Over the years, Mozilla Thunderbird has gained a fair amount of reputation as far as email clients are concerned. The reason why it is getting popular is its easy-to-use features and a clean user interface. If you are a Gmail user then you can check your emails on Mozilla Thunderbird with ease. You just need to configure the Gmail IMAP/ POP settings in Thunderbird and you will be able to use it for accessing Gmail messages.
Mozilla Thunderbird is a good alternative to Outlook. So, if you are looking to switch from MS outlook then Thunderbird can be a perfect email client for you. This tutorial is for those users who don’t know how to configure Gmail Account on Thunderbird. Here, we will take you through the complete steps to set up Gmail on Mozilla Thunderbird in a convenient manner.
Things to know before Configuring Gmail on Mozilla Thunderbird
Here are some vital things that you should know before setting up Gmail on Thunderbird.
- You can add Gmail account to Mozilla Thunderbird either using IMAP or using POP. In IMAP settings, the messages are stored at the server. On the other hand, emails are stored locally in the device while using POP settings.
- You should choose IMAP settings if you access Gmail on multiple devices. You can also opt for POP if you are going to use POP only on a single device.
- It is important to check your internet connectivity before starting the configuration. So, it is recommended that you check your wifi and mobile data connection before starting the setup process.
- You need to provide your Gmail email address and password while adding Gmail account to Thunderbird. So, if you can’t remember Gmail password then you should reset it before starting the configuration.
- In your Gmail account, the IMAP/ POP access should be enabled otherwise you will not be able to set up Gmail on thunderbird properly.
How to set up Gmail account on Mozilla Thunderbird with IMAP?
IMAP settings are most recommended for those users who use their Gmail account on multiple devices. Here are the steps that you should follow to check Gmail on Thunderbird using IMAP.
- Run Mozilla Thunderbird and choose “Tools/ Account settings” from the menu.
- Click on the “Add Account” and ensure that the “Email Account” is selected.
- Then, click on the “continue” button.
- Provide your name under the “Your Name” option and your Gmail address under the “Email Address” option.
- Next, you need to ensure that the “IMAP” option is selected under the “Select the type of incoming server you are using” option.
- Enter “Imap.gmail.com” under the “incoming server” field and click “continue”.
- Then, your Gmail account name will be automatically filled by Mozilla Thunderbird in the “Incoming User Name” field. Leave the name as it is and click on “Continue”.
- Now, under the “Account Name” option, you should give a descriptive name to your account.
- Click on the “Continue” button followed by “Done”.
- Then, in the account list, you should highlight the “Outgoing Server (SMTP)” option and click “Add”.
- Enter the following information carefully
- Description: “Gmail”.
- Server Name: “smtp.gmail.com”
- User Name: Enter your Gmail account name
- Ensure that the “SSL” option is selected under the “Use Secure Connection”.
- Make sure that “465” is appearing under the “Settings/ Port” and click on “OK”
- After that, in the account list, you need to highlight your Gmail account.
- Choose Gmail under “Outgoing Server (SMTP) and highlight “Server Settings”.
- Ensure that “SSL” is selected under the “Use Secure Connection” option.
- Make sure “993” is appearing under the “Port”.
- Then, you need to highlight “Copies & Folders” under the Gmail account in the server list.
- “Place a copy in” option should be checked under the “When sending messages, automatically”.
- Open the “Junk Settings” Category under Gmail account.
- Verify that the “Enable adaptive junk mail controls for this account” option is not checked and click “Ok”.
- Then, select the “Inbox” folder available under your “Gmail account” in the Mozilla Thunderbird folder list.
- Provide your “Gmail password” and wait till Mozilla thunderbird updates the list of Gmail folders.
- Choose “Copies & Folders” under the Gmail account and “other” under the “Keep messages drafts in” option.
- Select “Gmail” and click on the “Ok” button.
- Choose “Tool/ options” from the menu and go to the advanced category.
- Open “General” tab and click on the “Config Editor” button.
- Enter “mail.server.s” under the “Filter” option.
- Find your Gmail account name under “Value” for a preference named as “mail.server.server*” (Here “*” will be replaced by a number, you should note this number”.
- Right click “mail.server.server*.name” and chose “New” from the menu.
- Enter “mail.server.server*.trash_folder_name” after replacing “*” with a number and click “OK”.
- Then, under the “Enter string value”, you should enter “[Gmail]/Trash” and click “OK”.
- Close the configuration window and restart “Mozilla Thunderbird”.
That’s it, Gmail IMAP set up on Mozilla Thunderbird is not completed. You may now check your Gmail messages in Thunderbird.
How to configure Gmail with Thunderbird using POP settings?
Here are the steps that you may follow in order to add Gmail to Thunderbird using POP settings.
- Open Mozilla Thunderbird and Click on “Tools” followed by “Account Settings”
- Select the “Add account” option and ensure that “Gmail” is selected.
- Enter your name and Gmail email address in the appropriate field.
- Click on the “Continue” button followed by “Done”.
- Finally, you need to click “OK”.
You will now to able to access your Gmail email on Mozilla Thunderbird.