Email password issues - Invalid Credentials

[candurwy]

When I try to login to my Fibe Bell email, I am most times blocked with the message "you have entered invalid credentials", even though my user name and password are correct.  This happens almost every time on any of the three notebook computers in the house. Two are Win 10 and one Win 11.  None run in S mode. Strangely it does not happen on my desktop, also Win 10.  It happens using either the Chrome or Edge browser.  I have twice changed the password but that does not help.  Before the recent email changes, the message was "You are locked out for 10 minutes."

Usually after a 10 or so minute wail, I can login.  Recently the wait times seem to be getting longer, today reaching close to 30 minutes without being able to connect.

A while back I called Bell Support and was told  Bell email was working correctly and I should change my password and clear the cache.  That did not help.  I thought it was a glitch in my several years old laptop, but I recently bought a new Win 11 which does exactly the same.

Any ideas?

[BellPatricia]

Hi @candurwy. Welcome to the Community. Thank you for the amazing troubleshooting you've completed. Clearing cookies and cashe is very helpful.

We have sent you a Private Message. Please check your Inbox, next to your Profile avatar. Unsure of where to find your Inbox, see this link.

[Wilson]

The implementation of the new Webmail has been a horror story with users as the guinea pigs and a back out contingency plan should have been in place.

I still  have an "external account authentication failure" for one of my secondary email accounts when I select it on the left pane.

Called customer supports and was told they cannot do much because their "tools" do not work.

And an hour later I received a robo call that my problem has been resolved when it has not been.

Should have started with Gmail and stayed with it.

[candurwy]

Wilson:  The new "not improved" email seems to have aggravated the problem, but my trouble predated this change.  I agree a back out plan would have been useful.  I was recently advised to ensure all devices were disconnected and all passwords verified as correct.  I removed email from my phone (my wife had installed it at some point and I did not want it) and shut down completely all 3 of my computers.  This helped to the extent I can sometimes connect, it's pretty much a toss-up.  Today I have had two "invalid credentials" and one successful connection, this coming about 11 minutes after the first failure.  I agree that I don't think Bell has any idea what is wrong and no idea how to fix it.  They are still able to charge $75. per month for reduced service.  Fortunately, the problem does not extend to other connections such as banks, brokers, merchants, etc.

[rg]

Email on laptop is frozen offline. I've created two new passwords, but then they aren't accepted when I try to log in.  Also, Inbox mail has disappeared. Help, please!

[BellPatricia]

Hi @rg. Thanks for your post, and welcome to the Community.

Few things to try that might help resolve this. Please log out of all email sessions on any and all devices you have + clear your Cookies and Cache. Once you've completed that wait 10 minutes before trying to log back in. 

Let us know how that goes.

- Patricia

[Bluejay10408]

I've been trying since January 21 to access my email on my phone using Bell.Net. I called Friday and Saturday and was advised there were issues with several servers but they were being worked on and it should be fixed soon. Has anyone else experienced this?

[Firstle]

Problem resolved by clearing browsing data in Google Chrome - 5,900 items!

[RAE]

I had the same thing happened yesterday.  When I now log on I get "An unexpected error has occurred" message.  The contents from three of my folders has disappeared.  I am using EDGE browser on a new fully updated desktop and I get the message, but if I use CHROME I get no error message.  Contents are still missing in three folders, but at least I can access my email.  Cell phone works fine for access, and laptop (using EDGE) works fine for access.  The error problem looks like it can be an config issue with EDGE on desktop, but I am still investigating.

[Devo]

As another person mentioned, the "invalid credentials" problem existed for at least a year before this update but has now gotten much, much worse.  Nothing any Bell tech will suggest will fix it.... I've tried everything with multiple of them.  Deleting accounts from all devices, clearing caches, resetting on mybell etc etc.  None of that will do anything, save yourself the time.  Their entire email system is broken.

Next time you can access your bell email during some magical window of time, set it up to forward email to a Gmail address you create.

Then, tell everyone you know to start using your Gmail address instead of the Bell address.  This problem ain't getting solved.

[jmrt]

Hi, looks like I'm another customer caught in this net...

Just got a new computer which does not allow me to login with the "You have entered invalid credentials. Please try again." error but the same creds on my old pc works just fine...

Any advice or help is appreciated since this is simply annoying!

Thanks,

[Devo]

Short term solution is to wait an hour or two and try again.  It usually works at various times through the day, intermittently.

Of course it's insane to expect anyone to be able to do business with an email account they can only access half the time.

The longer term solution is to create a Gmail account.  Next time you can actually access your bell email, go to settings and set up mail forwarding so it sends all your bell email to Gmail.  This way you'll still get bell email when you're locked out (except for non-spam emails that end up in the bell spam folder, those won't forward)

Then email all of your contacts, change all your business accounts so that you are completely severed from relying on Bell email in anyway.  You want to be exclusively Gmail.

This has the added benefit of also making you less reliant on Bell in general (as you are no longer tied to their email servers) which will give you freedom down the road in general.

[Inor]

I thought I was the only one with this "invalid credentials" problem until I stumbled on this forum trying to find a solution. The many suggestions from Bell have been unsuccessful ... try to clear cookies and cache; logoff from all sessions on all devices; change pw; try www.bell.net; webmail.bell.net; try a different browser; try; try; try. Lately as well, my email auto logs off and I'm back to "invalid credentials" trying to log back in. Has anyone found a way around this? 

[candurwy]

Inor,

Welcome to the club!  There does not seem to be any way aroubd this problem.  The good new is it is not as bad as it was,  I can now connect without the dreaded 'invalid credentials' message perhaps half of the time.  Also, after a wait of 10 to 12 minutes, connection always seems to be possible.

Clear your cache, change your password, etc. is all that Bell support can offer because I do not think they have any idea what is wrong.  These things do not help, so don't waste your time trying them.  I do think Bell are trying to figure it out, but I hold out little hope of that happening soon.

[grandy]

Same problem for me - I'm randomly kicked out of my email, and then my password is not recognized so I can't get back in.   And finally, today, I am told that I've tried too many times (in this case only once) so I am now locked out of my email and will have to contact bell for a new password. I really hope a bell helper reads this and solves this new problem for us! But I guess bell won't be able to reach me, because I can no longer access my email.  A pickle indeed.