Deleting an account and trying to reenter it for a password problem is a waste of time and will cause more issues than it will solve since it will solve nothing.

The Help articles are based on you using the Menu Bar to get there. The Menu bar is hidden in newer versions. Pressing the alt key makes it appear.

The help articles tell you to go to Options and Options is under the main menu when using the Appmenu button although no one ever seems to notice it is there. Click the AppMenu button. Hover over Options. Click Options-Security-Passwords-Saved passwords. Click Show passwords to see what is there.

All that said it is more than likely that since you are using gmail you have Normal Password in the server settings and do not have Less Secure Apps turned on at the gmail site. If using POP email with gmail this is your only option.

If Using IMAP you can change your Authentication Method from Normal Password to Oauth2 for both the IMAP and the SMTP servers in server settings.

This doesn't help as hitting the "Alt" key does open a menu but it has no "tools" or "options". Going to the "hamburger" and hovering over "options" yields nothing that you suggest should be there (see photo attached). You are correct that "Normal Password" is selected. Others are available but not the ones that you suggest for IMAP (see photo #2). What should I do to return Thunderbird to a functioning app?

Click Options-Security-Passwords-Saved passwords.

To expand that into full English, I assume you are looking for something that has Options-Security-Passwords-Saved passwords on it.

Click options Then Click security Then click Passwords Then Click the saved passwords button.

Now Authentication method of oAuth is ONLY available for IMAP, not for POP mail accounts. Why? I have no idea. You would have to ask google. This oAth and less secure apps caper is their brainwave.

So go to this page https://myaccount.google.com/lesssecureapps?pli=1

If less secure apps is off turn it on, and ignore all further pleadings from Google to turn it off. I get an email from them basically monthly. They really can not lie straight in bed on this subject. Not using a password might be slightly more secure, but as they do not offer anything else for PP I am getting mightily unsettled by the way they are pushing to break mail clients and leave that lovely monetized mail on their server. I used to be a Google fanboy, I was a Microsoft one before that. Now I trust neither. Although they both still rate higher than Apple.

Did you look at the photos that I attached? The "Thunderbird-Menu.jpg) shows clearly that there is no "security" tab under the "options". I can not get to "security", "passwords" etc.

The instructions I gave say click the AppMenu button. Hover over Options and then click Options. Your image shows you did half of that.

Also clicking the alt key in any window using the Windows operating system brings up the menu bar with File-Edit-View and yes Tools.

GuestAd said

Did you look at the photos that I attached? The "Thunderbird-Menu.jpg) shows clearly that there is no "security" tab under the "options". I can not get to "security", "passwords" etc.

Yes I did. Did you read what I said when I paraphrased Airmail? Click options Then Click security Then click Passwords Then Click the saved passwords button.

How about clicking options.

Matt, Duhhh...I thought that was a "head" for the drop down......I got the screen....thanks. So, I got the password, turned on the "less secure" and this is what I was returned...yet again.

Airmail said

Also clicking the alt key in any window using the Windows operating system brings up the menu bar with File-Edit-View and yes Tools.

Sorry...I thought that the second "options" was a head. Got the screen, got the password, turned on the "lesser" option in Google and I still can't get in. See photo. Your help is apprecieated.

next try going here https://myaccount.google.com/permissions?utm_source=google-account&utm_medium=web

Check you have not denied Thunderbird access to your account.

Then here to see if you have blocked the device. https://myaccount.google.com/device-activity?utm_source=google-account&utm_medium=web

Thanks for your help. I did finally get everything working.

I do have another issue. I have a client issue were where two out of five people can not send me attachments. I can not find a place to look to see if they are somehow blocked. I do get a winmail.dat attachment though.

Tell the sender using a Microsoft product to learn how to make it compatible with the rest of the world. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/278061/email-received-from-a-sender-using-outlook-includes-a-winmail-dat-atta

Thank you. I have forwarded this to them for implementation