Thunderbird Community Forum

I am using MacOS 10.13, Thunderbird 115.15.16ESR: my Hotmail worked until 15 May 2025 and then it would not download new emails. Screenshots are available if you want me to post them. I got an error message: "authentication failure while connecting to server outlook.office365.com". I updated Thunderbird to the latest for my OS: 115.18.0ESR. Still no new emails. I deleted my email account on Thunderbird and tried to reinstate it. Now I get an error message when trying to set up the account: "Unable to log in at server. Probably wrong configuration, username or password." I tested my password by logging into my Microsoft account with it on my browser. I can also login to my email using Firefox, but I want my Thunderbird email client to work again.

The configuration I am using is: I use my normal hotmail password in the password field. I also set up a new App Password with Microsoft and tried that without success. With the 115.18 update there is a new field: Your login. I just put my hotmail email address in here. incoming: outlook.office365.com, port 993, SSL/TLS, Oauth2 
outgoing: smtp.office365.com, port 587, STARTTLS, Oauth2 (I have also tried: smtp-mail.outlook.com)

I enabled 2-step authentication with Microsoft in my Microsoft account more than a year ago. Interestingly, I don't get a prompt on my iPhone Microsoft Authentication App when I select Done when trying to set up the hotmail account on Thunderbird.

Please help. I am desperate, and I have wasted a lot of time on this without success. Cheers

Is there a way to preempt the initial download when connecting an IMAP account initially?

Presuming you plan to make "Keep messages in all folders for this account..." UNchecked, I've found I can only go into settings as soon as possible after connecting the IMAP account to cut off the automatic start of downloads for local email copies. I then search for the email files locally (am configured for maildir) and manually delete.

Not the end of the world, but seems a bit janky. Is there a way you're supposed to be able to set synchronization settings BEFORE Tb starts syncing?

Thanks.

Hi, When installing my Yahoo account in F-bird, I chose the option to keep copies of the messages on the server when downloading them to my local folders. But all my message folders on the yahoo server appear to be empty after I copied them to my local folders. Can this be undone? I'm using other email programs on my mobiles and it's crucial for me that I can access all my folders from mobile and desktop devices. Is there a way to keep them on the yahoo server AND have them synchronized with my local folders? Your help is very much appreciated! Kind regards, Pat

At some stage, one of my Imap Inbox email accounts & its sub-folder have moved to the bottom of the list - under all other folders (Sent/Junk, etc). The Sent sub-folders for this email account are in the correct place. I have tried all solutions that I have found: Subscribing; unchecking only show subscribed; playing with the settings on the webmail server, reinstalling, etc & I still can't get it back to the top, where it's supposed to be. I have attached a screenshot as it was & how it now is (worse) after updating my OS to the latest. Does anybody have a solution for this scenario?

[Latest TB on MacOS Sequoia 15.3.1 (just updated from previous version).]

Problem:

You remove an account like Google from Thunderbird, but Thunderbird continues to repeatedly show a pop-up to log into that account (in my case Google). I've noticed it even freezes the Thunderbird UI on startup.

Note: I'm self-answering this question. Mozilla Support has similar questions, but they're archived with incomplete answers. By archiving them, Mozilla is preventing the community from improving the solutions on those problems.

This exact question has been asked at least 4 different times, and it's been archived with 4 different solutions. All of them are valid advice.

• "Check your calendars" - https://support.mozilla.org/mk/questions/1441082
• "Check your addons" - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1208183
• "Check your addressbook" - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1440106
• "Check troubleshooting info" - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1398233

I have two computers on which I use Thunderbird. I have never been able to successfully copy my email filters from one machine to the other, no matter what method I employ. It seems that this should be at least part and parcel of copying my profile to the new computer, but I find I have to rewrite the filters yet again. Please assist.

I'm setting up a gmail workspace account. I know that imap is enabled and that authentication should work through oauth2. That's what I configure and TB confirms that it can connect to the account during creation widget.

I click continue, and a new window opens which contains a site from Google asking if I confirm that TB can access my account. I click on allow, and the content in that popup disappears, but the popup remains open. Just with a blank screen.

I've tried several times. Cookies and JavaScript are allowed and enabled.

What else could be wrong here?

Contacts syncing Tbird and iCloud appears to be unidirectional: Tbird > iCloud. When I make a change in Tbird contacts (via CardDAV), it appears in iCloud, but changes in iCloud do not effect Tbird contacts. Is this by design? Calendar sync is bidirectional.

I have been a Thunderbird user for over 10 years and recently my employer has started switching us over to Google Workspace emails. I'm trying to add the email to Thunderbird, but keep getting a blank gray screen (Image 2) in the Google pop-up after clicking "Allow" (Image 1). No error messages are displayed anywhere in the pop-up or in Thunderbird.

I have tried several times with no success. I've tried rebooting, same issue. I've tried disabling all the plugins in Thunderbird, same issue. I've let the screen sit there for over 20 minutes and nothing occurs. I even tried one-time hitting "Deny" and got the same blank screen.

As it is occurring inside Thunderbird itself, I have no way of telling what is going wrong. I know I am signing into my new Google account successfully as I wouldn't reach the page with "Allow".

Anybody know what I can do?

Searches and AI tell me to use "Account Actions" on the account settings page but I see no "Account Actions" on my Thunderbird.

Thunderbird 128.10.0esr MacOS 15.5

Am I just blind? Am I looking in the right place? I could swear I've done this before without any trouble.

I have been using Mozilla Thunderbird since 2003 as my email desktop client.

As of Sunday morning, May 17th, I noticed the following:

• All of my WideOpenWest email accounts (mine, my wife's my son's) downloaded email headers successfully, but did not allow me to see email contents, move email to other folders or delete obvious junk mail via the client interface.
• All of my Archive email suddenly also will display the expected email headers, but content is unavailable through the client interface.
• All my IMAP email access and management behavior works as expected.
• If I copy an email from one IMAP account to the other, all is fine, but if I move that copied email to an Archive folder, its contents become unavailable (the email I copied was the "Mozilla Confirm your account ..." email)

Inspecting the filesystem containing the client data (NAS-based SMB share, using SSH to access NAS filesystem), I can see:

• The Archive folder has both the Filed and Filed.msf files updated with a timestamp consistent with the copy.
• The email contents are available in a format unfamiliar to me, but I can read the contents and show the same below:

<(B2=Mozilla <accounts@firefox.com>)(B3=<Ellided>@<Ellided>.com)(B4

   =Confirm your account)(B5
   =01010196ef885d03-c0d0edd7-b446-43b6-8bc5-8d5eee591202-000000@us-west-2.am\

azonses.com)(84=)(B8=620d)(B9=277)(BA=19204|Mozilla <accounts@firefox.com>)

 (BB=plugin)(BC=14)(BD
   =Open the internet with Mozilla Confirm your account and get the most out \

of Mozilla everywhere you sign in starting with: Firefox on Windows 10 Tuesday\ , May 20, 2025 5:10:13 PM (EDT\) Use this confirmation code: <Ellided> It expires\

in 5 minute)(BE=6176)(BF=nonjunk)(C0=ffffffff)>

• The 'Filed' file contents also seem to be valid and viable. I can provide both if that's helpful.

I checked the underlying file system permissions and the email file attributes (owner, group, access) are all as they should be -- the above copy test results would suggest no problem there.

What are the next diagnostic steps?

Thanks in advance for the help,

AJ

I want to convert a POP account to IMAP. ALL the answers I find (incl Mozilla help), say to create the new IMAP first (after 'disabling' the POP account). ThunderBird doesn't allow that. Any help? I do want to keep all my "local" messages until the IMAP is setup.

I thought Thunderbird was free to use. It's asking me to donate and I can't access my current emails from my account. If this is free than why on earth do I HAVE to donate to get access to my emails. That is not right. Please help me.

Thank you Malcolm

Hi,

My computer crashed, and when it came back up I'm unable to locater any of my folders in Thunderbird. THis is a HUGE problem for me, as I have SO MUCH stored in the folders there. When I close and restart Thunderbird, it asks me to "Set Up Your Exising Email Address" Blow that it says, "To use your current email address fill in your credentials. Thunderbird will automatically search for a working and recommended server configuration."

So, I think it's treating me like I don't have an account, but I can see my address book with like 4,200 contacts in there.

Please help! Thanks so much in advance.

Danny

Looking for a way to let two Windows 10 user accounts access the same Thunderbird account/files.

We have a desktop PC used by two people, 'C' and 'S'. They each have a Windows user account, but share an a general email address (don't ask...)

The Thunderbird installation has at least 32GB worth of mail, going back several years, which I'd prefer not to duplicate on the hard drive. Additionally, mail is only stored on the server for 2 weeks, before being deleted. The Thunderbird installation is accessed from user account 'C'. The computer will, for practical reasons, only be used by one person at a time, but they will both be logged in most of the time, and would likely both have Thunderbird running at the same time.

Is there a way to direct Thunderbird, opened from user account 'S', to the files used by 'C'?

Thanks!

I was browsing this page: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/adding-a-holiday-calendar

Which says:

• Select "On the Network", and click "Next".
• From the Format list, select iCalendar (ICS).

But when I select "On the Network" I see no options for file format (TB 138).

Is subscribing to remote ics files still supported, or must we download the files locally and subscribe to them there?

I rebooted my Windows 11 PC yesterday and apparently Thunderbird updated to version Thunderbird 128.6.1esr (64-bit) during the reboot. Unfortunately, when I opened Thunderbird, it showed a Create New Account screen instead of my existing email accounts. I went to "about:profile" and it lists my existing profile as the default, but it will not access any of the accounts in it. I've tried reinstalling Thunderbird over the existing copy and get the same result. I'm at a loss as to how I can retrieve many, many years of emails in six accounts!

I have followed the instruction https://support.mozilla.org/de/kb/Benutzerprofile-Thunderbird#w_ein-profil-sichern to shift my profile from one harddrive to an other on my PC

The original profile is still on the old location %APPDATA%/Thunderbird I have updatet profiles.ini pointing to the new location At first glance it seemed to work Thunderbird was starting and when I cloesd it the date of files in the new location changed. But when I renamed the old profile in the old location Thunderbird does not start correctly and I only get

   <menuitem id="folderPaneContext-getMessages"
</pre>
^
If I rename the old profiles again to the original names, it starts without any issues