Thunderbird Community Forum

I have a downloaded application of Thunderbird 78.6.1 on my computer from 2021. With my new Windows 11 Pro I had to download and install 138.0 (64 bit) and I'd like to go back to 78.6.1. Can I install it by running the application from the old download? If so, do I need to uninstall 138.0 first?. Will my address book and emails be safe? Is there any profile mix up I should be concerned about?

On my Desktop, I use Thunderbird Desktop Version 128.9.2esr [to access a gmail-account.] On my android phone, I use K-9 MAIL [to access the same gmail-account.]

So, today I get an email from Mozilla talking about a advances/upgrades to Thunderbird. The email went to a video link... so I watched that...

Is there a "new" Thunderbird App???

If yes, Can I just upgrade from my existing version 128.9.2esr... to the new Thunderbird?? Or, do I need to download a brand new Thunderbird app and install???

What about K-9 Mail?? Do I update the existing K(-Mail app to the new Thunderbird android App??? Or is this a new install???

Please help me understand what is going on with Mozilla and Thunderbird...

PS: Has Thunderbird been fixed so that I can access microsoft-email? I realize that microsoft is making it difficult to access email using 3rd party email clients... What is the status on this??

I look forward to your response, Thank you, Kevin

Postbox having been sold to eM Client, I need to migrate to Thunderbird. Import worked pretty well using the protocol "migrating from a previous Thunderbird installation" however the filters did not import at all. It happens that I have 320 of them, so it would be a great help if some automatic procedure could be implemented. Is this possible? Thanks in advance. Regards, Gérald

A few weeks ago after an automatic update I ended up having Thunderbird version 131.0.1 installed, I have no idea how this happened. On opening I get a message telling me I shouldn't be using a beta version and that I should revert to the latest general release version (128.4)

Today when I had some free time I downloaded 128.4 and installed it. On opening it it says that I can't use a profile file from a later version with the earlier version. Is there a way to recover from this WITHOUT having to set up the whole profile again from scratch.

Meanwhile I have done a system restore so I am back with 131.0.1 It has not given me any problems so far. Is there a new general release version imminent that will get me back on track?

I would appreciate any help I am not a computer expert, just a user, and find Thunderbird a very good email client.

David Gould

Good morning, I had asked a question early on Saturday, but was unavailable the rest of the weekend so just now responding to associate Corey Bryan's answer. I had gotten a message that I am using an unsupported version and they recommend downloading the latest stable version.

He said it appears that I'm on the "Release" channel and most likely want to be on the ESR channel. I also mentioned that I am a cave-man when it comes to anything computer and am very skittish about making any changes as I don't how to straighten out any errors that might occur.

He asked me where I installed Thunderbird from and the answer is that I don't know. It was an IT guy that did it many years ago.

So I guess my questions are, if I've been using this version for years, do I need to or should I update it? If so, if I click on the latest stable version of Thunderbird, will that change anything on my computer, aside from getting the newer version of T-Bird? And will my e-mails in Thunderbird look any different?

Thanks very much for the help. Tony

If I copy a message file of Local Folders from the Thunderbird profile on one computer to the corresponding path on another computer, will Thunderbird process it correctly?

I see my e-mails in Local Folders are stored in this file, /home/norio/.thunderbird/<random>.default-release/Mail/Local\ Folders/<subfolder_name>.sbd/Inbox If I copy this file to the same path (except rewriting <random> string) on another computer by OS's commands (like cp and rsync), will the messages show up in Thunderbird on the destination computer?

I see many back-up and recovery articles that instructs the users to copy the entire profile directory and copy it to the new computer. I wonder if I can copy only a message file, so that I don't have to overwrite the entire settings and messages on the destination computer.

From an upgrade to Ubuntu 24.04 I had a fresh installation of Thunderbird 128.4.4esr with a new profile in a different location. After some attempts at migration I ended up with

(base) kuiper@nutmeg2:~/snap/thunderbird/common/.thunderbird/p325bquj.default$ ls -l ImapMail/ total 48 drwxr-xr-x 3 kuiper kuiper 4096 Dec 3 17:22 imap.gmail-1.com drwxr-xr-x 3 kuiper kuiper 4096 Dec 7 10:44 imap.gmail-2.com drwxr-xr-x 3 kuiper kuiper 4096 Dec 7 12:12 imap.gmail.com

This are big directories taking a lot of disk space.

(base) kuiper@nutmeg2:~/snap/thunderbird/common/.thunderbird/p325bquj.default$ sudo du -hst 1G ImapMail/* 15G ImapMail/imap.gmail-1.com 15G ImapMail/imap.gmail-2.com 17G ImapMail/imap.gmail.com

Can I just delete imap.gmail-1.com and imap.gmail-2.com?

Hi there. I used the export/import functions to export my Thunderbird profile to a new computer.

It was largely successful. Many of my layout and general appearance settings were not imported to the new computer, but I just re-set those manually.

My last remaining problem is that it appeared that none of my local folders and messages were exported.

However, when I use file explorer to go to drive C on my new computer,

\Users\myname\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\xxxxxxxxx.default-esr\Mail\Local Folders\Storage.sbd All of the folders, subfolders and messages are right there.

They're just not showing up in the directory tree pane or account pane (sorry, not sure what you really call it) in my main Thunderbird interface. All I see are "Trash" and "Outbox."

Anyone have any ideas as to how I make my local folders and messages re-appear?

Thanks,

Dave

Hello there. I've followed the instructions in the appropriate support article and transferred our Thunderbird profile from a Widows 10 machine to a Windows 11. My profile as a .zip file is larger than the 2GB limit, so I used the Widows Explorer cut and paste. It's likely that I've done something slightly awry as one of my local sub folders hasn't transferred. Otherwise TB works fine. Is it possible to just restore the particular local folder, as I can find both the entries in my mail folder on windows explorer? However the view of the two entries looks rather different on the two computers when I compare a local folder that has transferred. Regards, Arthur

Hello,

About a decade ago, I zipped my local Thunderbird email folders to archive for future use. Recently I installed Thunderbird again so I could access those emails and attachments. Doubtless I missed a step or instruction.

I copied the folders to the location recommended by one of the pages on this site (as I understood it at any rate). Namely: appdata/roaming/Thunderbird/profiles/8i4zk81v.default-release/Mail/Local Folders.

The folders and emails all show up in the folder and message list panes, but no text or attachments show up in the message pane when a message is selected. Not even the email header appears if I double-click to open an email. I can still read the message text using notepad one of two ways, either: 1) the entire sub-folder (e.g., "Personal") by selecting the file with no extension (i.e., "Personal" rather than "Personal.msf") from the list in Local Folders, or; 2) an individual message in a corresponding folder called "Personal.mozmsgs". Of course, I have no idea which message I read until I open it.

Just in case it helps to know, the IMAP connection with one of my gmail addresses works just fine.

Thanks in advance, Russell

I would like to back up my Address Books using the file extension. It used to be .mab or .sqlite, but in the version I am running (128.5.0esr) I can't figure it out. I assume it is still in the Profile directory someplace ? Thanks

I am not sure this is really about Installation and updates, but none of the others seemed to apply.

This is the second major issue I have had since upgrading to 128esr. I am really inclined to go back to 115.

The only way to get my Calendar to display properly is to leave that tab on top when I quit, so it's on top when I launch Thunderbird. If I don't do that, I cannot get my appointments to display and I get no notifications. The Calendar is blank and stays blank, even though it claims my Home calendar is not hidden. I did try hiding it and unhiding it again, but that didn't help. I do not have any Calendar-related add-ons.

It's severely annoying. It means that if I forget to leave the Calendar on top, I have quit, re-launch, and re-log into all my e-mail accounts (I've got a bunch). Could someone please find a better solution for this?

I am using Thunderbird for Mac on a MacBook Pro, 13 inch, mid 2012 running 10.15.7 (Catalina), which is the best the thing can do. Only tell me to upgrade my hardware if you are offering to pay for it yourself.

Thank you.

I recently installed Thunderbird on a new installation of Ubuntu 24.04 using the "Installing Thunderbird manually" instructions. Everything works fine except that Thunderbird doesn't want to use the Thunderbird icon in the dock. Thunderbird opens and runs fine when I click on the Thunderbird icon, but it then puts a new default icon on the dock that looks like a gear instead of just "using" the Thunderbird icon to indicate that the application is running. I've attached a screenshot. When I close Thunderbird, the gear icon disappears.

I have a profile on a disk from a Windows 10 machine that recently died. I have a Windows 11 laptop that I just installed Thunderbird on, and I tried a profile import from the tools. It was able to successfully import my address book as well as my local folders, but did not import my calendar events or my sub folders under my inbox. Is there any way for me to get this data imported? Thanks, Gary

Dear Sir or Madam,

I need your help.

My Thunderbird shortcut no longer opens. The shortcut C:/Online/Thunderbird is empty. The folder no longer exists and my Thunderbird can no longer be found after an update on November 1.

I can still find Thunderbird version 128.4.0 260MB from 1.11.24 and my old profile from 7.11. under Windows Programe.

What can I do to get my Thunderbird back? Reinstall Thunderbird and integrate the profile?

I haven't actively deleted the program and can't remember updating it.

I was just able to save the profile to a USB stick.

Many thanks in advance for your efforts

German Kann die Verknüpfung von Thunderbird nicht mehr öffnen. Diese ist nicht mehr auffindbar.. Mein Thunderbird ist wohl nach einem Update am 1.11. nicht mehr auffindbar. Finde unter Programe Thunderbird Version 128.4.0 260MB vom 1.11.24 und mein alten Profil vom 7.11. noch. Was kann ich tun um mein Thunderbird wieder zu erhalten? Neu installieren und das Profil einbinden? Habe aktiv das das Programm nicht gelöscht und kann mich an ein Update auch nicht erinnern.. Konnte das Profil gerade auf einen USB-Stick sichern

I'm trying to reduce size of TB Profile folder (2.45GB) I observe that my TB Profile, Imap.Mail folder contains two folders for Yahoo.com, one of which I suspect is unnecessary.

- imap.mail.yahoo.com 27 MB

- imap.mail.yahoo-1.com 2.29 GB. This folder has the more recent "Date Modified" date.

Please see screenshot. No problems with TB operations.

Can one of these be deleted? Which one? How? (i.e., any re-naming involved?)

Thank You

Roger

Dear support/community, I'm a little confused on the support of 115 version of thunderbird. It has been kind of treated as a "esr" version, like below 115.16.0esr indicates.

https://archive.mozilla.org/pub/thunderbird/releases/115.16.0esr/

I know firefox is stopping update until end of 1Q 2025, and my assumption that applies to all Mac, Windows and Linux and till then firefox will get high/medium CVE patches if impacted --- is this the right assumption?

I'm not sure about the situation of thunderbird. while I intend to believe similar to firefox, also told that 115.16 is the last 115 version.

Thanks.

Moving Thunderbird from an old laptop (W10) to a new laptop (W11). Doing this for a non-computer-literate friend. Old laptop (bought in 2016) is now running W10 but I assume it was originally W7 and upgraded at some point (by me).

I followed Moving Thunderbird data to a new computer which seemed straightforward. However when I copied the Profile across and restarted Thunderbird there was no data to be seen. I tried again just to be sure, including uninstalling and reinstalling Thunderbird. Still no joy. [There are support threads about this but they seem to be archived so I can't update them.]

Onwards and upwards. I tried the "export to zip file" option. This had a mild warning that if the Profile was more than 3GB it might (!) be better to back up instead. [Noting that I had already tried this and failed - see above.]

It produced the ZIP file eventually, at an impressive 15.8GB. I then tried to restore from it, but the Restore option refused to find it, showing a comment that the file must be not larger than 2GB. I refer the reader back to the note on the Export option.

I then noted that you could Import from another Profile. I had one of those saved from my first attempts to copy Profile -> Profile. So I tried this option and it worked.

I think my issue was that the old version of Thunderbird was 32 bit and the new version was 64 bit. In which case the document linked to above could do with an update to warn about moving from 32 bit to 64 bit and include the method that worked. [Subject to more testing by others to confirm the solution works reliably.]

The Export dialogue could also do with a much more specific warning, to align with the Import dialogue.

This is a brief summary of a very long day because shifting 15.8GB of data around between computers and in and out as well is incredibly tedious! :-( Noting that the ZIP file and the Thunderbird directory tree with the Profile in are both the same size.