iMac Mail keeps on asking for password???

[iozziie]

Hi guys,

On my iMac the mail app keeps on jumping up and asking for my email address passwords every 5 - 10 mins. Has anyone else had the same problem? anyone have a solution because it can be really annoying.

iozzie

 

[munkery]

Hi guys,

On my iMac the mail app keeps on jumping up and asking for my email address passwords every 5 - 10 mins. Has anyone else had the same problem? anyone have a solution because it can be really annoying.

iozzie

Are the keychain entries for Mail stored in your Login keychain?

If yes, is your Login keychain your default keychain? Do you have your Login keychain set to remain unlocked?

The behaviour you are noticing will occur if your Mail keychain entries are not in your login keychain or your login keychain is not set to remain unlocked.

 

[iozziie]

Are the keychain entries for Mail stored in your Login keychain?

If yes, is your Login keychain your default keychain? Do you have your Login keychain set to remain unlocked?

The behaviour you are noticing will occur if your Mail keychain entries are not in your login keychain or your login keychain is not set to remain unlocked.

i dont know, i'm new at this. Can you please explain how to do/ check it?

 

[munkery]

i dont know, i'm new at this. Can you please explain how to do/ check it?

In the Utilities folder under Applications, launch the app called "Keychain Access."

Check to see if entries for your email account in the keychain called "Login."

Check the preferences for "Keychain Access" from the apps drop down menu beside the in the upper left corner. I believe the settings for the Login keychain are on the second tab of preferences.

 

[iozziie]

In the Utilities folder under Applications, launch the app called "Keychain Access."

Check to see if entries for your email account in the keychain called "Login."

Check the preferences for "Keychain Access" from the apps drop down menu beside the in the upper left corner. I believe the settings for the Login keychain are on the second tab of preferences.

Both the "set login keychain as default" and "keep login keychain unlocked" boxes are ticked. What should i do?

 

[munkery]

Both the "set login keychain as default" and "keep login keychain unlocked" boxes are ticked. What should i do?

That's good, that's how those setting are by default.

What about the mail entries?

What keychains do you have? Login & System?

 

[iozziie]

That's good, that's how those setting are by default.

What about the mail entries?

What keychains do you have? Login & System?

The system has my wireless/airport entries in it....

The login has entries of alot of apps... like my internet passwords for mail, mobileme, skype etc. My mail entries are repeated several times.

 

[munkery]

In the preferences for Mail, are all of the password fields for your account filled in with the password for the email account?

There should be two places for your password. One for incoming (IMAP or POP) and outgoing (SMTP).

 

[munkery]

The system has my wireless/airport entries in it....

The login has entries of alot of apps... like my internet passwords for mail, mobileme, skype etc. My mail entries are repeated several times.

Do you have more than one email account in use with Mail?

You should have one keychain entry for IMAP/POP and one for SMTP linked to each email account used in mail.

 

[iozziie]

In the preferences for Mail, are all of the password fields for your account filled in with the password for the email account?

There should be two places for your password. One for incoming (IMAP or POP) and outgoing (SMTP).

I have 3 email accounts in mail. 2 x hotmail and 1 x mobileme.

I'm only getting asked for passwords by the hotmail accounts.

I have passwords on all accounts incoming and outgoing. What next?

 

[munkery]

I have 3 email accounts in mail. 2 x hotmail and 1 x mobileme.

I'm only getting asked for passwords by the hotmail accounts.

I have passwords on all accounts incoming and outgoing. What next?

Does each account have two keychain entries?

I know Hotmail uses encrypted login, do you have SSL checked in your Mail preferences for those accounts? I am not sure if this matters for Hotmail as I do not use it with Mail.

 

[iozziie]

I have just deleted the duplicated entries so i dont know if that will make the difference.

 

[munkery]

I have just deleted the duplicated entries so i dont know if that will make the difference.

It will only make a difference if the remaining entries have the correct passwords. I would close down Mail and delete the remaining entries. Then when you restart Mail it will prompt to create new keychain entries. Make sure the passwords entered in the Mail preferences for the accounts are correct. I doubt this is the problem but it is worth a try.

 

[iozziie]

Does each account have two keychain entries?

I know Hotmail uses encrypted login, do you have SSL checked in your Mail preferences for those accounts? I am not sure if this matters for Hotmail as I do not use it with Mail.

Yes, each account has 3 entries one for outgoing and one for incoming but there were duplicates for them so i have just deleted them. So i now have 2 entries for each account one for incoming and one for outgoing. The SSL is check on both accounts.

 

[iozziie]

It will only make a difference if the remaining entries have the correct passwords. I would close down Mail and delete the remaining entries. Then when you restart Mail it will prompt to create new keychain entries. Make sure the passwords entered in the Mail preferences for the accounts are correct. I doubt this is the problem but it is worth a try.

Thats fine, i have done that maybe it will work now. lets see. Thanks for your help.