Mail and Google's OAuth 2.0 policy

I changed my Google password for security reasons but when I try to update my email account password in Mail on my iMac, I get an Error 400:invalid_request message saying Mail (my version is 11.5) does not comply with Google's OAuth 2.0 policy - so won't let me update my password and take my Mail account online.

Any advice on how to get round this?

My iMac is an old 2009 version, using High Sierra, 10.13.6


thanks

iMac, macOS 10.12

Posted on Mar 8, 2023 6:08 AM

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Question marked as Best answer

This might be fine if your iMac is a within a certain age but with a mid-2010 or 2011 iMac, running High Sierra 10.13.6 is as high as Apple will allow the OS to go.

I get exactly the same problem as reported above - all my Gmail accounts within the Mail app are suddenly non-operational because I changed the password as part of a security review (prompted by Google) and from this point I have been unable to receive mail to my Gmail account using the Mail app on my iMac. The password field does not appear on the Details screen within the Internet Accounts part of Systems Preferences - I get the following:

You can't sign in to this app because it doesn't comply with Google's OAuth 2.0 policy for keeping apps secure.

You can let the app developer know that this app doesn't comply with one or more Google validation rules.

So I am letting the app developer know so that Mail can be updated to cope with it...and asking for this upgrade will be available to users of Mail on High Sierra. Currently I am running Mail v 11.5 (2018).

The only workaround I can use on the iMac at the moment is webmail.

Posted on Apr 10, 2023 2:19 PM

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53 replies

Sep 11, 2023 2:13 AM in response to RobInBrighton

You need to change the way you authenticate on Google. For this:

  • go on your Google Account -> Security -> 2-factor authentication -> Application passwords
  • create a password for Mail on your Mac
  • on your Mac, in the Internet Accounts settings , remove the Google account that is failing (i.e. the one that shows with a Google icon)
  • create a new account that is not using the Google conduit (last option in the list which reads something like "Create another account"), enter your Google email address and the application password created in the previous step
  • you're set!


Mail and Google's OAuth 2.0 policy

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