Q: Mail keeps asking for iCloud password ( iOS 5)

As far as using passwd auth vs Apple Token, this may work until Apple finds out and locks the policy down to one or the other.  If its generating bad tokens that have a life of 6 hours a piece it would be understandable for why I am experiencing issues for this amount of time.  I may do some cert logging on my computer to see if this is what is going on. One malformed token would be a good reason for so much downtime.  I don't have much experience with Apple's token auth other than a standard user, so let me know if I'm going down the wrong path.

I have followed this post all the way from the beginning. Yes, I transitioned from .mac, but all of the hints and suggestions do not work. This is really annoying. Changing passwords everywhere seemed to help, then not.

Changing the "The iCloud IMAP server “p04-imap.mail.me.com” rejected the password for user ....." keeps comimg up. I've tried deselecting that server and then reselecting, everything that's been suggested.

Yeah I keep getting this problem even after I check "use in the keychain" checkbox.

I would like to understand about the "auth vs Apple Token" what that is.

Hi David,

My understanding is, that the authentication to iCloud uses a "token", rather than the previous auth method of authentication. The latter being phased out, but still "accepted". There are many different modes of authentication; MD5-Challenge, Plain Text, Clear Text, Password encrytped (t. various levels). The "token" method utilizes a combination of data methods to authenticate the user.

When your email client (or browser) attempts to login; sending a glorified EHELO to the server, it responds, prompting for further info from your device and software. Simply put, it needs to know that you are who you say you are (which is good). However, a retinal scan on a person with no eyes is futile, as is a voice recognition to a mute. When you think about the number of "valid" devices, and software versions out there attempting to connect, it reveals a matrix of possiblilities that the server(s) have not yet been programmed to fully recognize.

Many have questioned the lack of Apple's forthcommingness (is that a word?) to the issue, but when you think about the security risks involved, it is reassuring that they are erring on the side of caution (to me).

what about for macs?!

I use several MobileMe accounts for work. One primary for all shop-related correspondence. One personal. Today, we upgraded our shop account to iCloud. Three computers (2007 iMac, 2010 MacBook, 2012 iMac) share this account. The upgrade was flawless: Quick, easy, and works on all three computers and three different OS's.

Then came my personal account. Went through exactly the same steps.

1. Upgraded to iCloud online.

2. Used Lion computer to created email account.

3. Went back to Snow Leopard laptop to double check email.....only to get the "re-enter password notice".

Checked online. Found this thread. Tried literally every fix. Changed password (to new, hard to remember iCloud-compatible password). Deleted and reset accounts. The works.

Then, in a fit of frustration, after hours of trying various fixes, I tried logging in with all my ORIGINAL information, using the original password that I had just replaced 90 minutes prior. Lo and behold, my mail worked again!

I kept getting "incorrect password in your MobileMe settings" notices, so I figured I should change it back to the old one, just like the Mail. No go. I was told the password was incorrect. I was told the SAME thing when trying to log in with the new password. Mail fix: 1. Other MobileMe functions:  0.  So I sacrificed calendar syncing for email functionality. All in all, a decent trade.

Went to log in to this discussion to share my solution, and got a notice from Apple that the password is locked for security reasons! Good grief! I did have another Apple ID I could use. But I ain't touchin' nothin'. My Mail works, and that's all I need to know.....

I am trying to do the same thing, but the place that I get stuck at is when I set up my mail account on iPhone 3G I need to copy the method of authentication which is using Apple Token on my macbook lion. this option is not available on the iPhone 3G.  Is this authentication method required by iCloud? Or is this just a fancy way of saying that I established an elaborate password by hitting that key button when first establishing the iCloud account?  I will probably know the answer by the time I hear from anyone.  If not...

Ok, I think that the situation  is that the token is a form of encryption to add one layer of security for your data. It isn't advised but it sounds like sending a password is ok, just not as secure.  But i need the iCloud and never keep any information that could put me at risk anyway on the net.  So I will go with a straight password. 

from Apple: 

Use of Secure Tokens for Authentication
When you access iCloud services using Apple’s built-in apps (for example, Mail, Contacts, and Calendar on iOS 5, and Mail, Address Book, and iCal on OS X Lion), authentication is done using a secure token. Using a secure token eliminates the need to store your iCloud password on devices and computers.

In addition, when creating a new Apple ID to use with iCloud, the password must have at least 8 characters, a number, an uppercase letter, and a lowercase letter. Learn more about creating a secure password here.

Ok, I really got it now! I was getting confused because the Apple ID and .me account have different names, so I assumed that they had different passwords. So when no password was showing in the mail account I went into keychain and found a large complex password.  I thought this was just some secure password that was automatically generated so I copied it and went into the mail account switched off Apple Token and  pasted this keychain password.  I began getting these errors and when I turned the Apple Token authentication back on, it stopped pestering me for a password. So I wrongly assumed that the Apple Token was required, until reading about it, then I was confused.  In a last ditch effort I switched one last time to password authentication and used my Apple ID password.  It worked!  That keychain saved token really through me off...   I can see why it was so difficult to find information about people in a similar bind....  today I walked the long walk on the road less travelled, lost in the iCloud...

since switching to icloud yesterday, under the guidance of tech support (i called tech support because i was concerned that i would have mail transfer problems and they assured me i wouldn't) i am unable to access my mobile me account on my mb pro.

every time i go into mail app i get a password request. if i cancel said request it repeats every 15 seconds making it impossible for me use use other accounts in mail. the only solution i've found is to delete the mobile me account and reinstall it. that solution lasts until i quit mail and then the same problem repeats when i open mail.

worse than this is if i delete the mobile me account and don't reinstall it, it automatically reinstalls itself when i quit and re-open mail. this is a crazy situation and this forum shows it's been going on for months with no interest from apple.

I've just spent hours trying to solve the Problem. Nothing seemed to work. Now it works.

Just set a new password for your iCloud Account/AppleID https://appleid.apple.com

Dont use any special character like !"§%$/( and there you go. Now Problems anymore!

Guess what Suit... maybe some people don't WANT to set a new password every time iCloud decides to behave like it was conceived in Redmond.

You know, I'm thinking more and more this had nothing to do with anything on the user side. I had actually completely forgotten about this thread and this issue, because it just went away a few weeks ago. I did all the things everyone suggested in this thread, and more, and nothing seemed to resolve this issue on either my desktop or iOS devices. Then one day, it just worked, and continues to this day to work without any problems. I can only guess this was a server side AppleID/iCloud problem that Apple resolved and didn't tell anyone about.

I must say "Thank you" to Apple for making me waste a few hours of my life troubleshooting a problem I had no chance of fixing because it was server side. Thanks Apple!