This forum is the only medium, but if you describe your situation, someone here can probably assist. Thank you.

I've had this email for years, and only recently have I had a request to send a password. I've never had a password for this email. If I can get this repaired, I will have no problem sending in a donation.

First, this is a peer support forum. We help people whether they donate or not, so no need propose this contract. Support is free. We do not work as you imply. Second, if you are being prompted for a password for an account that had not previously requested one, it may be that your email provider has made some security policy updates, such as OAUTH2, two-step authentication, or others, and your password needs to be updated. Whatever message you receive is from Thunderbird, but only as a messenger. Thunderbird sends your requests to the server, either for receiving or for sending, and returns back the message from the server. If you need to see what password is stored by Thunderbird, you can click settings>security&privacy, then click 'saved passwords' and then click 'show passwords.' Third, there is the possibility that whatever you are experiencing may be something that others who subscribe to your email provider are also experiencing. If interested, you might consider posting a screenshot of your incoming server settings for review. Thank you.

Thank you very much for your attempt. I tried to retrieve my past password without success. I have to admit that I'm at a loss. I have no idea what happened nor how to "fix" it. Sorry for all the questions, and taking your time. I'm just very frustrated, and at a loss. Thank you. Steven

The first thing is exactly what error message do you see when the password is requested? Second what mail provider? We see trends here of people form this provider or that having common issues, but unless we know who it is we can't chip in that bit of information. Then there is the question of antivirus programs. Many of them react badly to the arrival of a new version of Thunderbird and at times block access to the internet for days at a time for the new version while they wait for a note from home about the new version not being an "alien" that needs to be removed.

I would suggest you try the following and see if your get an better result; But note that a wired internet connection is required for the operating safe mode as WiFi is not loaded in that operating mode.

Please also provide results for the following test on your system

• Does Thunderbird work as expected in Thunderbird troubleshooting mode?
• Does Thunderbird work as expected with your OS started in safe mode with Networking. Instructions for each operating system: Windows 10/11, Windows 8, Windows 7, OSX

One of the things I think needs to be made clear is that email almost invariably requires a password. Thunderbird stores and uses the password you give it, until it does not work. This gives many people the impression that no password is used, but it is there in the background all along. If you access your email via a web browser or phone app, it to will be recording and saving the password.

See https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/password-manager-remember-delete-change-tb

- Do contact your email provider for assistance. And, as @Matt mentioned, see if you can access via browser. If so, the password can be retrieved from browser. Also, if you have any backups of the profile, the password can be retrieved from there.