Modern providers (Gmail, Microsoft 365) block "less secure apps." You must generate an App Password in your account settings or use OAuth2 .
The modern standard. It leaves emails on the server and allows for folder management.
An older protocol. It typically downloads the entire inbox and deletes it from the server. Note: For modern applications, use IMAP. Prerequisites and Libraries vb.net download email attachment
⚡️ If you only want specific files (like PDFs or CSVs), add a simple conditional check inside the loop:
To download emails, you generally choose between two protocols: Modern providers (Gmail, Microsoft 365) block "less secure
This example demonstrates how to connect to a mailbox, find unread messages, and save their attachments to a local folder.
To get started, install MailKit via NuGet: Install-Package MailKit Implementation: Download Attachments via IMAP An older protocol
Downloading email attachments in VB.NET is a common task for automating data processing, such as ingesting invoices or log files. While the .NET Framework provides built-in tools, the evolution of security protocols like OAuth2 has changed how developers approach this.
Use SearchQuery to narrow down results by subject, sender, or date to improve performance.