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Thunderbird Gmail Pop3



“Hi, I use Thunderbird as my email client. I want to download all messages of all folders for permanent storage on my computer. I have already set-up my account as IMAP. What steps can I take to do this? How can I force Thunderbird to download all messages in a reliable manner?”

Gmail is a free email service provided by Google that offers webmail supported by targeted advertising as well as POP3 and IMAP access. It also has a very large amount of storage and integration with the Google Talk messaging service. If you receive the message Thunderbird failed to find the settings for your email account Select POP3 from the Incoming drop down box and input the Incoming and Outgoing server details manually. The Incoming server setting is pop.123-reg.co.uk The Outgoing server setting is smtp.123-reg.co.uk Make sure to input your full email address into the Username field. Jul 12, 2017 Gmail will be all ready to sync with Outlook 2010. Enjoy your Gmail account in Outlook, complete with fast indexed searching, conversation view, and more! Adding Gmail using the POP setting to Outlook 2010 is usually easy and only takes a few steps. Even if you have to enter your settings manually, it is still a fairly simple process.

“So, two days ago, my Thunderbird client stopped downloading messages suddenly. I checked the configuration settings to no avail. Every other effort was in vain too. This is the third time I ran into a problem with Tbird. So I have finally decided to move to MS Outlook. However, I need all my emails from Thunderbird so I could transfer it to Outlook. Anyone can tell me how to force Thunderbird to download all messages POP3 account, if possible. Thank you in advance!”

Are you stuck in a similar point and want a reliable approach? Well, worry not, we will guide you through the entire process, no matter which protocol you are using(IMAP or POP3). In this blog, we are going to discuss some effective ways to save a copy of all the emails present on the server to your local machine. But before moving on to that, let us first understand the reasons behind this scenario.

Thunderbird Gmail Pop3

Why Force Thunderbird to Download All Messages?

  • Because Thunderbird only downloads recent emails

  • Issues of corruption in the database

  • Fragmentation issues in the global database

  • Cannot download any previously downloaded but deleted emails

  • Need of having a hard copy of emails after deletion from server to save storage

  • To have a safe backup of the data in case something happens to the remote-access accounts

  • To migrate Thunderbird emails to other email applications such as Outlook.

How to Force Thunderbird to Download All Messages?

We are going to discuss two methods to download all emails using either IMAP or POP3 protocols separately. The instructions to implement these ways are to be followed properly. Since it will avoid any kind of data loss issues during the process. Let us understand the procedure as separate cases mentioned below:

Thunderbird Pop3 Gmail

Case 1. For an IMAP configured Thunderbird account

  1. Run Mozilla Thunderbird on your local machine

  2. Go to menu and click Tools >> Account settings

  3. Here, go to the Synchronization & Storage option

  1. Tick the Keep messages for this account on this computer checkbox to force Thunderbird to download all messages locally

  2. Also, view and configure the Disk Space settings on the same window. These settings specify if all emails need to be downloaded or just the recent messages

  1. Click the Advanced… button if you want to specify individual folders for download. Note that, each folder must be checked for download individually. Checking a parent folder does not mean that all its subfolders will also get downloaded.

Case 2. For a POP3 configured Thunderbird account

In case of POP3 configured accounts, Thunderbird only keeps the emails locally. The emails once downloaded are deleted from the server to save space. Most of the time, when Tbird stops downloading messages, the culprit is a firewall or antivirus. You can just unblock Tbird from the firewall’s or antivirus interface to enable downloading messages again. However, there are cases when corruption or fragmentation of the database may be the issue. Rebuilding the global database index not only forces Thunderbird to download all messages. But it may also increase its performance. Follow the instructions given below to achieve the same:

  1. Go to menu and click on Help >> Troubleshooting Information

  2. Click on Open Folder button beside Profile Folder in the Application Basics section

  3. It will open the location of the Thunderbird profile on your computer

  4. Now, quit Thunderbird and look for global-messages-db.sqlite file in Tbird profile location

  5. Delete this file and launch Thunderbird again.

The process of reindexing the files will start automatically. It may take some time depending on your total messages. Go to Tools >> Activity Manager to monitor the indexing progress. Once it is completed, Tbird will download and display all your emails (both old and new ones). This is a good workaround to force Thunderbird to download all messages POP3 account.

Have You Tried Reinstalling Thunderbird?

If your Thunderbird issue still persists, you can try uninstalling and then reinstalling Thunderbird on your system. Then you can easily import MBOX in Thunderbird without any data loss or data corruption. Download the free demo software:

How to Import Thunderbird Emails into Other Email Clients

Sending and receiving emails are the most basic operations of any email client. So, when Thunderbird fails to download messages, it can be fatal for many personal and professional users. It not only hinders their workflow but may also actually stop their income. So, users tend to migrate to other better clients such as Outlook for their communication purposes.

However, email migration is a complex task which involves a high risk of data loss. Therefore, we are providing users with a simple yet powerful application that is MBOX to Outlook PST Migrator. With this tool, you can easily convert MBOX files into multiple file formats such as PST, EML, MSG, NSF, and HTML. It is a stand-alone application which generates UNICODE PST file supported by all Outlook versions.

Final Words

Through this article, users can learn how to force Thunderbird to download all messages. Separate easy to perform methods have been provided for IMAP and POP3 configured accounts. In case users want to migrate to other email applications, we also provided an effective expert solution for the same. All the mentioned solutions are risk-free and safe to implement.

Since Gmail stores your mail in the 'cloud', it is not downloaded to your computer (stored locally). Google backs up data for the services it offers. While most of us will NOT need to store mail locally, some may have a reason: for example, staff who are planning to leave the University and would like to leave a copy of their emails with a department. We don't recommend following these instructions unless you have a compelling reason.


Overview

To back up email locally, you will need to configure an email client to download your mail. (Below, we provide instructions for backing up your mail with Thunderbird, which is available for Mac, PC, and Linux.) You are going to set up the email client to download your emails using POP, which is a mail protocol - a way of downloading your mail. When you would like to backup your messages, you will open the client and wait for it to download your mail.

Important! Read Before Starting

  1. Both Gmail's POP settings and the POP settings in most mail clients offer the choice of what to do with the email messages once they are downloaded by the client. Some of the default settings will delete the mail from your mailbox once it is downloaded, which may not be what you plan to do. If you would like to keep all your email online in Gmail (which we recommend), pay special attention to the settings when configuring your client.
    This step is included in our Thunderbird instructions below, but if you choose to set up a different client, be sure to look for this setting. For example: Apple's mail program has a setting in the Advanced tab, 'Remove copy from server after retrieving the message.' Outlook Express has an option 'Leave a copy of messages on server.' Choosing a setting which deletes messages from the server (or does not leave a copy) means you will accidentally delete all downloaded mail from your online Gmail mailbox. The settings shown in the instructions on Gmail's help pages may be the default client settings and may not reflect your choice to leave a copy on the server. If you are not sure which settings to choose, please consult your departmental IT contact.
  2. POP is a one-way connection, so anything you do in the mail client will not be reflected in your Gmail mailbox online. In other words, if you open the client and start rearranging your mail or deleting emails, those changes will NOT be reflected in your live email online. Any changes you would like to make to your current mail should be done online, in Gmail.
  3. Messages from your Spam and Trash will not be downloaded. If you would like to download anything from your Spam or Trash, you should move it to your Inbox.
  4. Your mail client stores the mail locally - on your computer. Local backups can be helpful, but make sure you back up your computer itself so the mail will be available if something happens to your computer.


Step by Step Instructions for Thunderbird

Thunderbird is a free mail client for Mac, Windows, and Linux. These instructions will show you how to connect to Thunderbird via POP and backup your mail locally (on your computer).

Step 1: Enable POP in Your Gmail Settings

Follow Google's instructions to enable POP in your Gmail settings. Pay attention to the option of what to do with Gmail's copy: it should say 'keep Gmail's copy in the inbox.' https://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=13273

Step 2: Install Thunderbird

Download and install the Thunderbird mail client from http://getthunderbird.com. These instructions were written for version 9 but may work in other versions.

Step 3: Configure Thunderbird

Thunderbird Gmail Pop3 Server

  1. When prompted, enter your name, email address and password, and click Continue.
  2. You will see a Manual Config button appear - click it.
  3. Use the following settings:
    Incoming: POP3
    - Incoming server hostname: pop.gmail.com
    - Incoming port: 995
    Outgoing: SMTP
    - Outgoing server hostname: smtp.googlemail.com
    - Outgoing port: 465
    Username: Your FULL Brown email address (you will have to add the @brown.edu)
  4. Click Re-test. After confirming your information, the Advanced Config button will become enabled. Click the Advanced Config button.
  5. In your Server Settings, uncheck the boxes next to 'For at most __ days' and 'Until I delete them', but make sure the 'Leave messages on Server' box is checked.
    This will ensure that your emails will not be deleted from the server if you choose to delete mails from your backup.

Now that your connection is set up, you can open Thunderbird any time you want to download new mail to your backup. Note that with this setup, you should not be using Thunderbird to send e-mail from this account - this is just for the purpose of backing up your mail.

Thunderbird Gmail Pop3 Settings


Finding the Backup File on Your Computer

Thunderbird Gmail Pop3 Account

To locate the backup file on your computer, go to Tools > Account Settings and back to your Server Settings. Near the bottom, note the location of 'Local Directory'

Thunderbird Gmail Pop3 Address

To back up or move your mail backup to another computer or external drive, you would copy this whole directory, which contains several files and subdirectories.