Connection help

Create an app password, and fix it when the page will not cooperate

E-Mail Janitor talks to Gmail and Yahoo from your Windows PC. It cannot open Google’s or Yahoo’s own login window, so your everyday mailbox password will be refused. You create a separate 16-character app password, paste that into Connect Account, and keep your real password for the website.

Do not put your normal Gmail or Yahoo password in E-Mail Janitor. A rejected sign-in almost always means “wrong kind of password,” not “type it more carefully.”

Never email an app password. Never put it in Feedback. Never leave it in a screenshot. If it leaks, delete that named password on Google or Yahoo and make a new one. Support cannot create one for you.

Start here

Rules that apply to every account Gmail — full steps and the errors Yahoo — full steps and the errors Paste it into E-Mail Janitor Symptom → what to do Delete an app password

Rules that apply to every account

One mailbox, one app password. A second Yahoo or Gmail address needs its own code.
Name it E-Mail Janitor so you can find it later.
The code is usually 16 letters, shown in four groups. Copy it the moment it appears. You will not see that exact code again.
Spaces between the groups are for reading. If Connect fails, paste the 16 characters with the spaces removed.
Count them. 15 or 17 means the copy was cut off or an extra character got in.
The app password is not your website password. Changing screens and retyping the login you use every day will not fix this.
There is no “allow less secure apps” switch anymore. Do not hunt for it.
Personal Gmail no longer has an Enable IMAP toggle. If a guide tells you to turn IMAP on inside Gmail settings, that guide is out of date. IMAP is already on.
E-Mail Janitor 1.0 does not support Microsoft 365, Outlook.com, Exchange, or “Sign in with Google.” Those accounts cannot be forced through an app password in this build.

Gmail

This path is for a personal address such as @gmail.com. A work or school Google account is often blocked. That block is described under the errors, not fixed by retrying.

Step 1 — Be in the right Google account

Open a normal browser window. Not a private or Incognito window if you can avoid it.
Go to myaccount.google.com.
Look at the account photo or email in the corner. It must be the same address you will type into E-Mail Janitor.
If it is a different Google account, switch accounts or sign out and sign in to the right one before you continue. An app password from account A will never open account B.

Step 2 — Turn on 2-Step Verification

Google hides App passwords until this is on.

Open 2-Step Verification.
If it already says On, go to Step 3.
If it is Off, click Turn on and finish the phone, prompt, or authenticator setup. Do not stop halfway. A half-finished setup still hides App passwords.
Come back to this page only after 2-Step Verification shows as On.

If you cannot turn it on: a work or school admin may have locked security settings. E-Mail Janitor cannot bypass that. Use a personal Gmail, or wait until the admin allows it. This build has no “Sign in with Google” button.

Step 3 — Open the App passwords page directly

Go to myaccount.google.com/apppasswords. Do not rely on hunting through Security menus. Google often does not list App passwords there.
Sign in again if asked. Confirm it is still the same account.

If the page says app passwords are not available, or it errors:

2-Step Verification is still off. Return to Step 2.
2-Step Verification is set to security keys only. App passwords are disabled in that mode. Add another 2-Step method (phone prompt or authenticator), or this mailbox cannot use E-Mail Janitor.
The account is in the Advanced Protection Program. App passwords are off, and existing ones are revoked. This mailbox cannot connect.
It is a work or school Google account. Since 2025, many Workspace accounts cannot create app passwords at all. There is no hidden toggle for you to flip. Use a personal Gmail instead.
You are signed into the wrong Google account. Check the corner again.

Step 4 — Create the code

In App name, type E-Mail Janitor. Older screens asked you to pick “Mail” and “Windows.” If you still see those menus, choose Mail and Windows, then generate. If you only see a name box, the name is enough.
Click Create (or Generate).
A box shows 16 characters, usually like abcd efgh ijkl mnop.
Copy the whole code into a password manager or a temporary note on this PC. Close nothing until the copy is saved.
Click Done. Google will not show that code again.

If you closed the box too soon: you cannot view it. On the same App passwords page, delete the E-Mail Janitor entry if it was saved, create a new one, and copy before you click away.

Step 5 — Know what Google will do later

Changing your real Google password revokes every app password. E-Mail Janitor will fail until you create a new code and paste it again.
Deleting the E-Mail Janitor row on the App passwords page disconnects this PC only. Your Gmail website login keeps working.

Yahoo

Use this for @yahoo.com, @ymail.com, @rocketmail.com, @yahoo.ca, and other Yahoo country addresses. Some internet-provider addresses are also Yahoo mail behind the scenes. If Account Security on Yahoo is where that address is managed, follow these steps. Your normal Yahoo password will be refused over IMAP.

Step 1 — Use a browser Yahoo already trusts

Use a normal window, not Incognito or Private. Yahoo’s own help says to use a browser you have signed into Yahoo with for several days. A brand-new browser or a private window is a common reason Create app password never appears.
Sign in to Yahoo Mail and confirm you are in the mailbox you want E-Mail Janitor to read.

Step 2 — Open Account Security

Go straight to login.yahoo.com/account/security.
If that page asks you to sign in, sign in, then open the link again.
You can also get there from Yahoo Mail: profile picture → Account info or Manage your account → Account security. The direct link is more reliable.

Step 3 — Turn on two-step verification if the button is missing

On many accounts, External connections does not show until two-step verification is on.

On the Account Security page, find two-step verification.
If it is off, turn it on and finish the phone or authenticator prompt.
Reload the Account Security page.

Step 4 — Create the app password

Scroll to External connections. On some accounts the label is Other ways to sign in or Generate and manage app passwords.
Click Create app password or Generate app password.
If Yahoo asks you to confirm with a code, approve it on your phone. Have the phone nearby before you start.
App name: E-Mail Janitor. If a menu lists apps and E-Mail Janitor is not there, choose Other and type that name.
Click Generate password.
Copy the 16-character code immediately. Click Done only after it is saved somewhere you can paste from.

Yahoo’s help: Generate and manage 3rd-party app passwords.

If Create app password is still missing after two-step is on:

You are in Incognito, or this browser has not been used to sign in to Yahoo before. Switch to your everyday browser, sign in to Yahoo Mail, wait, and open Account Security again.
You are on the wrong Yahoo account. Check the address at the top of Account Security.
Yahoo is refusing this sign-in for security reasons. Their help says customer care cannot override that. Use Yahoo Mail on the web until a familiar browser is allowed to create the password. Do not keep typing your website password into E-Mail Janitor while you wait.
You found Account Key inside the Yahoo phone app. That is not the app password. Stay on the Account Security web page.

Step 5 — Know what Yahoo will do later

Changing your real Yahoo password does not delete app passwords. They stay valid until you delete them on Account Security.
Deleting the E-Mail Janitor app password is the only way to cut this PC off.

Paste it into E-Mail Janitor

Open E-Mail Janitor on the Windows PC.
Connect Account.
Email address: the full address, exactly the account that created the app password.
Password: the 16-character app password. Not the website password.
Connect once. Do not click Connect ten times with a bad code. Yahoo will temporarily lock sign-in.

A successful connect is a mailbox session inside E-Mail Janitor. You should not see a Google or Yahoo website login inside the app.

If the first paste fails: remove spaces so it is 16 characters in a row, confirm there is no space at the start or end, and try once more. If that fails, delete the app password on the provider site, generate a brand-new one, and paste the new code once.

Each extra mailbox needs its own Connect and its own app password. Pro can hold more than one account. Basic is one mailbox.

Symptom → what to do

What you see	What it means	What to do
E-Mail Janitor says the password is wrong, and you typed the password you use on the website	That password is not accepted over IMAP	Stop. Create an app password and paste that instead.
Google App passwords page will not open	2-Step is off, security-keys-only, Advanced Protection, or a work/school account	Turn 2-Step fully on. If it is a work, school, Advanced Protection, or security-key-only account, this mailbox cannot connect in 1.0.
Yahoo has no Create app password button	Two-step is off, or Yahoo does not trust this browser	Turn two-step on. Leave Incognito. Use a browser you already sign in to Yahoo with. Open Account Security again.
You saw the code, then the window closed	It is shown once	Delete that named entry if it exists. Generate a new one. Copy before you click Done.
The code looks right and Connect still fails	Spaces, a cut-off copy, or the wrong mailbox	Count 16 characters. Strip spaces. Match the email address to the account that created the code. Then generate a fresh code and try once.
Yahoo says too many sign-in attempts or AUTH failed repeatedly	The account is cooling off	Wait. Do not keep clicking Connect. Generate one new app password and try a single time.
It worked, then failed after you changed your Google password	Google revoked every app password	Create a new Gmail app password and paste it into E-Mail Janitor again.
It worked, then you changed your Yahoo password, and it still works	That is normal for Yahoo	Leave the app password alone unless you want to revoke it.
A guide says turn on Less secure apps, or Enable IMAP in Gmail	Those controls are gone for personal Gmail	Ignore that guide. Use the App passwords page.
The address is Outlook, Hotmail, Microsoft 365, or a company Exchange server	Not supported in E-Mail Janitor 1.0	Use Gmail or Yahoo for this build.

Delete an app password

Google: open App passwords, find E-Mail Janitor, remove it.

Yahoo: open Account Security, External connections, delete the E-Mail Janitor app password.

Your real mailbox password does not change. E-Mail Janitor on that PC stops until you create a new code and connect again.

What to tell support if you are still blocked

Email support@emailjanitor.com with: Gmail or Yahoo, the exact sentence on the provider’s page (not a screenshot of the code), and the exact sentence from E-Mail Janitor. Do not include the app password, your real password, or a photo of either.

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