This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

slow loading of email content using POP3

more options

I use Thunderbird as an email client, and a POP3 connection to Virginmedia to download emails. This has worked pretty well for years. In the last few weeks the email content has been very slow to load. Although the list of emails in the inbox in Thunderbird appears quickly, when I select an email to view its content there is a delay of perhaps 5s while it says 'Loading Message...'. There is a similar delay when deleting a message.

Once a message has been loaded, it can be re-visited without a delay, but if marked as unread there is again a delay next time it is read. This is also true if I work offline, so it can't be Virginmedia's server.

I have another account using an IMAP connection which doesn't suffer from any delay. Thanks if anyone can advise.

I use Thunderbird as an email client, and a POP3 connection to Virginmedia to download emails. This has worked pretty well for years. In the last few weeks the email content has been very slow to load. Although the list of emails in the inbox in Thunderbird appears quickly, when I select an email to view its content there is a delay of perhaps 5s while it says 'Loading Message...'. There is a similar delay when deleting a message. Once a message has been loaded, it can be re-visited without a delay, but if marked as unread there is again a delay next time it is read. This is also true if I work offline, so it can't be Virginmedia's server. I have another account using an IMAP connection which doesn't suffer from any delay. Thanks if anyone can advise.

All Replies (2)

more options

Start Windows in safe mode with networking enabled - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12376/windows-10-start-your-pc-in-safe-mode

Still In Windows safe mode, start Thunderbird in Troubleshoot Mode - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/troubleshoot-mode-thunderbird

Does problem go away?

Helpful?

more options

Thanks for your reply, Wayne, but Thunderbird was working OK all yesterday and now is OK today, so I can't test it further.

Helpful?

Ask a question

You must log in to your account to reply to posts. Please start a new question, if you do not have an account yet.