If my account has POP serving setting, if my computer unexpetedly crashes, what happens to my Thunderbird email account ?
This is the first time I've used a computer-based email. I had only used web-based like outlook and gmail. My Thunderbird account is only on my laptop. What happens to my Thunderbird account if, for example, my computer crashes, or even, if it's stolen? I get another computer and then would there be any way to recover my email account? (I know ideally we are all backing everything up. I do back up my files sometimes but not very frequently. However, what I'm trying to understand is: is there any way to recover my account with NO backup?). My account server setting is POP. Is it safer (in terms of recover) to use IMAP? And if so, why would anyone choose POP server setting? Thanks so much for your help.
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If you don't have a backup, and lose your POP messages, you're out of luck. That's usually not a criteria for choosing between POP and IMAP, because you should a backup, not just of Thunderbird, but as much as you can.
Why use POP over IMAP?
- You're concerned about reaching your storage limit on the server.
- If you're using a mail service, which you're afraid might be hacked, or doesn't have a good reputation for privacy, keeping it local means they can't read your email.
If you want to switch, there are instructions at Switch from POP to IMAP account.
Thanks. That's helpful. But I'm not really asking about my messages---I'm referring to my actual account. Including the email address itself. Would I be able to, say, buy a new computer, download Thunderbird, and start using my account again (same email address, same password, etc)? (Just to be clear, I understand my messages ---those I hadn't backed up---would be gone).
Yes to all those points, but you wouldn't have your old messages on your new computer unless you specifically exported and imported them from old to new computers.
Mail servers, as a generalisation, don't care how many different computers or mail clients you use. In a few rare cases you might be prevented from accessing an email account simultaneously from multiple devices or clients. This is related to server configuration, and is not some intrinsic limitation of any email protocol. But POP is not a good solution for someone who wants to use multiple email clients or devices because it is based on a "download then delete" workflow.