Can't sign in to email account

[Jonzjob]

I have recently got a small ~ symbol in a circle appeared alongside my 'btinternet account. Click on it and I'm told "Can't connect to the account btinternet" and it askes for the password. So I went to "Passwords" application and found it, typed it in and get the reply " unable to verify account name or password". The account name is correct and the password is the one in 'Passwords'.

I have also clicked on the '~ / circle' symbol and then on the 'Passwords button that come up, selected the correct account and get the same result
So, now I have no idea what to try next? I get the same on both our iMac M1 and our MabBook Air M2. Both running OS 15.5. My smartass android phone shows the incoming emails, no problems, but not on either of the macs. I have never used my phone for anything but pone calls and the occasional photos and wouldn't know how to get on line on it and I don't want to learn.

So, HELP please!

 

[IWT]

I've had this quite a lot recently.

Here are some options to try:

1. Quit email. Wait a minute or so and re-open.

2. Shut down the Mac. Leave for a few minutes, then reboot.

3. Probably unlikely in your case; BUT, if you have recently used a VPN, that can confuse the email app because you've changed your location - (it certainly happens to me sometimes and I just Close Out of email then re-open email).

4. Do you have "Private Relay" and/or "Hide My Email" turned ON? Very rarely, in my case anyway, this can cause a temporary loss of email signal & can't connect to BT Account.

5. If it comes to inputing your Password - bear in mind there are 3 places where the PW has to be entered. In this last resort case, here's what you need to do:

In Mail; Click on Apple Icon . Choose "Settings". Click on "Account Information". Now Click on your BT Mail account. Now Click on "Server Settings"

You'll see something like this:



You need to input your PW where it says "Password" for Incoming Mail Server - AND under Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP).


The "hidden" third place: Under Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) you will see, as a above, "Account". To the right of that, click on the double arrowheads and from the dropdown Click On "Edit SMTP Server List".

Now you will see your something like this:



Here is the THIRD Password Input required. Leave everything else alone. When done Click on OK. This will take you back to the Picture shown above.
Now that all three PWs are in Click on "Save"

I stress the need to Iput the PW 3 times BEFORE you choose "Save".

I seriously hope you won't need to go this far and that my previous suggestions solve the problem. It's a ***** of an exercise to go through all these stages.

Good luck. Please post back.

Ian

 

[Jonzjob]

Thank you for all the gen Ian. I have so far tried 1. & 2. to no change. I don't have a VPN or a Private Relay or Hide my email as far as I know.

Before I go any further and really screw things up. This is happening on both our iMac and McBook. the only common thing between the 2 is the router. I have had a look at that and I can't see anything that could possibly cause the problem.

My main problem at the moment is that I am part way trough trying to set up a Men's Shed here in Malmesbury and most of the info I should be getting is on that email address and I haven't had any mail on there since the 6th, 2 days ago.

 

[IWT]

Hi John

Sorry to hear that the simpler things have failed.

The fact that the problem affects more than one Device, strongly suggests to me that it is a BT Password problem.

I therefore suggest you bite the bullet and put in the correct Passwords (as illustrated above) on ONE of your Devices to begin with. It's "tough" but I've done my best to guid you through the process.

Assuming you insert all the PW in all 3 locations (as shown) and then Click Save - it should work - AND, if your lucky, you may find that the other Mac Device starts to work as well. I've found that happened with me on a few occasions.

If not, then do the same with the other Mac.

All the best, friend.

Ian

 

[ferrarr]

Did you try the "change password" option yet, this way you get the correct password.

 

[Jonzjob]

I'll answer Bob 1st, it's shorter. Yes Bob, but no joy there mate.

There's no reason to be apologetic Ian and I just thank you for your efforts mate. I have now been through all of the steps you laid out to no avail. I used the Passwords option to put the correct PW in to both the Incoming & Outgoing PW boxes, then I went to 'Accounts' and entered the PW, to the correct address, and then pressed 'Save' and each time the 'Outgoing' PW reverted from the long line of dots to a shorter line of dots which indicates the previous PW. This happened several times, I lost count!



Would there be any point in deleting the account and re doing it? And if so will any incoming mail find the replacement. As I said above, I'm trying to set up the Men's Shed here and although I have set up another address for it there's still a lot of people who don't yet know to use it. Give me a hammer and I'll fix it, but this lot

 

[Jimmysb]

Have you tried going directly to the webmail site to ensure that there isn't an issue on the site.

Also looking at the screenshot, it looks like your incoming and outgoing passwords are different. You outgoing mail is normally SMTP.btinternet.com, not sure you incoming is correct either.

 

[Jimmysb]

Just checked BT, they may just be correct:

 

[Jonzjob]

Hi Jim. As I said above, the 2 PWs are different and the Outgoing one was corrected several times and is correct in the 'Passwords' application. But as soon as I click on 'Save' that Outgoing PW changes to a shorter line of 'dots'.

Sorry, but I'm as thick as a brick and have no idea how to get to the webmail site, or even what it is. My 18 years with IBM was strictly as a mainframe hardware engineer and I left the rest to the 'softies'. I didn't like being confused by it. I'm sorry if that came over a bit short, it isn't meant to, but I have problems with my eyes at the moment and it's getting me down.

 

[IWT]

Well Jon; I don't understand why it automatically changes the Outgoing PW as you describe and as you have shown.

I'm sorry I can't offer a diagnosis never mind a "treatment".

You told us that you have 2 Macs and the problem is with both. Have you the energy to try inputting the correct PW into the other Mac?

The only other option, which can be tricky, is to go to BT website, find your account and input from there.

I wish I could help you more.

Ian

 

[Jonzjob]

Once again I found that the BT site is about a friendly as a cornered rat! But after changing my PW for it yet again I managed to get in there.

I have now changed the BT PW on the BT site.

Back in to the btinternet Mail account and through the hoops to enter the new PW in both there and the Passwords application.

Then back to Mail and click on the ~ symbol against the btinternet address and put the new PW in to the 'Can't connect' window that comes up and click on OK

After 'wizzy-wizzy-werrr-werrr (technical description) symbol for several seconds it tells me that it is 'Unable to verify name or password'. I tried entering the PW both manually and by the 'Password' application. Same result.

So now I will phone the dreaded 150, BT line, and see if they can help.

 

[Jonzjob]

Just off of the 150 BT phone line and after about 2 hours it is still no further forward.

The BT bloke talked me through the full set up procedure both on Mac Mail and on the BT web site with no result. Then we went through deleting the account and re adding it. The Btinternet header stayed but is totally inactive. The account will not re add. It gets to the stage of asking for the email address and the password, then after a couple of minutes think about it tels me that it can't verify the address!

We went back to the BT site and after a struggle managed to get signed on to the btinternet email account on there and all of the outstanding btinternet emails downloaded to there, so they are safe!

Next we tried to add the bt account via WIFI tethering through my phone. The tethering worked but the add of the account failed again still saying that the account couldn't be verified. And that is where I am at the moment, but at least I can get to me bt emails.

What I can't understand it that as far as I know 1. I haven't changed anything on the account and 2. my wife's bt account is operating fine. Is there any way that I can compare the accounts side by side please?

 

[ferrarr]

Is there any way that I can compare the accounts side by side please?

You could have your wife sign in on either device, then you sign in on the other device.

It really does sound like some networking issue. I would suggest you restart all devices, connected to your home network.. Turn off everything on the network. Then after a minute, then turn them back on, starting with the modem, then router, etc. all the way to the Macs.

 

[Jonzjob]

That sounds good Bob, but I won't be able to do that just now. Probably tomorrow afternoon.

But I have just noticed that the phone in now asking " Correct credentials needed'. That happened after it was connected to the home wifi hotspot.

 

[ferrarr]

I'm wondering if someone inadvertently adjusted a network setting somewhere, like for streaming out of market sports.