Logon Failure Errors

Problem

You encounter the following error when configuring support department mail importing via POP3 or as a notification email:

Logon failure: unknown user name or bad password

Cause

Usually, this error is due to one of the following causes:

  • An invalid username or password in the support department mail importing configuration.
  • Using an authentication method that your POP mailbox does not support.
If you receive a message about less secure apps, modern authentication, or OAuth from Google® or Microsoft®, see Unsupported Authentication Method below.

Troubleshooting

To troubleshoot this issue, first ensure that your username and password are correct. If that isn’t the issue, check whether you are using an unsupported authentication method.

Invalid Username or Password

To resolve this issue, ensure that WHMCS has the current login credentials for your mailbox:

  1. Click Edit at Configuration () > System Settings > Support Departments.
    Editing a support department in the Admin Area.
  2. Update Email Address and Email Pass in the Mail Importing Configuration section.
  3. Click Save Changes.

With valid login credentials, the system can access the mailbox and import emails into the support ticket system.

Unsupported Authentication Method

If the error persists after you verify your username and password, the issue is due to your authentication method.

Some email providers are phasing out the use of password for authentication to their email services, notably Google® and Microsoft®.

Google Email Users

To resolve this issue as a Google user, see Set Up Email Importing - Google.

Microsoft Email Users

Microsoft stopped accepting basic password authentication for POP3 and IMAP in January 2023.

If you cannot use basic password authentication for POP3 with your Microsoft Exchange service, you can forward emails to a regular mailbox that supports username-and-password authentication for POP3 and then import it via WHMCS.

To update the POP or IMAP import mailbox settings in WHMCS:

  1. Click Edit at Configuration () > System Settings > Support Departments.
    Editing a support department in the Admin Area.
  2. Update Email Address and Email Pass in the Mail Importing Configuration section.
  3. Click Save Changes.
WHMCS 8.6 added updated support for email importing with Microsoft. For more information, see Set Up Email Importing - Microsoft.

Other Email Users

If you are unable to use basic password authentication for POP3 with your email provider, you can forward emails to a regular mailbox that supports username-and-password authentication for POP3 and then import it via WHMCS.

To update the POP or IMAP import mailbox settings in WHMCS:

  1. Click Edit at to Configuration () > System Settings > Support Departments.
    Editing a support department in the Admin Area.
  2. Update Email Address and Email Pass in the Mail Importing Configuration section.
  3. Click Save Changes.

With valid login credentials, the system can access the mailbox and import emails into the support ticket system.

troubleshooting support support-tickets email-importing

Last modified: October 9, 2024