Helping an older relative set up a fresh AOL email account, and given AOL's quirks I want to do it right the first time, including client access for their desktop.
What is the proper setup including the app password thing everyone mentions?
Set up a new AOL account properly
Solved Email & Outlook
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Barry Allen January 14, 2021
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Doing it right the first time saves the relative the exact confusions this forum's AOL threads are full of, so the setup with the quirks handled up front:
1
Create the account at login.aol.com, choosing Create an account, filling the details and picking a strong password. Record the password somewhere the relative can actually find it, a written note they keep, since account recovery on a rarely used account is its own ordeal later.
2
Turn on two step verification during or right after setup, at account security, using their phone number. This protects the account properly, and it introduces the app password requirement deliberately rather than as a later surprise.
3
Generate an app password for their desktop client immediately: account security, Generate app password, naming it for their mail program. This is the password the desktop client uses, not their normal one, the single most common AOL client setup confusion handled before it happens.
4
Set up the desktop client with IMAP: incoming imap.aol.com port 993 SSL, outgoing smtp.aol.com port 465 SSL, the username being the full AOL address and the password being the app password from the previous step. IMAP so their mail stays synced between the client and webmail, the arrangement that keeps a relative's mail coherent across where they read it.
Two kindnesses for an older relative specifically: write the account details, both passwords and the app password purpose, on a card they keep by the computer, since these are exactly what gets forgotten and locks people out and set up their client with IMAP rather than POP so nothing they read on the desktop vanishes from webmail or vice versa, the consistency that spares confused phone calls about missing mail. The app password can be regenerated anytime if lost, worth noting on the card too.
Set up exactly this way with the app password made before touching the desktop client, so the client connected first try instead of the wrong password loop I remember from last time. The card by the computer was a great call, already referenced once. IMAP keeping things consistent will save phone calls.