How to Setup Email on Thunderbird

Reading Time: 3 minutes
Pre-Flight Check
  • These instructions are intended specifically for setting up e-mail on Thunderbird.
  • I’ll be working from Thunderbird version 24.5.
  • If these instructions don’t quite work for you, check out our tutorial on setting up other e-mail clients.

Step 1: Create a New Account

Click Email.

How To Setup Email on Thunderbird

Step 2: Skip and Use an Existing Email

Click Skip this and use my existing email.

How To Setup Email on Thunderbird - 2

Step 3: Enter Basic Account Information

Enter Your name followed by your Email address, and then your Password.

How To Setup Email on Thunderbird
And then click Continue .

Step 4: Select Manual Configuration

While Thunderbird tries Looking up configuration: Trying common server names , click Manual config if you already know your mail server hostnames.

How To Setup Email on Thunderbird

Step 5: Configure Either POP3 (110) or IMAP (143), and SMTP (25)

If you’ve configured your e-mail in cPanel then you can either select POP3 or IMAP for your Incoming server type.

How To Setup Email on Thunderbird
For IMAP, the Incoming Server hostname should be set to the correct hostname. Generally speaking, this will be mail.yourdomain.com or similar. Also make sure that for IMAP the Port is set to 143, or Auto.

For POP3, the Incoming Server hostname should be set to the correct hostname. Generally speaking, this will be mail.yourdomain.com or similar. Also make sure that for POP3 the Port is set to 110, or Auto.

For SMTP, the Outgoing Server hostname should be set to the correct hostname. Generally speaking, this will be mail.yourdomain.com or similar. Also make sure that for SMTP the Port is either set to 25, or Auto.

Select Re-test to again probe the server for additional configuration details.

Step 6: Verify the Server Information

Verify all of the server information, and then click Done to continue.

How To Setup Email on Thunderbird

Step 6a: Security Check

If you haven’t installed a valid security certificate on your mail server, then your mail server is likely using a default certificate and you may receive the following error:

How To Setup Email on Thunderbird
If you’re confident that you’ve entered the correct mail server information, then you should be able to simply click Confirm Security Exception without any adverse security repercussions.

Step 7: Setup Complete

That’s it, Thunderbird should now be set up to receive e-mail!

How To Setup Email on Thunderbird

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About the Author: J. Mays

As a previous contributor, JMays shares his insight with our Knowledge Base center. In our Knowledge Base, you'll be able to find how-to articles on Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora and much more!

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