How to Create and Use App Passwords in OE Classic and Why You May Need To
PLEASE NOTE: THIS TUTORIAL IS OUTDATED. THE NEWEST VERSIONS OF OE CLASSIC SUPPORT GMAIL OAUTH2. We are leaving this tutorial online because it explains what App Passwords are. Some email providers, like Yahoo/ATT, require you to create App Passwords. ___ Cloudeight 10/7/22.
A Cloudeight Tutorial
Before we get started we want to make sure that everyone with a Gmail account is aware that if for some reason you cannot check your Gmail account(s) in your email program, you can always access your Gmail online by going to https://www.gmail.com/ and logging in with your Gmail address (username) and your account password.
Because Google Gmail now requires a different way to set up email accounts in OE Classic and some other mail programs your Gmail may stop working. Don’t worry. We’re going to show you how to fix that. With the recent security changes that Google made to Gmail, rather than using your normal Google/Gmail password in OE Classic you will need to generate what’s known as an app password and use it in OE Classic instead of your normal Gmail password.
Before we get started with the tutorial, it’s important to note that once generated, the app password can only be used in OE Classic – it does not change your Google account (Gmail) password. Also, if you have more than one Gmail account you’ll need to generate an app password for each Gmail account that you have.
Our App Password Tutorial Begins Here
STEP 1. LOG IN TO YOUR GMAIL ACCOUNT
Log into your Gmail account at https://www.gmail,.com/ and click on your account initial or picture in the top-right corner. Then click on “Manage your Google account”. 
STEP 2. TURN ON 2-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION & CREATE AN APP PASSWORD FOR OE CLASSIC
Once you open your account page you’ll be advised to turn on 2-Factor Authentication. You need to turn this on before you can create an app password. Once you’ve turned on 2-Factor Authentication, Google will send you a special verification code and you’ll be asked if you want them to give you the code via a phone call or text message. If you have a cellphone, choose text message, if not, choose phone call. If you don’t have a phone number associated with your Google account, you’ll be asked to set one up.
Once you’ve set up 2-Factor Authentication, go back to your Google Account home page.
On your Google Account home page, click on “Security” on the menu on the left side of the page. 
Once you click on “Security” you’ll be asked to enter your Gmail password again.
STEP 3. CREATE AN APP PASSWORD FOR OE CLASSIC
When the Google Security page opens, scroll down the page until you see “Signing in to Google”.
Under “Signing in to Google” click on “App passwords”.
You’ll be asked the app (Mail) and device (Windows Computer) you want to generate the app password for…
Under “Select app” choose “Mail”.
Under “Select device” choose “Windows Computer”.
Once you’ve selected “Mail” and “Windows Computer” click the blue “Generate” button to generate the app password.
Once you click Generate the app password will appear on a new page and it will look something like this:
4811 3974 9421 3882
Highlight the numbers and copy them as one group so that when you paste it later it will be one group of numbers instead of four. In other words, it will look like this:
4811397494213882
STEP 4. USING THE APP PASSWORD IN OE CLASSIC
Open OE Classic and click on “Tools” on the toolbar at the top, then click “Accounts”
In “Accounts” find the Gmail account you just created the app password for and click “Properties”…
On the account’s “Properties” page, click on the “Servers” tab at the top. In the password field highlight the password that’s already there (it will be all dots) and paste the app password, thus replacing your Gmail password with the app password you just created.
IMPORTANT: Be sure to click “Apply” > “OK” to save your changes.
You do not have to remember your app password – you will not use it anywhere else.
NOTE: If you have more than one Gmail account you’ll need to create an app password for each of them. In other words, you cannot use the same app password on multiple Gmail accounts, you’ll need to generate a unique app password for each Gmail account you have.
IMPORTANT! If you change your Google account/Gmail password, your generated app password will no longer work. You will need to create a new app password and use the new app password in OE Classic. So, if, at any time, you change your Gmail/Google Account password you’ll need to create a new app password. However, using 2-Factor Authentication means you won’t have to change your password as often since 2FA is far more secure than using a password alone.
And remember, creating an app password for OE Classic does not change your Gmail or Google account password. The app password does not affect your Gmail account on the web. You can still log into your Gmail account by going to https://gmail.com/ and entering your email address (username) and your normal Gmail password.
If you need more help, please get in touch with the developer of OE Classic here or by clicking “Help” > “Contact” in the OE Classic mail program.
Microsoft lists a few reasons why you may not be able to set up an app password. I turned off advance security and then TC’s instructions worked like a charm.
Will this work using 2007 Microsoft Office Outlook?
Outlook 2007 is outdated and I don’t have a copy of it to test this on. That being said it should work, but remember Outlook 2007 is 15 years old and not very secure.
What a welcome and crystal clear article this was. I had struggled with my G Mail account ever since OE Classic
had become redundant as a result of G Mails two step verification. i followed all the instructions and was able to send to G Mail but not receive.However by going to Accounts , Properties and selecting Auto Config the whole system ran like clockwork.
You need to update OEClassic (click Help >Check for updates). Then you will need to remove the Gmail account from OE Classic and set it up again. OE Classic now supports OAUTH2 so it is now fully compatible with Gmail.
This is not necessary, OE Classic 3.2.74 supports Google OAUTH2 authentication, which requires no app password.
The post now reflects this.
Thank you for updating the article. You may also be interested that if user changes password in Google, the app password will stop working (as it is then automatically disabled by Google) and user needs to generate the new one (and insert it as new app password in the account settings). Also, if the account is added as “Google” account (OAUTH2) and user also changes Gmail password, the authorization will again be lost. This is again by design by Google. If such a thing happens, the “Google” account in OE Classic has a dedicated “Reauthenticate” button (OE Classic 4.9.0 and newer versions) which runs the authorization process again (without adding the new account, just reauthorizes the same account). The “Reauthenticate” button doesn’t appear on regular “email” type of accounts though.
The article is outdated since OE Classic now sets up Gmail automatically. It’s no longer necessary to jump through all those hoops. With current versions of OE Classic, you simply enter your Gmail address and it automatically jumps to a Gmail log-in page where you type in your Gmail password and then allow OE Classic permission to access you Gmail account (which it obviously needs to do). Then you are sent back to OE Classic to finish setting up. Takes all of 3 or 4 minutes.