Set Up Mozilla Thunderbird 8.0 for Your E-Mail Account

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You can connect Mozilla Thunderbird 8.0 to your e-mail account using POP3 or IMAP4 connectivity. These instructions apply to Windows and Mac.

For information about how to connect to your e-mail account using Thunderbird 3.0, see Set Up Mozilla Thunderbird 3.0 for Your E-Mail Account.

How do I set up Mozilla Thunderbird 8.0 for access to my e-mail account?

  1. Open Mozilla Thunderbird. The Mail Account Setup dialog box will open the first time that you open Thunderbird. If the Mail Account Setup dialog box doesn't open, do the following:

    1. On the Tools menu, click Account Settings.

    2. On the Account Settings page, under Account Actions, click Add Mail Account.

  2. In the Mail Account Setup dialog box, do the following:

    1. In the Your Name box, enter the name that you want to appear on the "From" line in your outgoing messages.

    2. In the Email Address box, enter your e-mail address.

    3. In the Password box, enter your password. Click Continue if you're using a Windows computer or click Next if you're using a Mac. Thunderbird will try to find the settings you need to configure for your account.

  3. Click Stop, or wait for Thunderbird to try to find your account settings. You’ll see the message: "Thunderbird failed to find the settings for your email account."

  4. The IMAP check box, next to Incoming, is selected by default and is recommended. In the Server hostname box, enter the name of your incoming server. For information about how to find your incoming (POP3 or IMAP4) server name, see How do I find the server settings? later in this topic.

    Note

    Leave the Port option set to Auto. Leave the SSL and Authentication options set to Autodetect.

  5. In the Server hostname text box, next to Outgoing, enter your SMTP server name. For information about how to find your outgoing (SMTP) server name, see How do I find the server settings? later in this topic.

    Note

    Leave the Port option set to Auto. Leave the SSL and Authentication options set to Autodetect.

  6. In the Username box, type your complete e-mail address. For example, tonysmith@contoso.com.

  7. Click the Re-test button. If you see the message "The following settings were found by probing the given server,” click Create Account. A page opens that lets you view or change other Thunderbird settings. Click OK when you've finished viewing or changing the settings. If you’re unable to connect, see “What else do I need know?” later in this topic.

    Important

    If you're using POP, under Server Settings, it's a good idea to select Leave messages on the server. After you select this check box, a copy of the messages you retrieve to your local computer will be kept on the server. You’ll also be able to access your messages from a different mail application.

How do I find the server settings?

Before you set up a POP3 or IMAP4 e-mail program, you need to look up your own POP3, IMAP4, and SMTP server settings.

Watch this video to learn how to find your server settings for your POP or IMAP e-mail program.

To find your server settings, sign in to your e-mail account using Outlook Web App. After you sign in, click Options > See All Options > Account > My Account > Settings for POP, IMAP, and SMTP access. The POP3, IMAP4, and SMTP server name and other settings you may need to enter are listed on the Protocol Settings page under POP setting or IMAP setting, and SMTP setting.

Note

If you see Not available next to POP setting, IMAP setting, and SMTP setting, your account may not be set up to use POP or IMAP e-mail programs. For more information, contact the person who manages your e-mail account.

What else do I need to know?

  • If you don't know whether to use POP3 or IMAP4, consider using IMAP4 because it supports more features.

  • If your e-mail account is the type that requires registration, you must register it the first time you sign in to Outlook Web App. Connecting to your e-mail account through POP3 or IMAP4 will fail if you haven't registered your account through Outlook Web App. After you sign in to your account, sign out. Then try to connect using your POP3 or IMAP4 program. For more information about how to sign in to your account using Outlook Web App, see How to Sign In to Outlook Web App. If you have trouble signing in, see FAQs: Sign-in and Password Issues or contact the person who manages your e-mail account.

  • If you’re using an incoming POP3 server, you can only synchronize your Inbox folder. If you’re using IMAP4, you can choose the folders that you want Thunderbird to synchronize with the server. Remember that IMAP4 doesn’t support the synchronization of the Contacts and Calendar folders.

  • Thunderbird uses a folder named Sent to store sent items. Exchange and Outlook Web App use a folder named Sent Items. You can synchronize the e-mail items that you’ve sent in Thunderbird with the Sent Items folder on the Exchange server. To do this, follow these steps:

    1. In Thunderbird, in the console tree, select your e-mail account. In the details pane, under Advanced, click Manage Folder Subscriptions. In the Subscribe dialog box, select the Sent Items check box, and then click OK.

    2. In Thunderbird, on the Tools menu, click Account Settings.

    3. In the navigation pane of Account Settings, select Copies & Folders for your e-mail account.

    4. In the details pane, under When sending messages, automatically, select Other. In the drop-down list, select your user name, select Sent Items, and then click OK.

What if I want to know more?