Consumer Tutorial

Thunderbird Not Receiving Emails After Update – Permanent Fixes

Summary: With the help of this blog post, you will get to know the reason behind the issue of Thunderbird not receiving emails after update. Also, different ways by which you can fix this issue permanently. Like, users usually update their Thunderbird in order to enhance their system performance.

Times come when users get frustrated as email stops coming in their inbox. What actually happens is that you can send your emails, but incoming emails stop coming. The actual problem is because you change something in server configuration, security settings or maintaining a profile.

Also Read: Move Thunderbird Profile to New Computer

Common Mistakes by Which User Face this Thunderbird Issue

Know the factors which are affecting, so that users can easily resolve Thunderbird not receiving emails after update problems.

• When you update, Thunderbird may use stronger security like TLS which your mail server might not support
• Sometimes, a firewall present in your system blocks Thunderbird, as it sees the updated version of Thunderbird as a new application
• Email settings like port numbers or IMAP/POP configuration, as well as login information may change by which you may not receive any emails
• Due to corrupted profile files which would affect your ability to receive future emails
• Also, your email providers can update their server configuration and can break your email connection
• If you have any old add-ons, they may no longer function appropriately after an update and stop your emails

Manual Methods to Fix Thunderbird Not Receiving Emails After Update

There are a total of nine small steps which you can try to resolve the problem.

Step 1. Check Internet & Restart Thunderbird

• Confirm you have a valid internet connection
• Close your Thunderbird
• Reboot your PC if required
• Just refresh your inbox by just tapping on Get Messages button

Step 2. Verify Settings

1. Go to Account Settings > Select Server Settings
2. Ensure the below details are correct:

• Server Name
• Port Number
• Security Type
• Login Method

If you have incorrect settings, then it will create syncing issues.

Step 3. Turn Off Firewall

• Disable your antivirus temporarily
• Open Thunderbird and verify if you have received any emails
• If you successfully connect with Thunderbird, add Thunderbird to your list of allowed trusted applications

Many times when the antivirus software receives a new update, it may prevent you from receiving emails.

Step 4. Change Your Email Password

• Open Thunderbird and go to Settings and then Saved Passwords option
• Delete any of the saved passwords that are showing on this window
• Restart Thunderbird and log in again
• This resets the authentication and will fix your login issues

Step 5. Fix Inbox issues

To solve problems associated with the inbox,

• Right click on the inbox, select properties and click on the Repair Folder button
• This should refresh the folder data and aim in correcting any problems associated with email syncing and missing email

Step 6. Disable IPv6

1. Sometimes email servers after an update have difficulty in connecting with IPv6.

2. To disable IPv6, follow the below points:

• Open the configuration editor
• Search for ”’network.dns.disableIPv6”’
• Change the value to ”’true”’

This simple change has helped many users fix Thunderbird not receiving emails after update problems.

Step 7. Make Sure Your Thunderbird is Open 

To check the online status of Thunderbird, you can do the following:

1. Open the Thunderbird Application
2. Click on the File menu and then Offline option
3. If there is a check next to “Work Offline”, uncheck it

If Thunderbird has been put into offline mode by mistake, this should fix the sync issue with email messages.

Step 8. Disable Add-ons Temporarily

• Start Thunderbird in troubleshooting mode
• Disable all Add-Ons present inside
• Close & restart Thunderbird again
• Turn on each Add-on one at a time

This method will let you know if any of the add-ons are affecting or not.

Step 9. Add Your Email Account Again

To add your email account to Thunderbird if there is a problem with your frequently used login or another configuration is as follows:

• Remove your email account from Thunderbird
• Add your email account back manually using the correct settings

Limitations of Using Manual Solution

While there are manual steps to follow, but it comes with certain downsides:

• Time-consuming part
• Risk of data loss
• Not effective for profile corruption
• Complex for non-technical users
• No guarantee of permanent fix

This is where a user wants a professional approach to neglect these factors.

Thunderbird Not Receiving Emails After Update – Best Alternative Way

If these basic methods don’t fix the issue and you still aren’t receiving emails, then the problem is likely because of corrupted Thunderbird profile or damaged mailbox files. What you can do is create a new Thunderbird profile and migrate your old emails into it. This can fix your settings problem and there will be no errors after update.

If you have a lot of emails, this process can be complex if done manually. In such cases, you can go with our FreeViewer Thunderbird Import Wizard. It helps you migrate all of your emails to the new profile without losing any data or folder structure.

Why It Works:

• You can import emails from Thunderbird profile
• Fix corrupted mailbox data
• Works with Large Files
• Retain folder structure
• No sync dependency

End Note

I hope you have got the solution by which you can fix your Thunderbird not receiving emails after update. Like after updating, Thunderbird might not fetch the emails anymore due to configuration change, insufficient security permissions, or profile corruption. So, you may go with our manual methods too. So, you can go with our reliable solution to manage your Thunderbird emails.