Mail can't sign in to gmail account
Today I got a message telling me I needed to enter my password for my gmail account in Mail. No reason given, and I hadn't done anything unusual to deserve it. So I go into Internet Accounts and enter my known good password, but get the message that either the account or password is incorrect (why it can't tell me which never ceases to mystify me!). In the meantime, I can neither receive nor send emails.
My gmail service is POP, and is of the form 'recent:myname@gmail.com'. This allows emails to actually download to both my iMac and iPad, to be dealt with separately (I use the iMac, and my wife uses the iPad). This has worked well for many years. I do not want to switch to IMAP, since this will lead to confusion over who is dealing with which email, and items will either never get deleted or one person will prematurely delete an email intended for the other.
I can get into my email via Google's email server OK. I have also followed Google's steps to reset my password and got a 'Success' message. Still can't get Mail to connect to gmail.
Reading earlier posts, it looks likely that Google's recent security change is at the bottom of this. It's also looking possible that 2-factor authentication might be necessary, but I don't see how this would work. And I keep seeing 'Sign in with Google' suggestions, which I can't see how they would work with Mail.
So I am a little lost on how to proceed. Can anyone suggest a way forward that allows me to get to my gmail, and
- Doesn't require password entry every time I start up the Mail app (iMac or iPad)
- Allows me to continue using the POP protocol
- Doesn't get me involved in incessant 2-factor authentication activities
- Doesn't delete all the saved emails I have accumulated over the years (still stored on my computer via Mail).
Thanks for any suggestions.
Paul.
iMac 24″, 12.4