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I don't want the junk filter. How to stop it..

  • 16 replies
  • 0 have this problem
  • Last reply by EastTenn

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I tried unticking enable and it did NOT work. Help! I want the stupid filter gone. I have struggled for two years with the junk filter which does not work right. I have done shift J. The filter does NOT learn. A week aog, I saw that I could uncheck enable and that was supposed to stop the filter. That also did NOT work.

Today, an email I forwarded to myself from another platform went in junk. I never wanted any junk filter. It has been nothing but trouble and now I can't even disable it.

I tried unticking enable and it did NOT work. Help! I want the stupid filter gone. I have struggled for two years with the junk filter which does not work right. I have done shift J. The filter does NOT learn. A week aog, I saw that I could uncheck enable and that was supposed to stop the filter. That also did NOT work. Today, an email I forwarded to myself from another platform went in junk. I never wanted any junk filter. It has been nothing but trouble and now I can't even disable it.

All Replies (16)

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You need to also uncheck all global junk settings. I think that should do it.

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Did you turn off the filter in account settings > junk settings?

I have seen no reports of turning off the junk filter not working. So the junk mail that you are seeing is probably being filtered by the server, not by Thunderbird.

Do you have any message filters?

Some people get frustrated with Thunderbird's filter because they do not know how it works and how to train it. In case you have not seen this: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/thunderbird-and-junk-spam-messages

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Thank you, David. I have already unchecked junk filter in global settings. I really wish this had worked, but it has not.

Thank you, Rick. I do not want a junk filter. It is an unnecessary frill that has caused me trouble for two years. I want it gone. I do not want to train it. I just want it gone forever.

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EastTenn said

Thank you, David. I have already unchecked junk filter in global settings. I really wish this had worked, but it has not. Thank you, Rick. I do not want a junk filter. It is an unnecessary frill that has caused me trouble for two years. I want it gone. I do not want to train it. I just want it gone forever.

I hear you. What I'm telling you is that Thunderbird's filter is probably not enabled. So your issue is with the server, not Thunderbird.

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Rick,

We never had any problems until Thunderbird introduced the junk filter. We have had problems ever since. I just disabled the junk filter two days ago and then the global one one day ago.

I believe you are saying that it is sheer coincidence that we started having server problems with our junk mail at exactly the same time as Thunderbird introduced its filter a couple years ago.

I know this highly improbable coincidence is a possibility, but I am dubious.

I am not trying to be mean or snarky, but we just do not need any filter. I am fairly computer literate, but changes to the server are totally beyond me.

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I do not know if there is a bug in the enabled/disabled status. All I know is that I have not seen reports on this forum that suggest that there is.

I am not saying that it is sheer coincidence that you started having problems when you started using Thunderbird's filter. I am saying that any messages going to junk after you turn off Thunderbird's filter are probably there because your e-mail service provider is putting them there.

You don't have to make any changes to the server, just know that your e-mail service provider is probably putting messages into your junk folder. Your may have options in webmail for how aggressive that filter is.

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Rick's concern can be easily tested. Shut down thunderbird, and log onto your email provider's site and see if mail goes to junk.

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david said

Rick's concern can be easily tested. Shut down thunderbird, and log onto your email provider's site and see if mail goes to junk.

Good idea!

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Rick and David, I shut down Thunderbird and signed in to Microsoft Outlook which in itself was a chore. I did have an account, but I have to solve a puzzle to prove I was human. Once I finally got signed in, I saw an ad for a roofing company. I am pretty sure that I haven't been getting ads like this one which certainly gives credence to Rick's server idea. I did look around for junk settings and found nothing. The roofing ad disappeared, and I don't know why. I decided to stay signed in to Microsoft to avoid all that mess next time. I really appreciate the help, but I doubt my problem is solved as I changed nothing on the Microsoft site.

Thunderbird forced this junk filter on its users. I would not have chosen it. That is what has been so frustrating.

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I will try one last time: Thunderbird does not force anyone to use the junk filter. Your current problems almost certainly have nothing to do with Thunderbird. If you find that a message that goes to your inbox in Outlook goes to junk in Thunderbird, then there's a bug that we should report.

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Sometimes something interferes with Thunderbird's saving of settings. If you verify that the filter is not enabled and re-start Thunderbird, is it still not enabled?

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Rick,

Thanks again. Forgive me for becoming tired. I am 78 and had total knee replacement in early December. My recovery is going great, but I do get tired easily.

This morning, I revisited MS Outlook email online. I see that the weekly newsletter from our church is in the IN box online, but the last two have gone straight to Junk in Thunderbird.

ALL of the emails from the local YMCA go to Junk in Thunderbird. I think my next step is to go online the next time a YMCA email arrives to see if it went to IN in Outlook. I have deleted past ones, so now I don't think I can tell.

The church emails are sent via MailChimp. Does that cause problems for Thunderbird?

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If you have the junk filter turned off in Thunderbird in both places, global settings and account settings, and if you are not using message filters, then Thunderbird should not send messages to the junk folder. Have you turned off the filter in both places? Have you re-started Thunderbird and verified that the filter is still turned off in both places?

If, after all that, the same messages are in the inbox in Outlook but in the junk folder in Thunderbird, I conclude that Thunderbird has a problem. I'm sorry that I don't know what to do about it.

May your recovery from knee surgery go well.

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Puzzling. It is possible for Mailchimp to have a problem, but your email provider would have picked up on that. If the message is in inbox online, but in junk in thunderbird, then I concur with Rick: something is wrong. Shutting down the junk filter should be easy, but obviously is not. Possibly, Rick and/or I can find someone who can trace or otherwise identify this solution.

A possible thing to try: (that is, it may not work) - click tools>message filters - create a new filter to run AFTER the junk filter - set the condition for all messages and to always be true, 'e.g., 'subject does NOT contain rickanddavid' - set to move to inbox

if that works, it at least sets you free. let us know.

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I forgot to answer Rick's question about the filter staying off. It did come back once, but I now check every morning to be sure it is still off for my account, my husband's account and the global setting.

When I can get time in a few hous, I'll try to follow David's directions on creating a new filter. Thank you to both.

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To: David and Rick From: grumpy old woman

An email from the YMCA arrived, so I went to MS Outlook online and found it in junk there. I then asked Outlook Help how to white list addresses. I found that space and marked both the Y and the church as Safe Senders.

This fixes my problem for now. I am still pretty sure that one of the church newsletters went to junk in Thunderbird while staying in the IN box online. Now that I have marked it safe, I can no longer test this. Sorry.

Thank you for all the help.

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