How to extend the email send time before automated log out when using IMAP?
We suspect that our very slow internet connection is the reason that our outgoing emails that contain attachments not only take a great deal of time to send, but routinely do not save in our sent folder, so that we get error messages saying that the email was sent but could not be saved. Our ISP says that because we are using an IMAP account, emails get sent from Thunderbird to their server and onwards to the recipient, and are saved "backward" onto their server and our Thunderbird client sent folder. It says that Thunderbird is probably timing out before the message can get saved to the sent folder. It says that in lieu of a better internet connection, Thunderbird should have a setting to increase the amount of time that it will try to connect to the ISP when sending outgoing emails, and that we should increase it to the max, so that Thunderbird stops timing out, and our emails are actually saved. Can anyone please tell us where this setting is?
All Replies (8)
Try this: Menu icon > Options > Options > Advanced > 'General' tab click on 'Config Editor' button
In search type: tcptime
look for this line: mailnews.tcptimeout
double click on line to get an editing box Increase the number try : 200 click on OK click on OK
Restart Thunderbird to ensure it uses the new settings.
Modified by Toad-Hall
If you don't need access to sent messages from other devices, you could have them saved to Local Folders, in the Copies & Folders section of Account Settings. Also, check that there's no security/AV program scanning outgoing mail, as that is a common cause of timeouts that may persist even if the timeout preference is increased.
Toad-Hall said
Try this: Menu icon > Options > Options > Advanced > 'General' tab click on 'Config Editor' button Where is Options? We are using a Mac. The Menu bar at the top does not include Options. The choices are File, Edit, View, Go, Message, Events and Tasks, Tools, Windows, and Help. None of these choices drops down to show an Options.
Modified by Meta Self
sfhowes said
If you don't need access to sent messages from other devices, you could have them saved to Local Folders, in the Copies & Folders section of Account Settings. Also, check that there's no security/AV program scanning outgoing mail, as that is a common cause of timeouts that may persist even if the timeout preference is increased.
Part of why we have IMAP is to access mail from a second device. Also, it already saves to the local folders only --after about 5 minutes of hanging-- which is a problem. Thanks for the heads up about AV software.
Issues within issues.
So lets start at the beginning with some information. Who is the mail provider? This error is particularly prevalent with Yahoo and Outlook based email address and by association the mail services provided by those companies to ISP's under contract. So it is particularly relevant. In those cases the way the mail gets to the sent folder is duplicated and the best approach is to not have Thunderbird save a copy at all. Allow the providers copy they create and add to the sent folder as the message passes through their SMTP server to do it all.
One of the "problems" with anti virus email scanning is they set themselves up as the middle men and if they don't pass on messages about what is going on the communication process breaks down and a timeout occurs. I you have an anti virus product scanning outgoing mail, disable the outgoing scanning completely. Then ask yourself what it is doing, other than wasting time. The product says you have no virus it can detect. As a virus does not just self create, your system is free of anything the product can detect, so why is it futzing around with outgoing mail. It adds a feature you can list on the features page is all I see it does.
Thanks.
We use a locally owned and operated ISP that contracts with Sonic Telecom as its upstream provider. For the type of account we have, the data backbones on AT&Ts copper phone lines which, given our distance from Sonic and AT&T's poor line maintenance, results in our slow speeds. Neither our ISP or Sonic have contracts with Yahoo or Microsoft, and AT&T is only providing the phone lines.
Our antivirus software does not appear to scan outgoing emails --at least there is no administrative setting that obviously indicates this. There is an "exclusion" option we can use to select particular folders to exclude from being scanned. Does Thunderbird have a folder with an app that sends email, that we could exclude? Somehow this does not seem like it would work. The software is just scanning or not scanning the folder for viruses. We will need to talk with the IT people who gave us this software.
Normally, you would exclude the TB profile folder, but leave the real-time background scanner in place. From Help/Troubleshooting Information, click Show in Finder to open the profile folder - which will display the location.
re :We are using a Mac.
MAC has slightly different menu difference. Thunderbird > Preferences >Advanced > 'General' tab click on 'Config Editor' .
'Menu icon' refers to the icon that has three horizontal lines and contains the drop down menu. It is located on the 'Mail Toolbar' not the 'Menu Bar' toolbar. By default, it is located on the far right of Mail Toolbar'.
I agree with sfhowes and Matt regarding excluding Thunderbird folders from being scanned and also not scanning incoming and outgoing mail.