Solving Eudora's June 2022 problem with GMail

Double authentication

 

Google in June 2022 increased the security level needed to access its Gmail service, and as a result some Eudora email users can no longer access their accounts that run through Gmail, such as the Telus and Shaw ISPs in Canada. The error message may read similar to this one:

ERR [AUTH] Username and password not accepted.

The error message tells us that Eudora has a problem with authenticating who you are to Gmail, and that the username and password are unacceptable to Google. Google had been warning that this would be occurring, but it is not always easy to understand the implications to changes to the Internet's infrastructure.

To prove to Google who you are, you need to enter into Eudora a password generated by Google just once. Google calls the password it generates an “app password.” It is 16 letters long, and lets Google know that you are giving Eudora permission to access your Gmail account. There are two stages to fixing the problem: first, increase your security level with Google by turning on two-step authentication, and then decrease it.

 

Stage 1: Add Two-Step Authentication to Your Google Account

If you do not already have two-step authentication turned on, or if you don't know whether you have it turned on, then follow these steps:

1. Open your Web browser, and go to https://myaccount.google.com/

2. Enter your Google password, should you be asked for it.

3. On the left side, click Security.

4. Under Signing in to Google, look for 2-step Verification:

• If it is on, then there is a blue check mark
• If it is off, then click 2-step Verification. Google will ask for your password, and then you turn on 2-step verification.

TIP     Two-step authentication means that Google will confirm who you are by asking you in a second way. Most commonly, it will send you a notification on another one of your devices, such as your Android phone. You can choose which device to send the notification to, and whether the notification should be sent only once when accessing your account on a new device, like a friend's computer. I recommend the once-only option. 

With the security level of your Google account increased, Google now allows you to decrease it for Eudora.

 

Stage 2: Obtain a Temporary Google-generated Password

With two-step authentication set up, the second part to getting Eudora working with GMail again is to obtain a one-time password that Google generates. This lets Google know that it is okay for your email software to access your Gmail account. Follow these steps:

1. Staying in Google Account's Security page, click App Passwords

2. You will need to enter your Google password to prove to Google you are who you are.

3. Click Next.

4. In the App passwords page:

a. Under Select App, choose Mail

b. Under Select Device, choose a device, such as Windows Computer

c. Click Generate

5. In the Generated app Password dialog box, an app password appears. Copy it.

     Notice that Google immediately sends you a warning email /and/or message to your phone about the security change made to your account. Click Yes, It Was Me. This is two-factor authentication at work.

6. Start Eudora, and when it asks for a password, enter the one Google generated for you. 

 

Comments

[Jim Kenzie]

Hi Ralph:

This latest post which my genius son in Ottawa discovered makes my earlier one today irrelevant! It is now downloading email from two years ago, several hundred at a time, but I'd rather have it twice than not at all. I assume I need a separate "app-specific" password" for each personality? Also, I gathered from your references to Telus that you were in Canada, which seem to be confirmed. I'm near Toronto!

Thanks again for this amazing blog, and for letting us enjoy Eudora again.

Cheers,

Jim

[Jim Kenzie]

Hi Ralph:

Not quite out of the woods yet! So far I have only got my "main" email address fixed with the "app-specific password" gambit - I have at least one more to go. (I gather I need a separate app-specific password one for each address?) But on that main address, when I click "Check Mail", it starts to download a bunch of messages, typically some 300 to 400 of them. I repeat the process and get another batch. I've gone through about seven iterations so far, but there's no way I get 300 to 400 messages a day, let alone seven times a day! The "sizes" of the relevant mailboxes do increase with each pass, so it seems to be retrieving older messages, presumably duplicates of ones already there. I have spotted some duplicates, but there's a LOT of messages in there, so I'm not 100% certain if those duplicates might have been there before.

The other weird thing is, it does not seem to be retrieving any NEW messages! The "newest" date I have downloaded since this app-specific fix is June 7, which is about when this issue started. Is it trying to download every email message I have ever received? I have sorted each mailbox by date

Your suggestions have been so helpful - so close, and yet still a way to go! Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Cheers,

Jim

[Ralph Grabowski]

I would go directly into your linked GMail account at http://mail.google.com to see what is going on.

[Jim Kenzie]

Hi Ralph:

My Eudora downloads are complete! As mentioned earlier, it would only do 300 - 400 messages at a time, so it took 31 passes through the backlog to get them all. But it looks like I'm back in business again.

And again, thank you.

I also stumbled into some other areas of your blog. You are one busy guy! Keep up the great work.

Cheers,

Jim

[Butch Kemper]

An alternative to the Eudora email program is Pandora which is found at http://www.drivehq.com/web/brana/pandora.htm.

Pandora has a very similar Look and Feel to Eudora, costs $14 for version license, and has an active developer who fixes bug and adds new features. Many of the Eudora shortcomings are fixed including Gmail authentication.

Check it out

Butch