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davodavo
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‎06-07-2022 03:58 PM
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Boxer on Android no longer authenticates to Gmail--SOLVED

I've been using Boxer for a couple of years, but as of today Boxer 22.05.0.1 running on Android 11 won't connect to Gmail POP3.  SMTP still working, but inbound mail just won't accept my credentials.

Logged out/back in to the account using the browser.  Removed/reinstated the account in Boxer.  Rebooted phone.  Nothing works -- error message is "Unable to configure account - username or password is incorrect."

Is this some new threshold of Google security for "less secure apps"?

Work-around?

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davodavo
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‎06-13-2022 02:08 PM
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Ho boy...SOLVED but there's no documentation or advice on this anywhere. 

Due to tightening Gmail security policies, Boxer's way of authenticating POP3 is no longer good enough.  (They evidently haven't implemented Oauth2...).  For IMAP, there's not an issue (it just works), but if you're wedded to POP here's what you do:

  • Leave the account you have in Boxer where it is -- you're just going to need to change the password
  • Fire up a browser and log into Gmail for that account.
  • Click on the "apps" Bento icon, click on the Account icon
  • Click on the Security item in the left nav area
  • Find "2-step Verification" and click on it
  • Go through the menu to turn it on
  • Once done, find the Signing in to Google area
  • Within that box, click on App Passwords
  • Enable it, and generate a specific password for Boxer
  • Copy that 16-character password (you might want to store it in your password vault)
  • Enter that password into the gmail account you're working with in Boxer
  • Click Save and it should just work

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davodavo
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‎06-09-2022 07:53 AM
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Note: this issue applies to POP3 setup only.  If you use IMAP, then everything goes smoothly.
Also note that "Google for business" accounts work fine for POP3 on Gmail, but for some reason the freebie gmail accounts no longer want to do the handshake with Boxer.

It appears that the Gmail "allow less secure apps" mode is the issue -- and evidently all that's needed in Boxer is Oauth 2.0 support.

Anybody know how to enable this on Android, or have a clue as to its availability?

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davodavo
Contributor
Contributor
‎06-13-2022 02:08 PM
Jump to solution

Ho boy...SOLVED but there's no documentation or advice on this anywhere. 

Due to tightening Gmail security policies, Boxer's way of authenticating POP3 is no longer good enough.  (They evidently haven't implemented Oauth2...).  For IMAP, there's not an issue (it just works), but if you're wedded to POP here's what you do:

  • Leave the account you have in Boxer where it is -- you're just going to need to change the password
  • Fire up a browser and log into Gmail for that account.
  • Click on the "apps" Bento icon, click on the Account icon
  • Click on the Security item in the left nav area
  • Find "2-step Verification" and click on it
  • Go through the menu to turn it on
  • Once done, find the Signing in to Google area
  • Within that box, click on App Passwords
  • Enable it, and generate a specific password for Boxer
  • Copy that 16-character password (you might want to store it in your password vault)
  • Enter that password into the gmail account you're working with in Boxer
  • Click Save and it should just work
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