OAuth2 - Passwords not reliably saved.
Having followed the instructions at https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/modern-authentication-methods-now-needed-to-continue-syncing-outlook-email-in-non-microsoft-email-apps-c5d65390-9676-4763-b41f-d7986499a90d to update the security settings on my outlook/hotmail email accounts Thunderbird no longer reliably saves/enters the passwords. The password is saved in settings as that is where I copy it from to enter manually but why is Thunderbird not doing the entry as previously. It is not every log in and not always the same account, but regularly one or the other will come up with "enter your credentials" Also occasionally the credentials screen will flash on screen and then disappear, not necessarily for the account I am using at the time but one of the others. Any help appreciated Thanks Paul
All Replies (2)
Oauth is not a password as such, it is a series of tokens issued by the server that allow access. These are saved in the password manager as oauth:// entries, but they have no functional use to you at all other than to delete them and force a new oauth authentication process asking for your password. So if you rely on the password manager to save you actual password, I suggest you look for a new solution as Thunderbird no longer saves the password you enter into the oauth authentication process as it serves no function beyond the initial authorization.
Thanks, yes I can see the "tokens" now I know what to look for, one for each account in password manager, but why are they sometimes "applied" and other times "ignored". Seems very random. Note it is only the Microsoft accounts and since changing to Oauth that the annoyance has presented, Gmail accounts don't suffer the same. Cheers Paul