How to retrieve or redo password without affecting Outlook connection?
glnzglnz
Contributor - Level 3

  

I have a password problem.  Please read:

Background facts:  I have been [myname]@verizon.net since 2004 or earlier when we first got DSL from Verizon.  I'm still there even though I'm now on Verizon FIOS and aol took over all the email and there are always problems with my Outlook getting duplicate incoming emails on an erratic basis (from [myname]@verizon.net only, not from other email accounts)..

In the past year or so, I had to do the special aol password for the Outlook on my PC to continue to retrieve my emails - the same maneuver that is in many of the threads here.  My Outlook uses POP3, fully downloads the incoming emails into its .pst file and is set to leave a copy of the email on the server.  I like it that way.

In addition, on a different PC, on Firefox, I can go to mail.aol.com and it automatically signs me in to my Inbox, so I can read and send emails from there.  I don't have to log in.   By the way, I occasionally go into my emails their and move old ones into Archive.  That helps to reduce the duplicate emails coming into Outlook on my first PC

Problem:  Now, I see that my iPad has stopped connecting to my [myname]@verizon.net.  I believe its connection is IMAP so it never interfered with my Outlook pulling emails in as POP3.  Here's the issue:  Either I forgot the password for [myname]@verizon.net or it simply does not work any more - I'm not sure which occurred.

Questions:

1)  Is there a way to see the password that my Firefox is using to connect to mail.aol.com?  I have not been able to find it in Firefox.

2)  If I must change the password for [myname]@verizon.net in my aol account, then what bad things will happen?  

      a) Will my Outlook on my first PC lose its connection to [myname]@verizon.net even though it has the special password that was required by aol in the last 2 years?

      b) Before I change the password, is there a way to see and confirm how aol will send me a security confirmation question or pin?  I need first to confirm that aol has the right link to me to send its security query, and not some old link that I cannot access.  Reminder - I don't have the password to my account, but I can access it to the initial levels right now on my Firefox.

     c)  If all goes South and I'm completely cut off, what can I do?

     d)  What questions am I not asking you that I should ask?

     e)  What else should I know first?

If there are really good links as to what to do, please post here.

Thanks.

glnz

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