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Why does Thunderbird not promt me for a new password instead of deleting all my cached messages?

  • 1 reply
  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by Toad-Hall

MartyPhelan
MartyPhelan
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I change my email password regularly. After doing so, Thunderbird is no longer able to connect. Instead, it just purges everything cached in my Inbox and all other folders.

I have followed the directions to removed the "Saved Password". Thunderbird then prompts me for a new password. Then it re-downloads all my email again.

This takes a long time and a lot of band-width. I need access to all of this historic email in my line of work. I am sure I could spend time and come up with a work-around or use a different product (e.g. Outlook), but I would prefer to continue using Thunderbird.

Perhaps a product improvement would be to prompt the user for a new password when connection failed, or at least not purge all the cached email during password update.

I change my email password regularly. After doing so, Thunderbird is no longer able to connect. Instead, it just purges everything cached in my Inbox and all other folders. I have followed the directions to removed the "Saved Password". Thunderbird then prompts me for a new password. Then it re-downloads all my email again. This takes a long time and a lot of band-width. I need access to all of this historic email in my line of work. I am sure I could spend time and come up with a work-around or use a different product (e.g. Outlook), but I would prefer to continue using Thunderbird. Perhaps a product improvement would be to prompt the user for a new password when connection failed, or at least not purge all the cached email during password update.

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Toad-Hall
Toad-Hall
  • Top 10 Contributor
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If you are using IMAP: You are remotely viewing folders and emails kept on the server.

Subscribed folders download headers. When you select email it is downloaded to a temp cache. These emails are not stored in Thunderbird.

Synchronised subscribed folders download a copy to Thunderbird Profile folders. These emails will still available in Thunderbird, even if you are working in 'offline' mode. These folders continuously synchronise with server if in online mode- so both copies keep in synch with server. The folders are esentially one and the same.

When you connect with server- as you would at restart or after new password, then everything will either download to fresh cache or synchronise.

Do you synchronise subscribed folders or not?