Have you logged onto webmail gmail business account via browser and selected to enable IMAP forwarding?

• https://support.google.com/mail/troubleshooter/1668960?rd=1#ts=1665018,1665141
• https://support.google.com/a/answer/105694?hl=en

IMAP google apps: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/77654?hl=en

note: User Name: Google Apps users, please enter username@your_domain.com Email address: Google Apps users, = username@your_domain.com

You may need to set up 2 step verification (for use with phones) and then create an 'Application specific password' to use in Thunderbird.

• https://support.google.com/a/answer/175197?hl=en
• https://support.google.com/mail/answer/1173270?hl=en&ref_topic=3407354

Thank you for the advice. I had already logged onto webmail gmail business account via browser and had selected to enable IMAP forwarding. Double checked this.

I also tried to follow the instructions from Mozilla which was to "Type your name in the Your Name box, your gmail email address in the Email address box and your gmail password in the password box - to no avail.

I also tried your note above and put my email as username but that didn't work either.

I've followed this and get stuck at Step 10 when it fails and I get the error message that configuration could not be verified.

Forums suggest that Google says Thunderbird is not safe and blocks less secure apps. Less secure Apps is not available for gmail business so that won't help either.

This forum is interesting.....I'm at a loss.... http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=2852231

Also, just tried the 2-step verification. Says the admin hasn't allowed it...I'm the admin......

I'm changing email hosts and wondering if that has anything to do with it because a company is charging me to host thunderbird emails and I havent told them I'm migrating away yet = sorry for my obvious lack of knowledge in this area. thanks for your help

I suspect that other regulars here, like me, wince at phrases such as "thunderbird emails" and "thunderbird account".

We sort of know what you mean, but often it signals some confusion in the mind of the poster. And that doesn't usually augur well for a smooth discussion. ;-)

Thunderbird doesn't offer or provide email accounts, so I take it you have an arrangement for your business's email service that you operate via Thunderbird. It may help if you were to tell us who provided your account.

And now, are you setting up afresh with a new email address, or are you attempting or intending to transfer the working email address/account from one provider to another?

Here at my place of work I use a business gmail account. (Well, I think that's what it is; it is hosted by gmail, but uses our own domain, and it's very handy to give visitors and subcontractors temporary email accounts whilst they're here, given that we have a finite (i.e. fixed and limited) number of licences on the works Exchange server.)

The Gmail account is useful as a fallback if/when our own internally run server falls over. And it's a useful resource, in the cloud, so to speak, for stuff that I might like to look at when away from the company LAN.

But it was set up long ago enough that I can't remember any details about it. I do recall needing to acquire a temporary passkey to "authenticate" it in Thunderbird.

Bottom line: if what I am using is a gmail business account, then it can and ought to work in Thunderbird; the main hurdle is the two-step authentication process. It's possible that google have "improved" it (read: fubar) but we are still adding users to it here, though, admittedly, most will be using Outlook and a few odd souls seem to actually like the web interface.