''re: If I then search for that email it is found and points to the inbox, but doesn't appear in that list.'' That's just the Global database which is not up to date or you have not compacted the Inbox recently. The email does not exist in the Thunderbird IMAP account because it does not exist on server. How may this have occurred ? Your mail account in Thunderbird must have been set up as an IMAP mail account which means it can only display whatever is on the server. All folders in an Imap account synchronise with all folders of same name on server. That's the same view as if you had logged onto your webmail account via a browser. You phone has a mail account accessing the same email address on same server. However, if you have set up a mail account on phone that uses the POP protocol, then the default setting would be to access only server 'Inbox' and download mail and delete copy off server. You need to check the account settings on phone to see if you can select an option to 'Leave copy on server' OR the only alternative is to remove the Pop account on phone and recreate it as IMAP. But remember, when using an IMAP protocol, if you delete any email from the phone then it will synchronise with server and delete off server which means when you log on to Thunderbird account, that same email will get removed because it does not exist on server.