Since the "22" update, many students complain about "Authentication failed" or "IMAP not supported." Here is the fix:
Problem: "Less secure app access denied" Solution: You must enable 2FA on your HMC Google account and generate an App Password if using IMAP. Better yet, switch to Gmail API (Option 2 above).
Problem: "Mail checker not showing new emails"
Solution: HMC IT may have rotated the IMAP server address. The correct current server for Gmail-based accounts is imap.gmail.com:993 with SSL/TLS.
Problem: "Too many false positives" Solution: Use label-based filtering. In your better mail checker, ignore messages that skip the inbox (e.g., Google Groups digests). hmc mail checker 22 better
Older mail checkers often failed when dealing with HTML-heavy emails or struggled with network timeouts. Version 22 introduces:
For the HMC computer science student who wants total control, here is a modern HMC Mail Checker 22 better script using Gmail API (not deprecated IMAP).
Prerequisites:
# hmc_mail_checker_22_better.py import os import pickle from google.auth.transport.requests import Request from google_auth_oauthlib.flow import InstalledAppFlow from googleapiclient.discovery import buildSCOPES = ['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.readonly']
def get_hmc_mails(): creds = None if os.path.exists('token.pickle'): with open('token.pickle', 'rb') as token: creds = pickle.load(token) if not creds or not creds.valid: if creds and creds.expired and creds.refresh_token: creds.refresh(Request()) else: flow = InstalledAppFlow.from_client_secrets_file('credentials.json', SCOPES) creds = flow.run_local_server(port=0) with open('token.pickle', 'wb') as token: pickle.dump(creds, token) service = build('gmail', 'v1', credentials=creds) results = service.users().messages().list(userId='me', labelIds=['INBOX'], maxResults=5).execute() messages = results.get('messages', []) for msg in messages: msg_data = service.users().messages().get(userId='me', id=msg['id']).execute() print(f"New: msg_data['snippet']")
if name == 'main': get_hmc_mails()
Why this is "Better":
Ready to make the switch? Follow this step-by-step guide to install HMC Mail Checker 22 Better on your primary device. Since the "22" update, many students complain about
Did you know you can pipe your mail checker into a Slack or Discord bot? By extending the Python script above, you can forward urgent emails (e.g., "Exam postponed") directly to a class Discord channel. This is a popular "better" hack among HMC engineers.
Version 22 introduces a revolutionary caching protocol. Independent tests show that the new checker polls the HMC servers 40% faster than version 21. Users report that the average time from “send” to “notification” has dropped to under 22 seconds—hence the name. This is better for professors who need instant grading submissions and for students awaiting waitlist openings.