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Does a Thunderbird IMAP account work on more than one PC and sync on both

  • 23 replies
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  • Last reply by david

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Hi, I hope someone can help me.

I'm using Thunderbird Version 102.4.1 on a 7 year old laptop and it's getting to the end of life with numerous driver and non responding problems. Also, it is not compatible with Windows 11. I have linked 3 Yahoo mail and 4 Gmail accounts to Thunderbird on it and they work really well. All are IMAP server settings. I have just bought a new laptop, an early Black Friday deal, and hope to set it up the same as my existing one, so when the old one dies, as it's likely to, I will still have access to the same programmes and emails.

I know I can access Gmail emails direct on any device and they are always up to date - is that called synced? What I don't know is if all email accounts will be synced or the latest - if I use Thunderbird on both laptops. If I delete an email on one device will it be deleted on the other device.

If this is possible, do I download Thunderbird on the new laptop, then set up the accounts for each email and just enjoy from there, OR do I have to copy the profile from the old device to the new one.

I love browsing, streaming etc. but hate trying to get my PC set up or sorting out problems with it. Presume I know very little if you are replying. I have never had two working laptops before so never had to worry about syncing.

Hi, I hope someone can help me. I'm using Thunderbird Version 102.4.1 on a 7 year old laptop and it's getting to the end of life with numerous driver and non responding problems. Also, it is not compatible with Windows 11. I have linked 3 Yahoo mail and 4 Gmail accounts to Thunderbird on it and they work really well. All are IMAP server settings. I have just bought a new laptop, an early Black Friday deal, and hope to set it up the same as my existing one, so when the old one dies, as it's likely to, I will still have access to the same programmes and emails. I know I can access Gmail emails direct on any device and they are always up to date - is that called synced? What I don't know is if all email accounts will be synced or the latest - if I use Thunderbird on both laptops. If I delete an email on one device will it be deleted on the other device. If this is possible, do I download Thunderbird on the new laptop, then set up the accounts for each email and just enjoy from there, OR do I have to copy the profile from the old device to the new one. I love browsing, streaming etc. but hate trying to get my PC set up or sorting out problems with it. Presume I know very little if you are replying. I have never had two working laptops before so never had to worry about syncing.

Chosen solution

If all accounts are IMAP, your simplest approach is to use Tools>export, which creates a full profile from the old PC. Then, on new PC, install thunderbird and click the import button or tools>import. This will bring in the complete profile, including addressbook. Since IMAP keeps messages on server, if you delete from on PC, the message will be deleted on server, making it inaccessible to the other PC.

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david (davidsk) I'm sorry I haven't replied to you sooner but I have been very busy.

At last, the secret of selecting the desired profile in Firefox is revealed. I have now got the profile I want on my new PC. Thank you for your help.

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David

Thank you for your help on this.

Modified by PhilG

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Wonderful. I'm pleased it all worked out for you..

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