Thunderbird 社群討論區

I want to copy my windows Thunderbird profile to Linux but my Profile Directory will not open when I press open directory. I downloaded Thunderbird from the Zorin app store, and it may be a flatpak or something – it won’t tell me now because I have already installed it – but I believe that could be a reason for the directory not opening. Is there a non-PC-literate way of finding out and fixing this?

Every five minutes Mozilla sends me a page asking for access to my Google account. I click "deny" and it goes away for a few minutes, but comes right back. And while it is on, I can neither send nor receive email. Is there some way to get it to go away and stay away? Thanks, Larry Wright

All was well until about six months ago. When I try to connect to my provider TB won't connect. BUT. At other times it will connect then every few minutes will try to connect again - then again .... I get this message "Connection to the server mail.comcast.net timed out". Then I get this message each time it fails "Login to server mail.comcast.net with username 170834000 failed". It keeps asking me to input my password even though everything is working appropriately. Then at other times it says it doesn't connect but it has connected and it still continues to ask me for a password.

I have uninstalled TB and reinstalled it thinking that would fix it - it didn't. I have changed my password - again to no avail. I let TB choose where to put things and configure each item appropriately. I don't try to get in the way of what works.

Comcast is apparently getting out of the email business and asking everyone to move over to their chosen substitute (Yahoo.mail) and I have not chosen to migrate at this point. Maybe that's the problem. This is the message I get each time I log into Comcast.net:

"A better email experience is now available for you

You're invited to upgrade your email account to Yahoo Mail, so you can enjoy a more user-friendly experience. Your email address, messages, folders, and contacts will not change.

With Yahoo Mail, you'll enjoy enhanced security, a built-in calendar that's easy to use, AI-powered inbox organization, and a top-rated mobile app for easy access on the go."

I am not aware of any changes in the settings from before when it was working well and now when it seems to be erratic.

I am not terribly computer savvy, but I'm usually able to trouble shoot and fix the issues that confront me. This time I'm out of my league! I need help.

Thank you for helping me.

I prefer to have the Contact Name only display in the TO: field of composed or outgoing emails. I already know their address is correct in my Address Book, why do I need to see it? Presently, the TO: field shows "Name <email address>", as shown in the first uploaded image.

I am a new user to Thunderbird and I have reviwed, and believe, set all the Settings correctly that I could find on the subject (see second uploaded image), but the results do not change.

What am I missing?

Thanks Matt T

I am assisting an elderly user with a personal @hotmail.com account that receives email successfully in Thunderbird but cannot send. I have confirmed they can send and receive emails from their online outlook.com portal. The user's computer setup is as follows:

• Windows 11 (with latest updates).
• Thunderbird 153.0.2 (64-bit).
• A personal @hotmail.com account with the following server configurations:

  -> Incoming IMAP: outlook.office365.com, port 993, SSL/TLS, OAuth2, and
  -> Outgoing SMTP: smtp-mail.outlook.com, port 587, STARTTLS, OAuth2.

Thunderbird successfully authenticates to Microsoft using OAuth2 for incoming email. However, when Thunderbird attempts outgoing email authentication, Microsoft's SMTP server rejects the authentication. The Error Console in Thunderbird records this message: "535 5.7.139 Authentication unsuccessful, SmtpClientAuthentication is disabled for the Mailbox."

-> Refer to attached image: "Thunderbird Error Console_20260811.jpg". -> I am able to provide a short screen recording demonstrating the failure if needed.

To try and resolve the above, I completed the following actions:

1. Confirmed Thunderbird is current (153.0.2).
2. Confirmed SMTP is configured for OAuth2 rather than Normal Password.
3. Confirmed port 587 and STARTTLS.
4. Re-authorised the Microsoft account/OAuth connection.
5. Confirmed IMAP OAuth2 works.
6. Confirmed Outlook.com webmail can send successfully.
7. Reviewed Mozilla's current “Microsoft OAuth Authentication and Thunderbird in 2026” guidance, including the section covering cases where IMAP/POP works but SMTP does not.
8. Captured the SMTP failure in Thunderbird's Error Console.

However nothing worked, so I raised the matter with Microsoft support and eventually had the matter referred to their Tier 2 team. The Microsoft case number is: 7107041963.

Microsoft Support confirmed that for a personal Outlook.com/Hotmail account there is no user-accessible mailbox-level SMTP AUTH setting, and advised that SMTP is enabled by default for supported clients. However, because sending from Outlook.com webmail works, Microsoft Tier 2 declined to investigate the SMTP server response further and directed me to Thunderbird support.

I am able to provide a copy of the chat transcript if needed.

In any event, the TLDR version IMAP works using OAuth2, but SMTP using OAuth2 fails because Microsoft's SMTP server reports SmtpClientAuthentication is disabled for the Mailbox. Microsoft Tier 2 has referred the issue to Thunderbird support.

Questions:

1. Is this a known current issue affecting personal Outlook.com/Hotmail accounts using Thunderbird?
2. Is 535 5.7.139 SmtpClientAuthentication is disabled for the Mailbox known to occur with Thunderbird OAuth2 even though IMAP OAuth2 succeeds?
3. Is there a current Thunderbird-side workaround or alternative SMTP server/configuration recommended for personal Hotmail accounts?
4. Would changing the SMTP server from smtp-mail.outlook.com to smtp.office365.com be appropriate for a personal Hotmail account in Thunderbird 153, or should the current Microsoft-documented server be retained?

-> I note there appears to be conflicting advice on this point in previous support threads.

1. Given that IMAP OAuth2 authentication succeeds for the same Microsoft account, does this indicate that Thunderbird's Microsoft OAuth authorisation itself is functioning correctly, or could SMTP require a separate permission/token that may be failing?
2. Are there any additional Thunderbird logs or diagnostics I can provide that would help resolve this matter?

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to help organise my troubleshooting notes and technical details for this post. The troubleshooting, observations and diagnostic information described above are from my own work on the affected PC.

I had Thunderbird on my Windows 10 computer. I bought a new Windows 11 computer and downloaded Thunderbird. When I try to set up my email account, I provide my full name (not my Thunderbird user name) and email address. The next screen has the message "Configuration found in Mozilla ISPDB ". I clicked on IMAP and hit continue. The next screen I type in my password for my Spectrum mail account. I have confirmed that the password works went I log onto the Spectrum website. The next screen has the Authentication error "Unable to log in at server. Probably wrong configuration, username or password.". I've also tried using my Thunderbird user name and Password instead of my full name and Spectrum password with the same results. I know my Thunderbird user name is correct but I can't be 100% sure that my Thunderbird password is correct.

I'm not sure if this matters but my email has the has the extension ----@socal.rr.com. This was assigned to me by my original email provider, which was Time Warner Cable. Spectrum bought Time Warner Cable a few years ago and I think Spectrum uses a different extension.

Please excuse the length of this but it's necessary.

Began using Thunderbird (TB) in June, 2026 accessing email from wowway using POP3 (I know not imap, but old habits die hard). Changed password on wow in July and changed it in TB. Thereafter, and up until yesterday, TB was unable to logon to wow. However, the new PW allowed access to emails by browser logon to wow; old PW failed as it should. Frustrated with not being able to use TB with new PW: - deleted AppData/Roaming/Thunderbird folder (profiles and all) - recovered a backed up copy of TB folder from mid June when things were working and copied it to AppData/Roaming. Bingo, was able to get and send emails. Puzzled, looked at TB Saved Passwords and verified the old PW was being used. To verify this, I sent an email to myself, pressed F5 to get mail and it was in the inbox, and also on wow server.. BOTTOM LINE: There is no question that TB is using an old, changed wow PW. And if PW in TB is changed to new PW, access to wow fails. How can this be? Help please.

There was an earlier Case with the exact same name as what I named this case which was archived back in 2025. I have been living with this same problem since last year also. In the previous case there was reference to "downgrading" to an earlier version of TB, but there have been a bunch of updates since then so I doubt that would fix my problem because that earlier version is now over a year old.

I have one Gmail folder that correctly has one folder label "Junk." However, I have 4 folders that are AT&T related (2 from the domain "sbcglobal.net" and 2 from the "att.net.") For some reason when I set these folders up years ago they started out as labeled "Spam" instead of "Junk." Of those 4 folders 2 of them have the duplicated "Spam" folders, one from each domain."

When I go to Folder Properties I see "imap://XXXXX%40sbcglobal.net@imap.mail.att.net/Junk" on one of these Spam folders and "imap://XXXXX%40sbcglobal.net@imap.mail.att.net/Bulk" in the other. And the same "Bulk" vs "Junk" issue is in the other domain as well. All are named "Spam."

Can I simply delete one of these folders that are named "Spam" in each domain? Does it matter whether I delete the one ending in "Junk" or the one ending in "Bulk?"

Thanks.

I was a satisfied user of the Thunderbird e-mail client. I especially enjoyed the ability to toggle into darkmode when browsing and reading my e-mail. The previous toggle I used to activate that feature is missing, and I cannot locate a work around to turn it back on. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

just got Thunderbird, i added my outlook email then got to the "connect your email setting" then i clicked continue cause i wanted to use imap and got a "Authentication error". I got Thunderbird on a different device and used my gmail on that device and it worked fine. Only get the error when i try to use my outlook email and i don't know what to do.

Hello Thunderbird Support, I am experiencing a severe IMAP folder synchronization loop with my Yahoo Mail account (paulpersonne519@yahoo.fr) inside Thunderbird. Yahoo Support claims the issue is caused by Thunderbird's folder mapping, so I am reaching out to you for a solution.

1. 1. The Problem:

The system-protected folder "Bulk" (Spam) has somehow been moved or mapped as a subfolder inside the "Trash" folder.

• In the Yahoo Mail Web UI (Chrome), the subfolder is invisible, but the Trash directory shows an arrow (^) indicating a child folder exists.
• In Thunderbird, the Bulk folder is clearly visible inside the Trash folder, marked with the flame (Junk) icon.

1. 1. What goes wrong:

When I delete spam messages via Thunderbird, they get trapped inside this nested Trash/Bulk directory. If I try to delete or empty it, the emails disappear but the folder itself cannot be removed.

1. 1. Steps tried so far that failed:

  1. Attempting to delete or rename the Bulk folder inside Trash gives the server error: [CANNOT] DELETE failed - Mailbox is reserved.
  2. Using Shift + Delete on the folder is rejected by the Yahoo server.
  3. Unsubscribing from the folder via "Advanced IMAP settings" -> "Show only subscribed folders" fails; Thunderbird re-downloads the structure on the next sync.
  4. I have completely deleted my old Thunderbird profile folder and created a brand new one using thunderbird.exe -P. Upon adding the Yahoo account via OAuth2, Thunderbird immediately pulled the same broken Trash/Bulk structure from the server again.

Since Yahoo refuses to help and claims Thunderbird caused this mapping loop, is there a hidden config setting (about:config) or a database override in Thunderbird that can force the server to release or move this reserved folder back to the root directory? Thank you for your assistance.

Hi.

Just had a not requested update to 153 esr, which in itself is generally fine, with a small exception.

The windows min, max and close buttons all come up with a code.

Probably just some weird setup I have but any ideas will be welcome.

I use userChrome.css to give a background colour, so maybe the ID of each has changes for any css

1. titlebar-min{height:1.66em; background:#00b !important}
2. titlebar-max{height:1.66em; background:#090 !important}
3. titlebar-close{height:1.66em; background:#d00 !important}

but I don't see how that would effect the actual bare icon

Thank you

How to filter all incoming emails to copy to another folder?

Filter has no "on incoming" criteria, only

Subject
From
Date
Size

I want "upon arrival", copy to ... Archive will probably do.

Alternatively, is there a setting for ALL Subjects, ALL Froms, ALL Dates, ALL sizes?

Thanks.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

the last few days my new mails didn’t arrive, perhaps because I tried to introduce new digital items. Please tell me how I can use thunderbird to get my mails; perhaps I have to change my settings. I find it strange that this occurs after I did a donation to you….

Regards,

Agnes Haffner

I am in the midst of the long process of moving most (not all!) of my gmail from the gmail server to TBird, using filters as discussed in this thread.

I've started by first using filters on less important emails (ie so that no true disaster occurs if something goes horribly wrong). As I do so, I have questions!

For example, let's say I use a filter to: copy all the emails from @someone.org to a local folder then delete those emails (from the server)

What happens if one of those emails happens to be within a thread, including emails from people who don't match the filter (ie are not @someone.org). Have I broken the thread forever, ie, has something gone horribly wrong? If so, how do I prevent this behavior/have the entire thread move along with the targeted value? If not, I don't see how I can move email without breaking threads, which is a bit of a problem.

(Also - whoops, I see I should update, but the question remains.)

Thunderbird just updated and the next time I opened it all of the folders I created and the emails I'm storing within them are missing. I found my profile as directed. I'm not sure if I have a backup of it. I've included the screenshot as you ask for. I know that those folders and emails are there as I was playing around with the the 3 lines > View and when I moved between the different choices I saw my folders/emails are all in there.

Any assistance you can provide is appreciated!