Thunderbird Community Forum

Since Fri evening 28 nov 2025, i can receive but not send emails at my PC I am with Optus in Australia and have contacted them multiple times and they assure me its not their end, but that they have been getting lots of calls so directed me here. I can receive and send emails directly via their webserver and can receive on the PC but sending times out I see a few posts in the last days saying the same thing re OPTUS so just reporting my settings are as per the OPTUS help desk

Server mail.optusnet.com.au Port 25 user ******* Authentication Normal Password Security STARTTLS

and i have deleted and rebuilt by TBird account several times ( as suggested by them ) but no luck

Andrew

For the past month or so, Thunderbird has stopped providing me with emails as swiftly and reliably as it has been for many years. When starting the application; In the bottom of Thunderbird I can see it seems to do all the checks to the mailservers correctly, it just doesn't download any new emails. Nine out of ten times, it doesn't work. Then, all of sudden, once in a while, it actually does work. It's really irritating and I'm considering switching to another mail application. Currently, I can access my mail by logging on to the webmail, but it would be so much nicer if Thunderbird would work just as it is intended. Kind Regards from a user in Denmark, Scandinavia. Version: 140.5.0esr

I'd like my search results to include messages where the search item is in the Sender or Subject but it appears to find only words in the body. Is there a way to include this? btw, the window pane on the left shows a filter but I don't know how it got there or how to delete it. Is this relevant? Is there documentation on how to use the search feature to specify folders, binary searches, etc? Thanks

Background I am currently migrating from Windows to Linux/Ubuntu (finally). So I am a beginner in Linux (intermediate in Windows).

As part of this I need to replace my Microsoft Outlook. In Linux there are a few to choose from. For example: Evolution, KDE Kontact/KOrganizer and Thunderbird.

Aside from some compatibility issues with G-mail, I was overall happy with Outlook for the following reasons – which are also what I wish I could get out of, preferably one, or more, equivalent personal information manager programs (PIM) in Ubuntu:

• Calendar

- Absolutely ok. - Good overview and synchronization with other parts of Outlook - Stylish, useful and clear graphics

• Task function (To-do)

- Very good: 

- Shown in all views (email, calendar) - Good time division: Today, tomorrow, this week, next week, month, etc. * Great possibilities for setting up and designing your tasks (in everything from designing quite complex projects to graphic outline and layout) - Completed tasks are saved automatically and are very easy to access in a separate window (to the left of current and upcoming tasks), where all tasks are also searchable through the search function at the top. Very useful when you need a history of various projects/tasks, etc., that you have completed. For me, absolutely crucial! - Good synchronization with the calendar: Shown, for example, at the bottom of the Calendar for each day. - Quite stylish, useful and clear graphics

• Contacts/Address Book

- Also quite ok - Synchronized with other parts. - Stylish, useful and clear graphics

• Email

- Quite ok, apart from the aforementioned synchronization problem with G-mail - I completely abandoned IMAP and switched to managing all email online, which is an obvious deterioration: G-mail online is not the world's most intuitive tool for someone who handles large amounts of email with the administration and control needs that this entails. - Plenty of settings - Quite ok synchronization. - Stylish, useful and clear graphics

The version of Ubuntu I'm using is 24.04. It comes with Thunderbird. But only as an email client (no calendar, no To-do app, no address book, etc.). Which was a bit of a disappointment. It's a full-fledged PIM that I need.

So to start with, I tried Evolution. I don't want to say that Evolution is bad, but it didn't work for my purposes - and in many respects felt quite outdated. Maybe it would be possible to get more out of it if you explored and tested it more, but after a couple of weeks of evaluation, I set my limit. But I really liked that it was synchronized with the calendar that is included by default in Ubuntu (and which is accessed from the bar at the top of the Desktop): Everything you put in Evolution is automatically put in the Ubuntu calendar, and vice versa. Great when you want to quickly access this kind of information.

Right now I'm investigating Thunderbird. So I already have the email client (not yet tested, but investigated in terms of settings, etc., etc.). For this I now need the other mentioned parts (especially calendar and To-do) – and get them to work as described above.

Since there are such a lot of add-ons/extensions for Thunderbird, I find it quite difficult to navigate and confusing to find out exactly which add-ons/ extensions could correspond to the expectations/requirements I have for those, which I hope to be able to get help with here.

Regarding the calendar, the searches I have conducted several times have suggested the extension "Lighting" (https://www-archive.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/lightning/download), but based on the information I have obtained so far, I am unsure/doubtful whether this extension (which, if I understand the matter correctly, is in principle equivalent to the stand-alone application "Sunbird") will meet the criteria I have listed above. Especially when it comes to the Task function.

So the question is: Which extensions, corresponding to my wishes/requirements, should I choose in terms of calendar, To-do, and address book?

Or are my criteria such that there are no such corresponding add-ons/extensions at all?

Or is it better to download some other version of Thunderbird where all of these are pre-installed (and which meets my criteria)?

Looking forward to any answers that may provide some clarity. :)

Three weeks ago I attempted to migrate my TB profiles from a 2014 mini-mac to a 2024 mini-mac. I thought I did a better job of backing up my profile using CCC than I actually did. In the migration to the new Mac I lost all my subfolders from the last 20 years. Apple created a new Profile and 2 restoration Profiles on the new Sequoia based mini-mac. I wasn't familiar with these and panicked. I copied those files, took them back to the original mac and tried to follow Toad-Hall's method of restoring the subfolders recommended to bmack1 on 23/11/22. However, I failed to carry out the step of going up two levels in the path of the Library to copy the entire "Thunderbird" file and only copied the Largest restoration file. This in turn, "contaminated" the 2014 original Thunderbird mail profile and only an Inbox and Trash subfolder remained. Today, after 3 weeks of searching and reading the generous contributions of this community, I came across a post explaining that the "sbd files" will show the subfolder headings I created in the original sought after Profile. And I found it!!! My problem is I have re-read Toad-Hall's method of re-installing the original Profile and tried to carry that out to the letter by placing the old Profile within a Thunderbird folder and switching it with the current one. But it's still listed as the "Restoration qqg...file" and probably shouldn't be, but I don't want to go any further and risk losing it because I feel I almost have it. So any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

Hello, When I first built this Linux Mint laptop I just grabbed the first Thunderbird install I saw, never realizing it would never update, now understaning how this works I want to install the flatpack version so I can be up to date. what is the best way to attack this, can I just install the flatpack and it will capture all my mailbox settings or do I need to start from scratch?

Thanks in advance Guy

Just wondering why our forum posts can't also be black on black, or white on white, etc? Seems like the forum is stuck in the past, still doing the old black on white, as if anyone cares about being able to see the text.

Drag and Drop attachments to the desktop stopped working again with Thunderbird 145. Steps to reproduce: You receive a mail with an attachment. You drag an attached file from this message and drop it onto the desktop of your Mac to download it. The attached file is not saved to the desktop (or any other folder I tried). This is on MacOS 26.1 MacMini M4. Please fix asap.

Am having an issue with creating a “new folder” in my inbox. I create the folder, shut Thunderbird down, re-open it and the folder is not there. Did this three times, same result. A

lso, having an issue with tagging. I will click on an email, right click, and nothing happens. I have to click on another email, click the original email, then I can tag it. I suspect a corrupted profile but, not sure. Any ideas?

I'm running Thunderbird 140.5.0esr (64-bit) on Windows 11 Pro.

I've been using Thunderbird for years, and I've had it connected to my Google Calendars since Lightning added support for it (and before that, used an extension to do it). A few weeks ago, I noticed that none of my Google calendar entries were present. They're just gone, even though they're all listed in Thunderbird and none are hidden. I'm not sure when they first disappeared, so I don't know if it corresponds with a version update (I was using 140.4.0 when I noticed. 140.5.0 didn't fix it).

I tried to re-synchronize the calendars, and nothing appeared, but there were no indications of any errors (nor any indication that there was any update activity occurring).

So then I deleted my calendars, deleted the account authorization info from Thunderbird, shut Thunderbird down, reopened it, and reconnected with Google from scratch. That logged in successfully and let me select which calendars I wanted to subscribe to, but once again, none of their contents are there. Nothing in the past or future.

Is Thunderbird's Google Calendar integration completely broken in v140, or is something corrupted in my Thunderbird install? If the latter, is there some residual file in my profile I should delete after deleting my Google account from Thunderbird, in order to reset this and get it working again?

Edit: I should add that I did check on Google's "syncselect" page for my account to confirm that my calendars are still available for sync. Nothing has changed here since it was last working in Thunderbird.

I've got 2 PC, both on the same version of W11 Home and TB?

On my PC that was install in 2020, I can see on each folder and sub-folder unread mail, total mail, and size of that folder (see uploaded image). On my wife's PC, installed in March of this year, only can show the total mail and folder size?

I've Googled how to do that and of course there is no such steps I can do?

===

To show the unread message count in Thunderbird's folder pane, click the three dots icon ( ...) at the top right of the folder pane header and select "Folder Pane Columns" or "Show total message count". Some versions may also allow you to enable this view by right-clicking on the folder pane header and selecting "Folder Pane Columns," then choosing to show "Total" and "Unread".

===

Right off the bat, no "Folder Pane Columns"???

I suspect somehow this was removed from TB, so new installs this year can't get to it?

I can't even get to that on my PC from 2020 to turn them off?

Is/was there another way? Doesn't seem I have an ADD-ON to do that and I can't locate one that would do it?

Is there an answer to this or is this just the way it is (not)?

Dear Thunderbird Community,

I cannot send emails from Thunderbird with the settings provided by my Internet provider (Spectrum). We've established that the web version of Spectrum.net works as expected. Also, I can receive messages with my Thunderbird. However, I cannot send any messages.

I am using the settings that Spectrum gave me, and they are also working correctly with my Android device, iPad and Outlook. I can receive and send messages successfully.

I have allowed Thunderbird to pass through my Windows Defender Firewall.

When the settings are not exactly what Spectrum tells me, this is the error I get:

An error occurred while sending mail: Outgoing server (SMTP) error. The server responded: p-impout007.msg.pkvw.co.charter.net cmsmtp 179.61.150.63 blocked. Please see https://www.spectrum.net/support/internet/understanding-email-error-codes for more information. AUP#Out-1130.

When my outgoing server settings are exactly what Spectrum tells me, I get another error message:

Sending of the message failed. The message could not be sent because the connection to Outgoing server (SMTP) mail.twc.com timed out. Try again.

I'm not sure what else I can do at this point? Can I increase the length of time so that the connection doesn't time out?

Thanks,

Mike

Hello,

I had a TB crash, and clicked "OK" to submit the crash data before realizing all the "include data" options already checked.

How can I get Mozilla to remove this crash data from their site?

Thank you.

My preferred settings for the message list pane (not sure if that's what everyone else calls it) include unthreaded, newest at top.

From time to time, Thunderbird apparently forgets these settings, and in all my mailboxes and sub-folders, lists messages with the newest at the bottom and threaded. I haven't checked how often this happens and it doesn't seem to be related to updates.

Any ideas about why T-bird does this, or even better, whether and how it can be fixed?

I have Thunderbird 145.0 (64-bit) running on an uptodate installation of Windows 11 and have recently found that the email in folders do not always order themselves in the way they are supposed to. Although I have all my folders set to show emails in date order, with the newest at the top I am now sometimes finding new emails halfway down the list. This has happened several times in the last few weeks. I have "repaired" the folders every time I notice this but it has not solved the problem. Is there a glitch in the later versions of Thunderbird which is causing this? It was apparent today with my 'deleted' folder. I can't send you an image because I have now sorted the issue, until it happens again. I only discovered this by mikssing a couple of important emails and finding them in webmail but not in Thunrderbird. I use IMAP and my settings to the server are correct.

This is regarding TB 91.13.1 on Windows 11. I know with later versions of TB you can change a setting in Preferences > config editor to make the scrollbar wider. But this doesn't work with TB 91.13.1. In fact you have to add that preference, which I've done, along with several others. So far nothing makes any difference.

I've also added the text as mentioned here but it made no difference. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1251403

Any suggestions would be appreciated, Thanks

i have always used thunderbird and am now up to 64 bit thunderbird 144.0.1 on windows 11 25h2

everytime i am sent a pdf file as an attachment i'm having to get thunderbird to open the file before i can actually save it to disc

everything else, while asking me for a name & location to save the file simply doesn't

btw thunderbird is now configured to ask me what to do with the pdf file and it ALWAYS behaves the same

i don't want to have to open files like pdf's that may not be safe / virus free before being able to handle them

way passed the time you fixed this stupidity terry

I have Thunderbird 140.5.0 installed. It keeps moving my mail folders. I had them sorted in alphabetical order but a week ago it started moving my folders. For example, I have a folder named "FunWithTubes" but it keeps moving to the bottom of the list after "Y" and if I move it back then a day or so later it will be back somewhere else near the bottom. This is not the only folder it does this too but does not do it to all of them. How do I get it to put my folders back where I had them and leave them alone? This has got to be a bug.

Thank you.