This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

unable to add att.net email account

  • 5 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 119 views
  • Last reply by Stans

more options

I have 3 ATT.net email accounts. They work on android devices and Firefox. 2 have been in use for years on Thunderbird. The third is fairly new and get error message when trying to add to Thunderbird. (Unable to log in at server. Probably wrong configuration, username or password). I know the username and password are correct. The configuration is the default pop3 settings (same as other ATT.net accounts on Thunderbird). What is the hangup?

I have 3 ATT.net email accounts. They work on android devices and Firefox. 2 have been in use for years on Thunderbird. The third is fairly new and get error message when trying to add to Thunderbird. (Unable to log in at server. Probably wrong configuration, username or password). I know the username and password are correct. The configuration is the default pop3 settings (same as other ATT.net accounts on Thunderbird). What is the hangup?

Chosen solution

No, you can't. The Secure Mail Key is automatically generated and linked to your account. You can't and don't need to create your own secure mail key or "app specific password". You should be happy that this is the case, because chances of the exact same secure key getting generated for another account is impossible, but manually creating your own key opens a wide security hole because of tendencies to use the same password or slight variations of the same password on multiple accounts.

Read this answer in context 👍 0

All Replies (5)

more options

Create a "secure mail key" for the new account, then use that in Thunderbird instead of your primary att password. See https://www.att.com/support/article/email-support/KM1240308

Also make sure POP access is enabled for the new account.

more options

Well I am half way there. I now have the account in Thunderbird but must use the secure mail key (difficult lettering). Can I change sign in to use the password that is linked to the att.net account

more options

No Yahoo who are in control here require the use of the "secure mail key"

more options

Do not understand response. I do have the account now and can only access with secure mail key. Want to change to password of my choice. How do I do this?

more options

Chosen Solution

No, you can't. The Secure Mail Key is automatically generated and linked to your account. You can't and don't need to create your own secure mail key or "app specific password". You should be happy that this is the case, because chances of the exact same secure key getting generated for another account is impossible, but manually creating your own key opens a wide security hole because of tendencies to use the same password or slight variations of the same password on multiple accounts.