Thunderbird Attempts Automatic Login Before Prompting for Password, Despite All Auto-Check Settings Being Disabled

[redant]

My corporate email account uses POP3 with OTP (One-Time Password) authentication. Since the password changes every time, I have configured my Thunderbird account to not save the password. To prevent automatic login attempts, I have also disabled the following settings: "Check for new messages at startup" "Check for new messages every [X] minutes" Problem: However, when I manually click the "Get Messages" button, Thunderbird often attempts to log into the server before it prompts me for the new password. It uses a previous or cached password (or an empty one), which fails. This results in multiple error dialogs stating: "Login to server [server name] for user [username] failed," appearing before I ever have a chance to enter the current OTP. Expected Behavior: When all automatic checks are disabled and the password is not saved, Thunderbird should never attempt to log in automatically. A manual "Get Messages" action should immediately present the password prompt without first trying and failing with old credentials. This issue interrupts the workflow and requires closing multiple error dialogs before I can actually retrieve my email.

[Jon]

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[siffemcon]

You have configured Thunderbird account to not save the password, but did you look in the PW manager to make sure one's not there?

[redant]

Yes, I have confirmed that the Password Manager does not store any password for this email account.

[siffemcon]

I think it's just using an empty PW, but try this anyway.

See if clearing cache gets rid of it:

- press Ctrl-Shift-Delete (Mac: Cmd-Shift-Delete)

- set 'Time range...' to 'Everything'

- untick all items except 'Cache'

- clear, then restart TB

If that didn't work, this is the only other thing I can think of but it will remove all stored ID/PWs.

Open your TB profile:

- TB menu > Help > Troubleshooting Information

- click the Application Basics > Profile Folder 'Open Folder' button

- close TB and rename the key3.db and cert8.db files 

- restart TB