Gmail OAuth2 login fails instantly in Thunderbird — no popup ever appears (Ubuntu 22.04)
Hey all, stuck on this and hoping someone's hit it before.
**Setup:**
* Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy) * Thunderbird 140.7.1esr, installed via native `apt` (not Snap) — `/usr/bin/thunderbird` * Internet is fine — `ping` [`8.8.8.8`](http://8.8.8.8), `ping` [`google.com`](http://google.com), and `curl -v` [`https://accounts.google.com\`\](https://accounts.google.com) / `curl -v` [`https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token\`\](https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token) all connect and respond normally * `ufw` is inactive, so it's not a local firewall issue
**What's happening:**
I go through Account Setup, enter my name + Gmail address, leave the password blank (since Gmail requires OAuth2 now). Thunderbird correctly auto-detects the config:
* Incoming: [`imap.gmail.com`](http://imap.gmail.com), IMAP, SSL/TLS * Outgoing: [`smtp.gmail.com`](http://smtp.gmail.com), SMTP, SSL/TLS
I click **Done**, and instantly get:
>
**The weird part:** no Google sign-in window ever opens. Not embedded in Thunderbird, not as a separate popup, not even for a split second. I checked with `wmctrl -l` right when it fails — no hidden/background window is spawned at all. Thunderbird's own Error Console (`Ctrl+Shift+J`) shows zero JS errors during the attempt.
**Ruled out so far:**
* Firewall (ufw inactive) * Network/DNS reachability to Google's OAuth endpoints (confirmed working via curl) * Hidden/off-screen popup window (confirmed via wmctrl) * JS crash or exception in Thunderbird itself
**My leading theory:** autoconfig might be silently picking "Normal Password" as the auth method instead of "OAuth2" for this account — which would explain an instant rejection with a blank password field and zero OAuth popup, since it'd never be attempting OAuth in the first place. Haven't confirmed this yet by checking Server Settings → Authentication method manually.
**Haven't tried yet:**
* Forcing "OAuth2" explicitly via *Configure manually* (both incoming and outgoing) instead of trusting autoconfig * Testing with a completely fresh profile (`thunderbird -P`) to rule out local profile corruption
Has anyone run into this exact "no popup at all" failure mode before? Trying to figure out if this is a known autoconfig bug or something specific to my setup before I go nuking my profile.Title: Gmail OAuth2 login fails instantly in Thunderbird — no popup ever appears (Ubuntu 22.04)
Hey all, stuck on this and hoping someone's hit it before.
Setup:
Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy)
Thunderbird 140.7.1esr, installed via native apt (not Snap) — /usr/bin/thunderbird
Internet is fine — ping 8.8.8.8, ping google.com, and curl -v https://accounts.google.com / curl -v https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token all connect and respond normally
ufw is inactive, so it's not a local firewall issue
What's happening:
I go through Account Setup, enter my name + Gmail address, leave the password blank (since Gmail requires OAuth2 now). Thunderbird correctly auto-detects the config:
Incoming: [imap.gmail.com](http://imap.gmail.com), IMAP, SSL/TLS
Outgoing: [smtp.gmail.com](http://smtp.gmail.com), SMTP, SSL/TLS