Thunderbird IMAP Settings for Automatic & Manual Configuration

Setting up an email account in Thunderbird can be done in five seconds, or you could spend hours configuring only to see a blank inbox. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Thunderbird IMAP Settings are easy to understand, and once you do, you can decide for yourself whether you want an automatic setup or a DIY manual email configuration.

I have helped countless users add their IMAP emails in Thunderbird and want to share my expertise in this blog to guide everyone who needs it. Without further ado, let’s get straight to the main point of confusion.

Difference Between an Automatic and Manual Thunderbird IMAP Setup

The main difference is that the automatic setup is way faster than the manual one. Let me explain this in more detail.

Feature	Automatic	Manual
How it Works	Thunderbird Fetches IMAP and other details on its own.	The user has to put all their information in Thunderbird
When to Use	Adding a well-known email domain (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo)	If auto fetch fails while adding a private or unknown account.
Information Required	Just the Name, Email, and Password	Everything in auto plus server names, port numbers, & security IDs
Pros	Faster	More Control
Cons	Does not work for some accounts	Time-consuming and error-prone.

Now that we know what will change depending on the setup route, let’s see both of them in action.

Steps for Configuring IMAP Accounts in Thunderbird Automatically

These are generalised instructions applicable to a wide range of email accounts.

• Step 1: Open Mozilla Thunderbird > Click on the Hamburger icon at the top right.
• Step 2: Select New_Account from the flyout menu.
• Step 3: Pick the Email option.
• Step 4: On the ‘Setup Your Existing Email Address’ screen, type the requested details (i.e., your Full name, Email address, and Password).
• Step 5: Keep the Available Configuration (Which is likely to be IMAP) and press Done.

Now, here onwards, check out my other dedicated guides:

• Gmail Users: If you want to add Gmail to Thunderbird, the automatic wizard usually handles the OAuth2 login pop-up for you.
• Yahoo Users: Similarly, you can quickly add a Yahoo account to Mozilla Thunderbird without needing to look up server details manually.
• Office 365 / Outlook: Modern Exchange accounts can also be configured automatically if you are trying to add an Office 365 account to Thunderbird.

Moreover, now if you update to Thunderbird 145 or newer, you can add Exchange Web Services directly.

If the automated method failed you or you have some specific requirement, then don’t worry, I will guide you towards a successful manual configuration.

How to Set Up IMAP Email Accounts in Thunderbird Manually?

A few of the steps are exactly what we did for the Automated method, so follow the guide till Step 4, and then click on the Configure manually link. This will unlock the server selection options previously hidden.

Now you can freely choose the protocol, hostname, port, security number, authentication method, and username for the incoming server.

Also, the hostname, port, security number, authentication method, and username become adjustable for the outgoing server as well.

You must get all these details from your IT team. In case the manual method also does not work, click on the Advanced config link as a last resort.

Advanced Config Thunderbird IMAP Settings Guide for Power Users

Note: When you trigger an Advanced config Thunderbird forcefully creates a profile with the details that you have put in the Manual setup page. Even if they are incorrect.

So be careful. Here is what all you can alter in the Advanced config section.

• Change the wrong folders if, for some reason, one of your folders shows up with the wrong name. You can fix it from here.
• This is the page from which you can decide what happens when a new message comes to your account.

Are You Adding a New Account or Moving an Existing One?

This is perhaps the most important question, irrespective of the fact that you choose to do it for yourself. configure manually or let Thunderbird do it for you.

There can be one of two scenarios; don’t worry, I will discuss them both.

Scenario A: Old Emails that I want to See

If you are adding a new IMAP account just cause you need to investigate the contents of old email archives (perhaps from a Google Takeout of a Gmail account that you closed down some time back)

Simply configuring the IMAP settings won’t be enough. The best solution for that is to use the well-renowned Thunderbird Import Wizard, which bypasses any folder creation requirement and places your data directly where you need it. It is superior to the Add-ons as it can process even the large, orphaned files without any issues.

You can also test out the Thunderbird Converter tool, which can allow you to transform local Thunderbird files into any file format. So if you ever feel like leaving Thunderbird for some other client, you can do that without any trouble.

Scenario B: Moving Emails From an Old Account to a New One

Many users think that if they can simply add both their IMAP accounts, then a single drag and drop operation is all they require to merge the mails. However, it can’t be further from the truth.

The main risk is that desktop clients like Thunderbird are not designed for such transfers. There is no means to track or document the movement of email. This can lead to issues where Thunderbird is not downloading new messages.

So, if your actual goal is a full account switch, I wouldn’t recommend using the desktop client as the bridge. Trust me, I have seen countless scenarios where users have lost thousands of messages because of this.

It is much safer to use a server-side IMAP to IMAP Migration Tool. This transfers the data directly between the two servers in the backend. You can keep using Thunderbird as intended.

Conclusion

Here, I’ve taught you the best way to easily tackle Thunderbird IMAP settings, whether you go for automatic setup or choose to do everything manually. The key difference between the two procedures is in the level of autonomy you delegate to Thunderbird. For most users, the auto setup is the obvious choice. However, if you operate a private on-premises server with details that Thunderbird can’t fetch, then you have no other option but to use the advanced setup option.