuming that is what you mean. Under that is Email Accounts. When I click on that I see Dmsaccount@outlook.com. That account is shown to be type

​

I am now clicking on New... which brings up

What do you mean when you say

Rollback_Jockey said:

add a single email account that you use complete with AppPassword (Obtained from your email provider),

Click to expand...

Since I don't know what an AppPassword is and since the only way I know to create an AppPassword is the hocus-pocus described in the link:
I don't know what, what I quoted, means.

However, until I get a reply, I'll continue with trying to include a New... account.
[Next]

[Next]

(w. smtp.gmail.com and email addresses filled in) - [More Settings]


that I change to

and [OK] and Immediately
followed by
(this is so depressing)

Rollback_Jockey said:

Using the Mail applet in control panel create a new profile in Outlook, add a single email account that you use complete with AppPassword (Obtained from your email provider), let us know how that behaves.

Click to expand...

So, that is the result of doing what I think you suggested.

I am now completely out of ideas, and for reasons cited above cannot think of anything else to do, except maybe completely delete the COMPLETE MS Office suite--I want to delete Outlook365, but one cannot delete any component of MS Office 365 without deleting the whole thing...

and then reinstalling the whole thing (including, OneDrive!)

then possibly trying to load my own email into an Empty (without Dmsaccount@outlook.com) Outlook365.

You can use REVO uninstaller to remove it completely and then re-install from scratch.

Assuming that the password you entered in post #48 is the 16-character app password that you generated using your Gmail account (and is the only active app password, i.e. the only one listed), then it should work.

Also, just to confirm, are your three Windows PCs all logged in with different MS accounts?

Use Thunderbird instead, no problems with either POP3 or IMAP!

Rollback_Jockey said:

You can use REVO uninstaller to remove it completely and then re-install from scratch.

Click to expand...

Yes! Excellent point.

garyb0125 said:

Assuming that the password you entered in post #48 is the 16-character app password that you generated using your Gmail account (and is the only active app password, i.e. the only one listed), then it should work.

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No. The password is the password I associate with MY email account. The only time the 16 character code is used is (typically) by tech support people.

garyb0125 said:

Also, just to confirm, are your three Windows PCs all logged in with different MS accounts?

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No. It's OK to have more than one PC logged into separate instances of Outlook. But just to make sure I'll close Outlook (the one that needs to extend over two screens to view all the columns!) on my Win10 desktop --and try the post #48 routine again...it takes less time when I'm not copying/pasting every stage!

GCG1000 said:

Use Thunderbird instead, no problems with either POP3 or IMAP!

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Don't think I haven't thought of this! But @ $99/year, you'd think I could get some use out of more than Word and Excel.

I don't want to open a new thread, but can you tell me how Thunderbird's Contact List compares with Outlook's?
Outlook's Contact List and the information I keep there (every phone call by date, purpose, and outcome) is invaluable.

jro11 said:

No. It's OK to have more than one PC logged into separate instances of Outlook. But just to make sure I'll close Outlook (the one that needs to extend over two screens to view all the columns!) on my Win10 desktop --and try the post #48 routine again...i

Click to expand...

Nope. I closed Outlook on the W10 desktop and the results were the same on Computer3

I don't use Outlook, but I do have a gmail account using Thunderbird. On "Connection security" it is set for SSL/TLS and on the "Authentication Method" I have to pick "OAuth2". I think this is something to do with having to have 2-Step Verification enabled. Less secure app access

Thunderbird only recently (I mean sometime in the last year or so) added support for Googles authentication changes. I don't know if this is your problem. I would have thought Outlook was compliant with their authentication by now.

thecaretaker said:

Thunderbird only recently (I mean sometime in the last year or so) added support for Googles authentication changes. I don't know if this is your problem. I would have thought Outlook was compliant with their authentication by now.

Click to expand...

Good point. Another problem going on (in the background--my whole life's in the background, with this problem) is that my companion email address (I use it only less slightly than my main email address.) is that Google accepts my password on it but insists on having to "verify it". I went so far as to say I forgot my password and changed it, only to have Google confirm that I had done this; still insist on verification; and then prompt me for (the equivalent of) a third method of verification--like everyone has more than one cellphone number??????--before it would grant me access.

Odd thing is that I can get my gmail from this companion email but can't go into my account preferences/password because to do so requires I enter my password again and I enter the whole password-dilemma quandry again!!

Does anyone know how to contact Google for this kind of thing--i.e., email verification problems?

Oh and can you tell me anything about T-bird's Contact List?

Thunderbird has an address book and only collects the email addresses you use.

EDIT: It does store:
Web Sites
Addresses
Phone Numbers
Time Zone
Instant Messaging

Just I've never used the other options.

jro11 said:

Yes! Excellent point.

No. The password is the password I associate with MY email account. The only time the 16 character code is used is (typically) by tech support people.

No. It's OK to have more than one PC logged into separate instances of Outlook. But just to make sure I'll close Outlook (the one that needs to extend over two screens to view all the columns!) on my Win10 desktop --and try the post #48 routine again...it takes less time when I'm not copying/pasting every stage!

Click to expand...

If you're not using the Gmail generated app password, then it will NOT work.

antspants said:

Jro, I would strongly suggest not testing this stuff out on your wifes account. I would be making a disposable email address.

Code:

idontneedthisemail@gmail.com

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Good idea (for email name). Though I think Google would flag it as the same as 3-million other entries.

Google explains on one of the links on page I linked to in my post:

Create & use app passwords​

Important: To create an app password, you need 2-Step Verification on your Google Account.

If you use 2-Step-Verification and get a "password incorrect" error when you sign in, you can try to use an app password.

1. Go to your Google Account.
2. Select Security.
3. Under "Signing in to Google," select 2-Step Verification.
4. At the bottom of the page, select App passwords.
5. Enter a name that helps you remember where you’ll use the app password.
6. Select Generate.
7. To enter the app password, follow the instructions on your screen. The app password is the 16-character code that generates on your device.
8. Select Done.

If you’ve set up 2-Step Verification but can’t find the option to add an app password, it might be because:

• Your Google Account has 2-Step Verification set up only for security keys.
• You’re logged into a work, school, or another organization account.
• Your Google Account has Advanced Protection.

Tip: Usually, you’ll need to enter an app password once per app or device.