Gmail requires "access for less secure apps" even with Oauth2
I have two Windows 10 laptops with Thunderbird 38.6.0. I use both for the same gmail account. Several weeks ago, one of them couldn't log in to gmail. To get around the problem, I had to set my entire Google account to "allow access to less secure apps." I eventually discovered that I could disallow access to less secure apps if I changed the security setting in Thunderbird to use Oauth2.
However, now, several weeks later, the same instance of Thunderbird that had trouble previously requires access for less secure apps even though it is set to Oauth2.
Thanks in advance.
Chosen solution
christ1, thank you so much! I got it!
I just needed to change the outgoing security setting to OAuth2. I used this post to help me:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/manual-account-configuration
Read this answer in context 👍 2All Replies (5)
P.S. The gmail account is IMAP.
Modified by mmmmpppp1
Please post your Troubleshooting Information.
At the top right of the Thunderbird window, click the menu button 
, then select Help > Troubleshooting Information.
Press the Copy text to clipboard button and paste the information into your reply.
Thanks, christ1. Here it is:
Application Basics
Name Thunderbird Version 38.6.0 User Agent Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; WOW64; rv:38.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/38.6.0 Profile Folder (Local drive) Application Build ID 20160211132445 Enabled Plugins about:plugins Build Configuration about:buildconfig Memory Use about:memory Mail and News Accounts ID Incoming server Outgoing servers Name Connection security Authentication method Name Connection security Authentication method Default? account1 (imap) imap.googlemail.com:993 SSL OAuth2 smtp.googlemail.com:465 SSL passwordCleartext true Crash Reports Report ID Submitted bp-4f141a46-a11b-4d99-940d-a96ef2151023 10/22/2015 Extensions Name Version Enabled ID Lightning 4.0.6 true {e2fda1a4-762b-4020-b5ad-a41df1933103} Send Later 4.4.4 true sendlater3@kamens.us Signature Switch 1.6.14 true {2ab1b709-ba03-4361-abf9-c50b964ff75d} Important Modified Preferences Name Value accessibility.typeaheadfind.flashBar 0 browser.cache.disk.capacity 358400 browser.cache.disk.smart_size_cached_value 358400 browser.cache.disk.smart_size.first_run false browser.cache.disk.smart_size.use_old_max false extensions.lastAppVersion 38.6.0
gfx.direct3d.last_used_feature_level_idx 0 mail.openMessageBehavior.version 1 mail.winsearch.firstRunDone true mailnews.database.global.datastore.id 5dc9cb63-0a6f-4fe5-a227-4d058205a52 mailnews.database.global.views.conversation.columns {"threadCol":{"visible":true,"ordinal":"1"},"flaggedCol":{"visible":true,"ordinal":"3"},"attachmentCol":{"visible":false… network.cookie.prefsMigrated true network.predictor.cleaned-up true places.database.lastMaintenance 1457893525 places.history.expiration.transient_current_max_pages 103375 plugin.importedState true privacy.cpd.history false privacy.sanitize.timeSpan 0 Graphics Adapter Description Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000 Vendor ID 0x8086 Device ID 0x0166 Adapter RAM Unknown Adapter Drivers igdumdim64 igd10iumd64 igd10iumd64 igdumdim32 igd10iumd32 igd10iumd32 Driver Version 10.18.10.4276 Driver Date 8-17-2015 Direct2D Enabled false DirectWrite Enabled false (10.0.10586.0) ClearType Parameters ClearType parameters not found WebGL Renderer false GPU Accelerated Windows 0 AzureCanvasBackend skia AzureSkiaAccelerated 0 AzureFallbackCanvasBackend cairo AzureContentBackend cairo JavaScript Incremental GC 1 Accessibility Activated 0 Prevent Accessibility 0 Library Versions
Expected minimum version Version in use NSPR 4.10.10 4.10.10 NSS 3.19.2.2 Basic ECC 3.19.2.2 Basic ECC NSS Util 3.19.2.2 3.19.2.2 NSS SSL 3.19.2.2 Basic ECC 3.19.2.2 Basic ECC NSS S/MIME 3.19.2.2 Basic ECC 3.19.2.2 Basic ECC
Modified by mmmmpppp1
christ1! You almost led me to the answer! On the Thunderbird instance without the problem, the outgoing is set to OAuth2. But on the Thunderbird instance that does requires access for insecure applications, the outgoing is NOT set to OAuth2!
How can I fix this?
Chosen Solution
christ1, thank you so much! I got it!
I just needed to change the outgoing security setting to OAuth2. I used this post to help me:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/manual-account-configuration
Modified by mmmmpppp1