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How to remove incorrect cached password.

  • 7 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 28 views
  • Last reply by christ1

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I use IMAP to connect to my university e-mail account. I changed the password and was able to login with TB. However, after a few hours, TB told me that the credentials were invalid.

I called the University and they told me that my account had been locked. The reason was that I had made a number of attempts to login with the incorrect password. Apparently, TB is automatically trying to use the old password to login so the account eventually gets locked.

The IT person said that if I was using Windows he would delete the cached password in "Credential Manager". I'm using Ubuntu so he didn't know what to do.

I have searched for a old cached password with no success. Preferences / Saved Passwords shows the correct changed password. Tools / Clear Recent History doesn't resolve the problem.

Is there a way to eradicate the old password so that TB doesn't try to login with it? Thanks.

I use IMAP to connect to my university e-mail account. I changed the password and was able to login with TB. However, after a few hours, TB told me that the credentials were invalid. I called the University and they told me that my account had been locked. The reason was that I had made a number of attempts to login with the incorrect password. Apparently, TB is automatically trying to use the old password to login so the account eventually gets locked. The IT person said that if I was using Windows he would delete the cached password in "Credential Manager". I'm using Ubuntu so he didn't know what to do. I have searched for a old cached password with no success. Preferences / Saved Passwords shows the correct changed password. Tools / Clear Recent History doesn't resolve the problem. Is there a way to eradicate the old password so that TB doesn't try to login with it? Thanks.

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When your problem is fixed, can you mark the topic as 'Solved' please? Thank you.

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All Replies (7)

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Preferences / Saved Passwords shows the correct changed password.

You can try to delete the password Thunderbird has remembered for your account. You'll then be prompted for the password the next time it is needed.

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I've done this many times. The problem is that TB is submitting two passwords. The correct one in "Saved Passwords" and the old incorrect one which is stored somewhere ... no-one knows where.

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The problem is that TB is submitting two passwords.

How did you determine that?

The correct one in "Saved Passwords" and the old incorrect one which is stored somewhere ... no-one knows where.

There is no place for Thunderbird to store passwords other than in "Saved Passwords".

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Thanks for your reply. I determined this (and I could well be wrong) based on what the IT person told me he thought was the case. Also, it makes sense. I can login once I have changed the password for a while until it fails once I am locked out. And I am locked out, according to the IT person, because TB is also submitting an incorrect password. IOW: TB is sending two passwords to the server.

What is the file that contains the passwords in "Saved Passwords". The info must be stored somewhere on the hard drive.

I am not disputing your point that my assumption may be incorrect. It might be. But this is an annoying situation and I can only go with what the IT person told me and supplement it with any evidence I have.

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Thunderbird wouldn't try to access the account again and again with the wrong password. It would prompt you to provide a password if the one Thunderbird has remembered failed. There may be another device or email client accessing the account with the wrong password and causing it to be locked.

And I am locked out, according to the IT person, because TB is also submitting an incorrect password.

If that's really the case you haven't deleted the old one Thunderbird has remembered.

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You were 100% correct. I hadn't seen, but in "Saved Passwords", I also had a SMTP entry and that had an incorrect password. It was the SMTP that kept getting my account locked.

Many thanks for your suggestion.

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Chosen Solution

When your problem is fixed, can you mark the topic as 'Solved' please? Thank you.