Troubleshoot Mozilla Thunderbird

Mozilla Thunderbird is an email program that works well with Mozilla Firefox. This program allows you to read, store, and reply to your emails. Mozilla Thunderbird is available as a free download and has many of the same features as more expensive programs, which makes it a popular choice for email. When problems with Thunderbird arise, Mozilla offers several methods of support. Simple troubleshooting steps will be able to rule out common problems that occur when using Thunderbird.

This article will help you to troubleshoot Mozilla Thunderbird.

Instructions

1. Check your connection to the Internet. Often, a faulty or weak connection will cause problems with Mozilla Thunderbird's ability to retrieve your email from the host's server. If you have issues with other Internet-based programs, such as your web browser or instant messenger clients, resetting your connection may resolve the issue.
2. Ensure that Thunderbird is correctly downloaded and installed. The program should open without crashing or causing a conflict with other programs. Back up any email profiles by copying them into a new location. You will need to search for the location of your profile, which varies between operating systems, then remove any faulty copies of Thunderbird and reinstall the program. Move the profile back to its original location after reinstalling. If the problems continue, you may wish to delete the profile and create a new one.
3. Check your email settings and verify them with your email account provider. Make sure that your email account provider allows third-party client access to emails. Certain providers, such as Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail require purchase of an upgraded account to use a third-party email program.
4. Verify that your email host's servers are running correctly. If the host's servers are down, this will cause Thunderbird to be unable to retrieve messages properly. Many email hosting companies will have an area of their site for the status of their servers so that this can be checked easily.
5. Contact Mozilla Support to file a Bug report for any unresolved issues. You will be able to receive personalized help as well as inform the developers of the problem, which can then be resolved in future program releases.