Mac OS Mail Unable to verify account name and password

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Level 1

9 points

Mac OS Mail Unable to verify account name and password

I tried to use an earlier answer to this problem:

"In the Mail app menu, go to Window > Connection Doctor. For each item that has a red dot next to it (there should be two for each email account, one for SMTP and one for IMAP/POP), double-click it and enter the password in the relevant box. If this doesn't resolve the issue, reply with the text in the "Details" column of Connection Doctor as this will help to give an idea of the specific problem you are experiencing."

But when I get to the Connection Doctor window and double-click the bad account (or ANY accounts) there is no field into which to put the password! The Accounts window has the Server Settings tab chosen and "Outgoing Mail Accounts" is correct. And there is nothing below that. What is wrong, please?

BTW, this one account became unreachable suddenly, with no understandable cause. It just stopped receiving mail and notifications popped up.

OBS, MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2010), macOS Sierra (10.12.6)

Posted on Aug 23, 2018 12:10 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Eric Root

Level 10

684,039 points

Aug 24, 2018 3:25 PM in response to howlevmuso

Before doing anything, try going to the AOL web site, access your account, and turn 2 Step Verification off to see if that helps.

To save your emails, go to Mail/Mailbox/New Mailbox and create an On My Mac mailbox. Copy the emails you want to save to the new mailbox. Or go to Mail/Mailbox/Export Mailbox.

The account should set up automatically if you select AOL when adding back the account.

AOL Settings

AOL to Mail

AOL to Mail 2

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Answer 2

Eric Root

Level 10

684,039 points

Aug 24, 2018 3:27 PM in response to howlevmuso

Have you tried deleting the account and then adding it back?

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Answer 3

howlevmuso Author

Level 1

9 points

Aug 23, 2018 8:46 PM in response to Eric Root

I have not, but I will after learning this:

How do I delete and re-add an account without losing the email attached to it? What settings do I have to make note of and how do I find them? I mention that it is an AOL account and I think it has 2-step verification.

Also I'm on Sierra (10.12.6) (not El Capitan) with Mail 10.3. FWIW, I can receive the email on my iPhone and the AOL website. It's only the laptop where it suddenly stopped working. And my other AOL account has continued working on both devices.

Thanks.

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Answer 4

howlevmuso Author

Level 1

9 points

Aug 24, 2018 3:27 PM in response to Eric Root

Thanks. After doing this I did delete and re-add the AOL account and all worked smoothly. In fact, all the emails automatically appeared in the inbox. The saving of the old mailbox contents was unnecessary. Thanks!

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Answer 5

Eric Root

Level 10

684,039 points

Aug 24, 2018 7:47 PM in response to howlevmuso

You are welcome. The saving of the emails was a backup in case of an oops.

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Mac OS Mail Unable to verify account name and password

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