How To Set Up a New Email Account in Thunderbird

Posted on by dpepper | Updated:
Category: Common Fixes, Series, Technical Support | Tags: , ,

Pre-Flight Check

  • These instructions are intended specifically for setting up an email account in Mozilla Thunderbird 38.3.0 on Mac OS X 10.11.1.
  • While the steps should be similar across platforms and operating systems, they may not necessarily apply to older versions of Thunderbird.
  • For help with general email account settings, see How to Set up Any Email Client.

Step #1: Create the AccountCreate a new account in Thunderbird

  1. From Thunderbird’s main screen, select Email under the Create a new account section, or use the main menu to pull down to File -> New -> Existing Mail Account.
  2. On the window that pops up, select Skip this and use my existing email to proceed to the Mail Account Setup screen.
  3. Here you will enter some basic information about the account:
    • mailacctsetup1sYour name should be your name as you want it to appear in emails that you send.
    • Email address should simply be the email address you’re setting up.
    • Password is the email account’s password.
  4. Select Continue. Thunderbird now will attempt to discover the settings for your account automatically. If autoconfigure is not successful, you will need to configure the account manually.

Step #2: Set Account Type

manualconfig

  1. Select your account type, IMAP or POP3. For its ability to keep email in sync across multiple devices (desktop, laptop, phones and tablets), IMAP generally is recommended.
  2. Now click on the Manual config button to expand the settings window and set your connection type.

Step #3: Set Connection Method

  1. Fill out the Account Information fields using the instructions below as a guide.
  2. Click Done to complete the setup process.
  3. If you’re using standard (non-SSL) connection settings or are using secure (SSL) connection settings and have an SSL certificate installed on your mailserver, that’s all you’ll need to do set up the account. If you’re using SSL connection settings and are using the server’s self-signed SSL certificate, you will have one more step to complete.

newmailaccntsetup

Standard (non-SSL) settings

  • Server hostname column: Enter your domain name (e.g., mail.yourdomainname.com or yourdomainname.com) on both the Incoming and Outgoing rows.
  • Port column:
    • Incoming: For an IMAP connection, select “143”; For POP3, select “110”.
    • Outgoing: Select “25” or “587”
  • SSL column: Select “STARTTLS” on both the Incoming and Outgoing rows.
  • Authentication: This should be set to “Normal password” on both the Incoming and Outgoing rows.
  • Username: Your full email address, not just the part before the “@” symbol, on both the Incoming and Outgoing rows.
Note: If you accidentally set the SSL fields to “None”, you will see a warning popup notifying you of the security risks associated with foregoing any form of encryption. You should click on the Change Settings button to go back and change both SSL fields to “STARTTLS”, or configure a secure (SSL) connection.

Secure (SSL) Settings

  • Server hostname column: Enter your server’s hostname (e.g., host.yourdomainname.com) on both the Incoming and Outgoing rows.
  • Port column:
    • Incoming: For an IMAP connection, select “993”; For POP3, select “995”.
    • Outgoing (SMTP): Select “465”.
  • SSL: This should be set to “SSL/TLS” for both the Incoming and Outgoing rows.
  • Authentication: This should be set to “Normal password” on both the Incoming and Outgoing rows.
  • Username: This is your full email address, not just the part before the “@” symbol, for both the Incoming and Outgoing rows.

 

Step #4: Security Certificate

  1. ssl1If your server has a self-signed (free) SSL certificate installed on the mailserver and you attempt to make a secure connection using Thunderbird, you should see a warning in a popup window such as the one on the right.
  2. If that is the case, you will need to click the Confirm Security Exception button to accept the certificate and complete the setup process.
  3. If you choose, you also may check the box to Permanently store this exception so that you don’t need to continue to accept the certificate each time Thunderbird connects to your server.
Note: A self-signed certificate uses the same level of encryption as a verified certificate, except that it is you who are verifying your server’s identity, rather than a third party. However, if you would prefer to use a third-party verified SSL certificate to cover core services (cPanel/WHM, POP3, IMAP, SMTP and FTP) on your server, you can find instructions for ordering and installing an SSL certificate at Install an SSL certificate on a Domain using cPanel, and you’ll find a guide to installing your certificate on email and other core server services at Installing Service SSLs in cPanel. Should you find that you need any assistance, please feel free to contact a Heroic Support® technician who can assist with obtaining and installing an SSL from the vendor of your choice.

 

How To Modify an Existing Email Account in Thunderbird

Posted on by dpepper | Updated:
Category: Common Fixes, Series, Technical Support | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pre-Flight Check

  • These instructions are intended specifically for setting up an email account in Mozilla Thunderbird 38.3.0 on Mac OS X 10.11.1.
  • While the steps should be similar across platforms and operating systems, they may not necessarily apply to older versions of Thunderbird.
  • For help with general email account settings, see How to Set up Any Email Client.

You can edit an email account that already has been configured in Thunderbird, for example should you decide to switch between non-SSL and SSL settings or change the server’s connection port. You change the connection type between standard (non-SSL) and secure (SSL) by changing the hostname and port for the incoming and outgoing servers.

Note: You cannot edit an existing email account to switch its account type from POP3 to IMAP or vice versa. To change the account type, you must add a new account of the desired type (POP3 or IMAP). Adding a new account with a different connection type should not require you to delete the old one in most mail clients.

To avoid data loss, please use caution any time you change an email account’s connection type or delete an email account. Removing an email account from a mail client also will remove all messages associated with it on the device and, specifically in the case of POP accounts that are not configured to retain mail on the server, there may be no way to recover those messages. If you have any doubt or questions, please feel free to contact Heroic Support® for guidance.

Step #1: Edit Incoming Server Settings

  1. To edit the incoming server, select your email address in the left pane and then click on View settings for this account in the main window.
  2. In the account settings window, click on Server Settings to update the Server Name and Port.incomingedit
    • Server Name
      • SSL settings will use the server’s hostname (e.g., host.yourdomainname.com)
      • Standard non-SSL settings will use the domain name (yourdomainname.com or mail.yourdomainname.com).
    • Port
      • SSL settings will use Port 993 for IMAP and Port 995 for POP3.
      • Standard non-SSL settings will use Port 143 for IMAP and Port 110 for POP3.

Step #2: Edit Outgoing Server Settings

  1. To edit the outgoing server settings, click on Outgoing Server (SMTP) in the left pane, select your outgoing server and click the Edit button.editoutgoing
  2. You can edit the server name and port in the popup window.out2
    • Server Name
      • SSL settings will use the server’s hostname (e.g., host.yourdomainname.com)
      • Standard non-SSL settings will use the domain name (yourdomainname.com or mail.yourdomainname.com).
    • Port
      • SSL settings will use Port 465.
      • Standard non-SSL settings will use Port 587 (depending on your server configuration, you may be able to use Port 25 as well).
  3. Click on the OK button to save the outgoing server settings, then click on OK once more to exit the settings menu and begin using your email account with the new settings.

 

How to Subscribe to IMAP Folders in Thunderbird

Posted on by dpepper | Updated:
Category: Common Fixes, Series, Technical Support | Tags: , , ,

Pre-Flight Check

  • These instructions are intended specifically for setting up an email account in Mozilla Thunderbird 38.3.0 on Mac OS X 10.11.1.
  • While the steps should be similar across platforms and operating systems, they may not necessarily apply to older versions of Thunderbird.
  • For help with general email account settings, see How to Set up Any Email Client.

When connecting to your email server using the IMAP protocol, you have the ability to choose the specific mail folders to which you wish to subscribe.

Step #1: Open IMAP Folder Subscriptions

  1. Right-click on your email account’s Inbox in Thunderbird and then select Subscribe from the menu list.
    Subscribe to IMAP folders in Thunderbird
  2. In the Folder List window, you will see a list of all the email folders in your account on the server. Folders to which you already are subscribed will appear with a check mark.

Step #2: Manage IMAP Folder Subscriptions

  1. You can manage your folder subscriptions by clicking on the folder name in the Folder List window and then using the Subscribe or Unsubscribe buttons on the right.
    Subscribe or unsubscribe from the Thunderbird Folder List
  2. Once you’ve finished making changes, click the OK button. It may take a few moments for the folder list to update in your Mail pane.
Note: When subscribing to filtered mail folders such as Spam or Junk, all the mail coming into those folders on the server also will be downloaded and synced to your selected local mail client as well. If you are using a metered Internet connection or have limited bandwidth, please be aware that the transfer of email does count toward your data usage. If you typically receive a large volume of such filtered mail, subscribing to spam and junk folders is not recommended. Please feel free to contact Heroic Support® if you need assistance filtering unwanted incoming mail.