Will I lose all my old emails when I delete my account and then add it back in?
Will I lose all my old emails when I delete my account and then add it back in? AOL Mail says I should do this to let Thunderbird set up the account automatically, with new configuration settings, presumably for increased security.
All Replies (7)
No need to remove the account, just change the authentication method to OAuth2 for the incoming and outgoing (imap.aol.com on 993 or pop.aol.com on 995 and smtp.aol.com on 465), remove the passwords from Saved Passwords in Preferences, accept cookies in Preferences/Privacy & Security, restart TB, enter the account password in the OAuth window when prompted.
Thank you so much for your help! I'll get back to you in the days to come. I first want to try to back up my emails, in case I do something wrong.
Does not work for me. Incoming mail has the option for OAuth2 but outgoing mail does not. If I just change incoming I get an error message but nothing bad happens. Still have all my emails etc. Thanks
I had the same experience as pizzaman1. I'm replying so hopefully I'll be included in any updates.
OAuth2 authentication is only supported for the AOL servers, pop.aol.com, imap.aol.com and smtp.aol.com. If you have a Verizon account through AOL and the outgoing is smtp.verizon.net, you must use an app password in TB and 'normal password' authentication.
This would not work for me either. Using an app password requires reentering it everytime I get or send email. Too tedious. Can I manually change the server from smtp.verizon.net to smtp.aol.com and get my email?
The app password can be stored in Saved Passwords so it doesn't have to be entered repeatedly, but other users have also found OAuth2 authentication works for smtp.verizon.net.