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"From" address in e-mails I reply to is incorrect

  • 5 replies
  • 3 have this problem
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  • Last reply by trope

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I just upgraded my OS and transferred my Thunderbird files to a new computer and am having a strange problem. I have 8 e-mail addresses, all of which go into one Inbox. When I click "reply" on an e-mail, it should be sent from the e-mail that it was sent to. This is the "From" field in my reply e-mail.

However, for one e-mail address, it defaults to a different "from" e-mail account. This is really bothersome because it is not an e-mail address that the recipient should even know about, eg a mixing of a work and personal e-mail account. Also for me to change it manually I will end up forgetting a lot and it will require lots of extra clicks over time.

The strange thing is that it is not even the first "from" e-mail in the dropdown box. When I click on "Edit" and "Account settings" there is no association between the 2 e-mail addresses. In addition, just to be really sure, I deleted the address from the SMTP button at the bottom, even though it was not defaulted, but I still get the address in the "From" field. Does anyone know how I can solve this?

I am using Thunderbird 31.6.0 on Linux Mint Rebecca.

I just upgraded my OS and transferred my Thunderbird files to a new computer and am having a strange problem. I have 8 e-mail addresses, all of which go into one Inbox. When I click "reply" on an e-mail, it should be sent from the e-mail that it was sent to. This is the "From" field in my reply e-mail. However, for one e-mail address, it defaults to a different "from" e-mail account. This is really bothersome because it is not an e-mail address that the recipient should even know about, eg a mixing of a work and personal e-mail account. Also for me to change it manually I will end up forgetting a lot and it will require lots of extra clicks over time. The strange thing is that it is not even the first "from" e-mail in the dropdown box. When I click on "Edit" and "Account settings" there is no association between the 2 e-mail addresses. In addition, just to be really sure, I deleted the address from the SMTP button at the bottom, even though it was not defaulted, but I still get the address in the "From" field. Does anyone know how I can solve this? I am using Thunderbird 31.6.0 on Linux Mint Rebecca.

Chosen solution

Back to those account settings

In theme@gmail account settings below the outgoing server drop down on the panel displayed when you click the name is a manage identities button.

Click it and add a new identity for me@forwardingaddress.com here you get to select the outgoing server to use and the reply address. It is basically an account within an account, just as the forwarded mail is mail for an address in another address.

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go back to those account settings and click on the account name. (that is the entry above "server settings") Check what is in the reply to address box, then check in the drop down that the correct SMTP is selected for the account.

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Matt said

go back to those account settings and click on the account name. (that is the entry above "server settings") Check what is in the reply to address box, then check in the drop down that the correct SMTP is selected for the account.

Checked that and it is correct. The "reply to" address has never been wrong, it is only the "from" address that is incorrect.

I noticed now that it only happens for e-mail messages sent to a forwarding address. Eg, if i receive e-mails directly at me@gmail.com, then everything is correct. If I receive an e-mail to me@forwardingaddress.com which goes to me@gmail.com, when I click "reply" to that e-mail, it suddenly shows a completely different "from" address which is neither the forwarding address, nor the me@gmail.com.

Could the presence of a forwarding address somehow throw Thunderbird off?

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Chosen Solution

Back to those account settings

In theme@gmail account settings below the outgoing server drop down on the panel displayed when you click the name is a manage identities button.

Click it and add a new identity for me@forwardingaddress.com here you get to select the outgoing server to use and the reply address. It is basically an account within an account, just as the forwarded mail is mail for an address in another address.

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That solved it! Thank you.

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So I thought it solved the problem but now I am unable to send e-mails. I created an identity for the forwarding address; when I click "reply" to an e-mail that came to my forwarding address, it now has the forwarding address in both the "from" field and the "reply to" field, but I get the error message:

An error occurred while sending mail. The mail server responded: Requested action not taken: mailbox unavailable Sender address is not allowed.. Please verify that your email address is correct in your Mail preferences and try again.

In account settings, default identity, I have the following: Email Address: actual e-mail address Reply-to Address: forwarding e-mail

And then when I click Manage Identities I have the original identity with the same information and I created a new forwarding address with E-mail Address: forwarding e-mail Reply-to address: forwarding e-mail