Import settings and data into Thunderbird for Android

Revision Information
  • Revision id: 287208
  • Created:
  • Creator: Roland Tanglao
  • Comment: WIP: do not localize, needs content obviously (blocked on this feature being finished); https://github.com/thunderbird/android-knowledgebase-issues/issues/5#issuecomment-2430532713
  • Reviewed: Yes
  • Reviewed:
  • Reviewed by: rtanglao
  • Is approved? Yes
  • Is current revision? No
  • Ready for localization: No
Revision Source
Revision Content
This feature is still being developed as part of Thunderbird for Android and Thunderbird for Desktop. Upgrade to the latest version of Thunderbird for Android beta for the latest version on Android.

How To Import from Thunderbird Desktop

Export for Mobile is available starting with Thunderbird Desktop 128.3.4 or Thunderbird beta 132 or newer. It is not available in older versions of Thunderbird.

Export Thunderbird Desktop settings

  1. Click ≡ > Tools > Export for Mobile.
  2. Tick the Email accounts you wish to export to Thunderbird for Android.
  3. If you have accounts that are not using OAuth and you wish to import your passwords, tick Include all accounts passwords under Security to export your passwords in the QR code.
  4. Click Export. A QR code will be displayed. Follow the steps below on your Android phone or tablet to scan the Thunderbird Desktop settings QR code. If you have many email accounts, multiple QR codes will be displayed when you scan from your Android device in the next step.

Import the Desktop settings into Thunderbird for Android

  1. Open Thunderbird for Android on your phone or tablet.
  2. Tap ≡ at the top left > tap the gear icon:gear icon at the bottom left > tap Import settings > Scan QR code and scan the QR code from Thunderbird Desktop. Thunderbird for Android will display a confirmation message in the bottom left. If you have many email accounts, after scanning the first QR code, another code will be displayed and scanned until all account settings have been setup.
  3. Ensure the email accounts you want to import are all ticked. Tap Import.
  4. If your account uses OAuth instead of password authentication or you have chosen not to import your passwords, you will be prompted for your passwords. Follow the prompts to complete your import.

How To Import from K-9 or other Thunderbird for Android apps

  1. Open Thunderbird for Android on your phone or tablet.
  2. Tap ≡ at the top left > tap the gear icon:gear icon at the bottom left > tap Import settings.
  3. Tap Import from app.
  4. Tap the email app you wish to import your email account settins from e.g. K-9 Mail (or Thunderbird for Android).
  5. If your account uses OAuth instead of password authentication or you have chosen not to import your passwords, you will be prompted for your passwords. Follow the prompts to complete your import.

Not seeing all your accounts?

Some emails accounts may be disabled because they are not supported by Thunderbird for Android: The following configurations are NOT supported (See Bug 1919786 for full details):

  • GSSAPI
  • NTLM
  • TlsCertificate
  • TryStartTls. See Bug 1868517
  • More than one outgoing server is not supported.
  • Non-ASCII email addresses are not supported.