click file>offline . if menu bar isn't showing, click alt key first.

Helped somewhat, but TBird is still too aggressive hitting the server. My server provider is getting upset with the number of re-set requests. In manual mode, the system should have a "test mode" that only hits the server once, giving a result. I have these email accounts setup on numerous other systems with no problem and no hassle. Never been so troubled. Are older versions available? Something from 3 years ago? That was bullet-proof.

Reverting to a prior version may cause more problems, but they're all available. You can pick from here> 128 was most recent, preceded by 115 in 2023 and by 102 in 2022. https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/thunderbird/releases/

I found a downloaded one from January and installed it on tbe 2 machines in question and all 3 accounts were set up manually on both with no problem. The newest versions are toxic from my perspective.

Your provider is getting upset. Why do they not provide the appropriate config files on their server so Thunderbird can get them in a single request. That is where the config process starts, asking the providers mail server for settings. If they are not offered the next step is to check the general database of large providers. https://autoconfig.thunderbird.net/v1.1/

Then and only then does the guessing game begin. The server is not hammered either, a number of connection attempts are made, but it is nothing excessive. So the issue here is the mail provider not offering the necessary support. I know you feel like the meat in the sandwich, but there is a clear and simply way out. But it involves providers actually helping their users instead of offering locked down proprietary solutions to problems they created. Certainly there is a new account hub in the latest release, but the code to set up account is really not all that different I don't think

However I am of the understanding there is some interest in reports here about the new account hub. So I will report this topic and see what happens.

Have 3 machines with Tbird, and 3 email accounts. 1. During a password change for one account, TBird hammered the server enough times to get my IP blocked. 2. I removed all 3 acco8nts and started over. In the middle of this, Bird updated and the new version makes it very difficult to stay in manual config, as the auto config continues to hammer the server. 3. Have been unable to complete the 3 setups without the ip getting blocked, have contacted the server support 4 times for unblocking. Why has Tbird made this so difficult? Used to be very easy! I want to do setup manually, and limit the number of times the setup tests the config.

What version were you using at step #1? Was it version 140? Who is the mail provider for that one account?

Why the decision to remove all three accounts at step #2 - that seems like a step backwards.

Do you have any idea what threshold number the provider uses for blocking IPs?

Thanks in advance - Your answers will help determine who we can improve.

Was, and am now using 140.2.0esr (64-bit). The problem began with a change in password to one account, which I accomplished successfully on my android phone using Samsung Email. Sometime later, I opened Thunderbird on one of the PCs with that installed and it complained about the password on the account that was changed. I was not successful in updating that password (copy/paste from 1Password) and when attempting to check the email from the other accounts that were previously OK (on this PC) Tbird complained about those passwords as well. I checked the email on the 2nd PC that also has Tbird with these 3 accounts and they were all problematic as well. I checked the email on my android and that still worked OK, suggesting that the IP (same for both PCs, different for the android) was "blocked". I contacted server support who confirmed and promptly unblocked it. They have been prompt and helpful, my comment about them being upset was my assumption because of the number of support tickets I generated to deal with this issue. I began looking for what was different about the PC and android installations, and found the server names to be different. One PC had "domain.org" (replace domain with my actual domain), one had "mail.domain.org", and the 3rd had a server name without our domain name at all. At this point I researched the recommended setup with the server provider and found all three methods claimed to be OK, but the preferred was "mail.domain.org". I attempted to edit the server names in TBird but found that cumbersome (use to be simple) and that resulted in a mandatory "restart". Each time resulting in a complaint about the password or ID. The 140 setup also doesn't allow removing or deleting the "default" SMTP, even after all accounts have been deleted. In attempting to delete the accounts to start over, I found no way to do so.... despite claims in support forums to "click on the red button" in the upper right of the account settings page. For grins, I did another update of TBird, and the red delete button became visible! Removing the accounts, attempting a new account "automatically" had mixed results, sometimes the system would suggest a POP server, but IMAP is preferred by me and the ISP. . Editing these settings again resulted in multiple requests for password entry. More IP blocks resulted. It appeared to me that attempts at using manual would revert sometime in the process to automatic, with unpleasant results. (To answer your question, the server blocks the IP if there are 5 failed logins within 10 minutes. A successful login from the IP during the process does not reset the failure counter.) I deleted all the accounts from the PCs, and installed Thunderbird Setup 128.5.2esr that had been used for some time, and was used for some of the installation, manually installed all 3 accounts successfully on both PCs with not one complaint. Today, I noted that 128.5 has been "updated" to 140 on my PCs without my permission. I have no confidence in this new version if subsequent changes to PW, etc., in any of the 3 accounts is needed. I have never before had a problem using TBird (any version, previously) to setup accounts, automatically or manually. The ISP confirmed that there are often problems when multiple PCs have the same accounts, and one updates something (like a password) resulting in the other making failed logins resulting in blocked IPs. The whole purpose of IMAP is to enable one email account to be shared/accessed across multiple PCs with the info synched. If you want the ISP name, please contact me privately via my email on file.

I cannot comment on all that you wrote, but I will share a few notes. Changing passwords is more a problem today than it was a decade ago, partly because many email providers now demand that a different password be used when accessing from a PC. That regularly causes posts to the forum by persons who change their password, report no problems when accessing online, and failing when accessing via Thunderbird. And, changing the password for an IMAP account on one PC requires, regardless of email client, that all other PCs accessing the account also change passwords. That isn't thunderbird, it's the email provider looking for the current password which is not on the other PCs. I regret that your PC was updated to 140 unanticipated by you, but the default setting is to automatically update. If you prefer to manually approve, then you need to change the setting. I respect your desire to protect your email provider's domain name, but that is often the key for someone here to offer a solution. We regularly see email providers such as comcast, spectrum, and others - including gmail - where users routinely experience difficulty in setting accounts.

The provider is ionblade. I have been very pleased with their service, and their management tools etc available to me as the domain's web/email admin.

What pushed us to Thunderbird a year ago was the mail merge utility. We do mass emails a few times a month to our members (only 100 or so) with customized content for each member, and were unable to find a suitable, affordable mailer (like mail chimp), so were using Libre Office with its built-in mail merge utility. Subsequently several receiving domains (icloud, AOL, yahoo, MSN, and related) would reject the spurt of multiple emails from one ip to members of their domain. I would watch the traffic on CPanel's "track delivery" tool. I worked with Ionblade to ensure that our messages were properly classified and evaluated (DKIM, DMARC etc.) but the problem persisted in that the receiving domains when seeing common sender IPs would institute a "delay response" and with too many delays, ionblade would cancel the messages to avoid the common IP being flagged as a spammer. So, ionblade set us up with our own static IP so we weren't getting mixed with other potential bad actors, and TBird's mailmerge plug-in allows a specified delay between each outbound email. Between our own IP and the transmission delays, we are no longer blacklisted by those domains as a spammer.

Erik

Thanks for sharing that. I enjoy seeing an email provider working closely with a user. That is rare, but good to see. :)