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Messages won't download on one email account since 115 update

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Hi,

I am a longtime Thunderbird user. I have 3 email accounts that I check via Thunderbird. I am having issues on just one of those accounts since the 115 Supernova update. I see the message "checking inbox for new messages" but they are not downloading. I have ATT email through Yahoo, and I can log into Yahoo Mail (webmail) and see the messages there ... they suddenly are just not downloading to Thunderbird.

I have tried:

compacting folders Thunderbird safe mode Windows safe mode with networking turning my antivirus off temporarily moving all emails in that account Inbox to a backup folder

I'm frustrated and need to download mail - can you please help me?! Thanks!

Hi, I am a longtime Thunderbird user. I have 3 email accounts that I check via Thunderbird. I am having issues on just one of those accounts since the 115 Supernova update. I see the message "checking inbox for new messages" but they are not downloading. I have ATT email through Yahoo, and I can log into Yahoo Mail (webmail) and see the messages there ... they suddenly are just not downloading to Thunderbird. I have tried: compacting folders Thunderbird safe mode Windows safe mode with networking turning my antivirus off temporarily moving all emails in that account Inbox to a backup folder I'm frustrated and need to download mail - can you please help me?! Thanks!

All Replies (20)

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Please post your Troubleshooting Information. At the top right of the Thunderbird window, click the menu button ≡, then select Help > More Troubleshooting Information. Press the "Copy text to clipboard button" and paste the information into your reply.

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Application Basics

   Name: Thunderbird
   Version: 115.3.1
   Build ID: 20230928194049
   Distribution ID:
   Update Channel: release
   User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:115.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/115.3.1
   OS: Windows_NT 10.0 19045
   OS Theme:
   Launcher Process: Enabled
   Multiprocess Windows: 0/0
   Fission Windows: 0/0
             Enabled by default
   Remote Processes: 1
   Enterprise Policies: Inactive
   Google Location Service Key: Missing
   Google Safebrowsing Key: Missing
   Mozilla Location Service Key: Missing
   Safe Mode: false
   Memory Size (RAM): 7.9 GB
   Disk Space Available: 536 GB
 Mail and News Accounts
   account1:
     INCOMING: account1, , (pop3) inbound.att.net:995, SSL, passwordCleartext
     OUTGOING: , outbound.att.net:465, SSL, passwordCleartext, true
   account2:
     INCOMING: account2, , (none) Local Folders, 0, passwordCleartext
   account3:
     INCOMING: account3, , (pop3) inbound.att.net:995, SSL, passwordCleartext
     OUTGOING: , outbound.att.net:465, SSL, passwordCleartext, true
   account10:
     INCOMING: account10, , (pop3) inbound.att.net:995, SSL, passwordCleartext
     OUTGOING: , outbound.att.net:465, SSL, passwordCleartext, true
   account11:
     INCOMING: account11, , (pop3) inbound.att.net:995, SSL, passwordCleartext
     OUTGOING: , outbound.att.net:465, SSL, passwordCleartext, true
 Libraries
     Library
     Status
     Expected minimum version
     Version in use
     Path
     RNP (OpenPGP)
     OK
     0.17.0
     0.17.0+PR2073.MZLA.115.3.1
     C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Thunderbird\rnp.dll
 Calendar Settings
     Trish's Calendar
       Name
       Value
       Name:
       Type: ics
       Disabled:
       Username:
       URI:
       Refresh Interval:
       Read-only:
       Suppress Alarms:
       Cache Enabled:
       iMIP Identity: id1
       iMIP Disabled:
       iMIP Account:
       Organizer Id:
       Force Email Scheduling:
       Popup Alarms Supported:
       Alarms on Invitation Supported:
       Max Alarms Per Event:
       Attachment Supported:
       Max Categories:
       Privacy State Supported:
       Priority Supported:
       Event Supported:
       Task Supported:
       Local Time Supported:
       UTC/GMT Supported:
       Auto-Scheduling Supported:
     Home
       Name
       Value
       Name:
       Type: storage
       Disabled:
       Username:
       URI:
       Refresh Interval:
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       Suppress Alarms:
       Cache Enabled:
       iMIP Identity: id1
       iMIP Disabled:
       iMIP Account:
       Organizer Id:
       Force Email Scheduling:
       Popup Alarms Supported:
       Alarms on Invitation Supported:
       Max Alarms Per Event:
       Attachment Supported:
       Max Categories:
       Privacy State Supported:
       Priority Supported: true
       Event Supported:
       Task Supported:
       Local Time Supported:
       UTC/GMT Supported:
       Auto-Scheduling Supported:
 Crash Reports for the Last 3 Days
 Remote Processes
   Type: Count
   GPU: 1
 Add-ons
     Name
     Type
     Version
     Enabled
     ID
       Amazon.com
       extension
       1.1
       true
       amazondotcom@search.mozilla.org
       Bing
       extension
       1.0
       true
       bing@search.mozilla.org
       DuckDuckGo
       extension
       1.0
       true
       ddg@search.mozilla.org
       Google
       extension
       1.0
       true
       google@search.mozilla.org
       Wikipedia (en)
       extension
       1.0
       true
       wikipedia@search.mozilla.org
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Security Software

   Type: Name
     Antivirus: Avast Antivirus
     Antispyware:
     Firewall: Windows Firewall
 Graphics
     Features
     Compositing: WebRender
     Asynchronous Pan/Zoom: wheel input enabled; scrollbar drag enabled; keyboard enabled; autoscroll enabled; smooth pinch-zoom enabled
     WebGL 1 Driver WSI Info: EGL_VENDOR: Google Inc. (NVIDIA)

EGL_VERSION: 1.5 (ANGLE 2.1.19735 git hash: 6784271c1c62) EGL_EXTENSIONS: EGL_EXT_create_context_robustness EGL_ANGLE_d3d_share_handle_client_buffer EGL_ANGLE_d3d_texture_client_buffer EGL_ANGLE_surface_d3d_texture_2d_share_handle EGL_ANGLE_query_surface_pointer EGL_ANGLE_window_fixed_size EGL_ANGLE_keyed_mutex EGL_ANGLE_surface_orientation EGL_ANGLE_direct_composition EGL_ANGLE_windows_ui_composition EGL_NV_post_sub_buffer EGL_KHR_create_context EGL_KHR_image EGL_KHR_image_base EGL_KHR_gl_texture_2D_image EGL_KHR_gl_texture_cubemap_image EGL_KHR_gl_renderbuffer_image EGL_KHR_get_all_proc_addresses EGL_KHR_stream EGL_KHR_stream_consumer_gltexture EGL_NV_stream_consumer_gltexture_yuv EGL_ANGLE_stream_producer_d3d_texture EGL_ANGLE_create_context_webgl_compatibility EGL_CHROMIUM_create_context_bind_generates_resource EGL_CHROMIUM_sync_control EGL_EXT_pixel_format_float EGL_KHR_surfaceless_context EGL_ANGLE_display_texture_share_group EGL_ANGLE_display_semaphore_share_group EGL_ANGLE_create_context_client_arrays EGL_ANGLE_program_cache_control EGL_ANGLE_robust_resource_initialization EGL_ANGLE_create_context_extensions_enabled EGL_ANDROID_blob_cache EGL_ANDROID_recordable EGL_ANGLE_image_d3d11_texture EGL_ANGLE_create_context_backwards_compatible EGL_KHR_no_config_context EGL_KHR_create_context_no_error EGL_KHR_reusable_sync EGL_EXTENSIONS(nullptr): EGL_EXT_client_extensions EGL_EXT_device_query EGL_EXT_platform_base EGL_EXT_platform_device EGL_ANGLE_platform_angle EGL_ANGLE_platform_angle_d3d EGL_ANGLE_platform_angle_d3d11on12 EGL_ANGLE_platform_angle_device_id EGL_ANGLE_device_creation EGL_ANGLE_device_creation_d3d11 EGL_ANGLE_experimental_present_path EGL_KHR_client_get_all_proc_addresses EGL_KHR_debug EGL_ANGLE_feature_control IsWebglOutOfProcessEnabled: 1

     WebGL 1 Driver Renderer: Google Inc. (NVIDIA) -- ANGLE (NVIDIA, NVIDIA GeForce GT 730 Direct3D11 vs_5_0 ps_5_0, D3D11-23.21.13.9125)
     WebGL 1 Driver Version: OpenGL ES 2.0.0 (ANGLE 2.1.19735 git hash: 6784271c1c62)
     WebGL 1 Driver Extensions: GL_AMD_performance_monitor GL_ANGLE_base_vertex_base_instance GL_ANGLE_base_vertex_base_instance_shader_builtin GL_ANGLE_client_arrays GL_ANGLE_depth_texture GL_ANGLE_framebuffer_blit GL_ANGLE_framebuffer_multisample GL_ANGLE_get_serialized_context_string GL_ANGLE_get_tex_level_parameter GL_ANGLE_instanced_arrays GL_ANGLE_lossy_etc_decode GL_ANGLE_memory_size GL_ANGLE_multi_draw GL_ANGLE_pack_reverse_row_order GL_ANGLE_program_cache_control GL_ANGLE_provoking_vertex GL_ANGLE_request_extension GL_ANGLE_texture_compression_dxt3 GL_ANGLE_texture_compression_dxt5 GL_ANGLE_texture_usage GL_ANGLE_translated_shader_source GL_CHROMIUM_bind_generates_resource GL_CHROMIUM_bind_uniform_location GL_CHROMIUM_color_buffer_float_rgb GL_CHROMIUM_color_buffer_float_rgba GL_CHROMIUM_copy_compressed_texture GL_CHROMIUM_copy_texture GL_CHROMIUM_lose_context GL_CHROMIUM_sync_query GL_EXT_EGL_image_external_wrap_modes GL_EXT_base_instance GL_EXT_blend_func_extended GL_EXT_blend_minmax GL_EXT_clip_control GL_EXT_color_buffer_half_float GL_EXT_debug_label GL_EXT_debug_marker GL_EXT_discard_framebuffer GL_EXT_disjoint_timer_query GL_EXT_draw_buffers GL_EXT_draw_elements_base_vertex GL_EXT_float_blend GL_EXT_frag_depth GL_EXT_instanced_arrays GL_EXT_map_buffer_range GL_EXT_multi_draw_indirect GL_EXT_multisampled_render_to_texture GL_EXT_occlusion_query_boolean GL_EXT_read_format_bgra GL_EXT_robustness GL_EXT_sRGB GL_EXT_shader_texture_lod GL_EXT_texture_compression_bptc GL_EXT_texture_compression_dxt1 GL_EXT_texture_compression_rgtc GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc_srgb GL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic GL_EXT_texture_format_BGRA8888 GL_EXT_texture_norm16 GL_EXT_texture_rg GL_EXT_texture_storage GL_EXT_texture_type_2_10_10_10_REV GL_EXT_unpack_subimage GL_KHR_debug GL_KHR_no_error GL_KHR_parallel_shader_compile GL_KHR_robust_buffer_access_behavior GL_NV_EGL_stream_consumer_external GL_NV_fence GL_NV_framebuffer_blit GL_NV_pack_subimage GL_NV_pixel_buffer_object GL_OES_EGL_image GL_OES_EGL_image_external GL_OES_compressed_EAC_R11_signed_texture GL_OES_compressed_EAC_R11_unsigned_texture GL_OES_compressed_EAC_RG11_signed_texture GL_OES_compressed_EAC_RG11_unsigned_texture GL_OES_compressed_ETC2_RGB8_texture GL_OES_compressed_ETC2_RGBA8_texture GL_OES_compressed_ETC2_punchthroughA_RGBA8_texture GL_OES_compressed_ETC2_punchthroughA_sRGB8_alpha_texture GL_OES_compressed_ETC2_sRGB8_alpha8_texture GL_OES_compressed_ETC2_sRGB8_texture GL_OES_depth24 GL_OES_depth32 GL_OES_draw_elements_base_vertex GL_OES_element_index_uint GL_OES_fbo_render_mipmap GL_OES_get_program_binary GL_OES_mapbuffer GL_OES_packed_depth_stencil GL_OES_rgb8_rgba8 GL_OES_standard_derivatives GL_OES_surfaceless_context GL_OES_texture_border_clamp GL_OES_texture_float GL_OES_texture_float_linear GL_OES_texture_half_float GL_OES_texture_half_float_linear GL_OES_texture_npot GL_OES_texture_stencil8 GL_OES_vertex_array_object GL_WEBGL_video_texture
     WebGL 1 Extensions: ANGLE_instanced_arrays EXT_blend_minmax EXT_color_buffer_half_float EXT_float_blend EXT_frag_depth EXT_shader_texture_lod EXT_sRGB EXT_texture_compression_bptc EXT_texture_compression_rgtc EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic MOZ_debug OES_element_index_uint OES_fbo_render_mipmap OES_standard_derivatives OES_texture_float OES_texture_float_linear OES_texture_half_float OES_texture_half_float_linear OES_vertex_array_object WEBGL_color_buffer_float WEBGL_compressed_texture_s3tc WEBGL_compressed_texture_s3tc_srgb WEBGL_debug_renderer_info WEBGL_debug_shaders WEBGL_depth_texture WEBGL_draw_buffers WEBGL_lose_context WEBGL_provoking_vertex
     WebGL 2 Driver WSI Info: EGL_VENDOR: Google Inc. (NVIDIA)

EGL_VERSION: 1.5 (ANGLE 2.1.19735 git hash: 6784271c1c62) EGL_EXTENSIONS: EGL_EXT_create_context_robustness EGL_ANGLE_d3d_share_handle_client_buffer EGL_A

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Requested info above. Additional update:

I randomly tried putting emails on my webmail (Yahoo Mail for ATT) into a backup folder instead of inbox. Then I put just a few of those emails back into the inbox, opened Thunderbird, and they downloaded. I did the same thing, moving small numbers of the emails from the backup folder to inbox on Yahoo Mail, then re-opening Thunderbird, several times. I was able to download mail. But what a pain!! And I don't understand why this happened.

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Not that it helps, but I also have this problem now and I use AT&T/Yahoo email. I posted the question earlier. I see there are at least one or two others like us. And it seemed to start with version 115. I thought it was 115.3.0 but I'm not sure. Perhaps this is a combined issue with AT&T and Thunderbird and they are just going to point fingers. Thanks for the tip about moving email to another box and then back.

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DPBurris, sorry you are having the same issue. Interesting that there are several of us with AT&T/Yahoo experiencing the same issue. I wonder if there is some setting with 115 that either doesn't work smoothly with AT&T or a security setting called for with 115 that AT&T has not updated yet.

Modified by glindathegood

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Just curious, but are you all using the same antivirus?

  Type: Name
    Antivirus: Avast Antivirus

Avast has had a very troubling history since around 2012 with repeated mail failures post mail client update.

Modified by Matt

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Matt, thanks for writing. Is there a free antivirus you recommend instead of Avast?

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Is there a free antivirus you recommend instead of Avast?

Microsoft Defender. It ships with Windows 10 & 11, no need for any 3rd -party anti-virus software.

These are some generic suggestions to avoid problems with anti-virus software.

Create an exception in your anti-virus software for the Thunderbird profile folder, so that the anti-virus real-time scanner will not scan it. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-thunderbird-stores-user-data#w_how-to-find-your-profile

Don't let your anti-virus software scan incoming and outgoing messages.

Don't let your anti-virus software scan attachments.

Don't let your anti-virus software intercept your secure connection to the server.

Remove any add-ons your anti-virus software may have installed in Thunderbird.

Keep it working. http://kb.mozillazine.org/Keep_it_working_-_Thunderbird

And last but not least, backup your Thunderbird profile on a regular basis. https://support.mozilla.org/kb/profiles-where-thunderbird-stores-user-data#w_backing-up-a-profile

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I am not using any third party anti-virus. Just Windows 10 and Windows defender.

I was able to get Thunderbird 115 to download my AT&T email by completely emptying my AT&T Yahoo Inbox. Now new messages are downloading to Thunderbird. So the problem is mitigated, but there was/is some issue there with the update process at some point. Not sure what that was/is exactly. Thanks for information and help.

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Thanks for the replies. I removed Avast and now have Microsoft Defender. I made sure that Thunderbird is listed in the exceptions there.

After I did this I was able to download email - three times. Then it stopped again.

I have not changed any settings or done anything different.

Any ideas or suggestions appreciated!

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Your server settings look good. Did you create a secure mail key? https://www.att.com/support/article/email-support/KM1240462

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I have this problem too. I am not on AT&T, but my ISP, Frontiernet.net, is a phone company, and I access my webmail through Yahoo. Sometime yesterday evening my email stopped downloading to Thunderbird. I can still access it from the Yahoo site, and I can still send mail from the account in Thunderbird. I checked the password, and it is the same in both places. I tried removing the global indexing file, as instructed from past problems like this one, and I waited for my inbox re-index, but nothing changed.

At the bottom of Thunderbird when I specifically check mail for my frontiernet account, I get a line of text saying it's trying to contact the host. Then after a few attempts, I got a message saying it couldn't send my password. I tried re-entering the password, and now it requires me to enter it every time I open the program or try to get it to download email. Sometimes I get an error back saying it couldn't connect with that password, other times nothing happens except the same contacting host message.

I tried cleaning out my inbox on Yahoo as others here described, but that accomplished nothing. I have my messages in POP, so there aren't many messages saved on the Yahoo server, but I have thousands of messages in Thunderbird. I've used Thunderbird for many years. I tried deleting 2000 messages, but that made no difference. I am out of ideas and very frustrated!

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I found another thread with this same, unsolved problem here: https://support.mozilla.org/pt-PT/questions/1172376

And I have another issue that I have opened separately, but I suspect the two might be related. Since the 115 update, Thunderbird has been downloading email (until it stopped downloading email yesterday) and is popping up notifications when the program is closed, which never used to happen. I opened a separate thread about that issue here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1426565, but I wanted to raise it here in case it is related to this email not downloading problem.

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Possible solution found... I remembered that Yahoo categorizes some messages as spam, and when it does, Thunderbird will not download them. I tried to get Yahoo to stop doing that and/or Thunderbird to download those messages, since many are not actually spam, but have been unable to figure out a way to do that. So it made me wonder if perhaps the bug is related to that interface. Then I remembered that I routinely tell Yahoo to block addresses that are legitimately spam, and I wondered if that could be involved in the problem too. So I went to my account on Yahoo and deleted all the addresses I had stored as blocked. Then I opened Thunderbird, entered my password yet again, and this time the messages downloaded. Time will tell if this is a permanent solution or just a temporary one, similar to the work around others have found by moving messages in and out of the inbox on Yahoo.

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Email failed to download again this morning, so yesterday's success was indeed fleeting, and I am back to square one. I sure hope someone can figure this out. I really don't want to have to change email programs.

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Yesterday the email downloaded to Thunderbird 3 times after I again emptied my inbox on Yahoo. Then it stopped again and isn't working this morning, no matter what I do in Yahoo. If I tell Thunderbird to check the frontiernet account for email, I still get sending login information to host message. Sometimes it gives me an error saying it couldn't transmit my password. I have now set up a second email account in Thunderbird, this one from gmail, and that one is working fine. So I can forward messages I want to save from the frontiernet account to gmail and then Thunderbird will download them, and I can file them into my folder structure in Thunderbird. Since I am able to see my frontier mail in Yahoo and in the Mail app on the iPhone and iPad, the problem is clearly an interface problem between Thunderbird and Yahoo servers.

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I wanted to reply to several messages here:

Secure mail key - yes, AT&T/Yahoo required OAuth for their products starting a few years ago so I have had OAuth for a while now.

AnMarieJ, we are having such similar issues! I was scanning through messages here last night and noticed there is at least one more post about Frontiernet and several more about AT&T/Yahoo. I agree with you that there is some issue between Yahoo Mail and Thunderbird, and I'm not sure what it is. I have had a similar mail pattern to you. Thursday I got mail more normally on Thunderbird. Friday it was sporadic. Yesterday I was able to download a FEW emails. This morning, nothing. My "best" fix has been setting up a Backup folder at Yahoo Mail and moving new messages there, then sending a few at a time back to the Yahoo Mail inbox so they will go to Thunderbird. This is tedious, even with a normal, not huge amount of email.

More things to note here:

I am getting email at my other Thunderbird accounts just fine. The account with issues is not bigger than the others, does not have more email, no big attachments, etc. I have Yahoo Mail saved as a website on my computer, and use the Yahoo Mail app on my phone and tablet. It works fine there and I can see 100% of my email there. My problem is solely on Thunderbird.

I have even looked at Outlook Mail (Yikes! I don't like their yearly fees). I'm really frustrated and still looking for answers.

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Thanks for your message glindathegood. I do not have OAuth, at least not that I know of. I have tried moving messages out of the inbox on Yahoo and then back in, and I think that worked once but didn't work several times. Forwarding messages to my gmail account is working, since Thunderbird will download from there. But it is tedious and frustrating. I don't want to change email addresses, since I've had the frontiernet address for years and have lots of subscriptions through it. I tried forwarding all frontier mail to my gmail address, but as far as I can tell the Yahoo system doesn't allow that unless you upgrade to a paid subscription with Yahoo, and frontiernet doesn't provide any other way to deal with their email except through Yahoo. It's a nightmare.

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AnMarieJ, that is a good idea about forwarding emails to another account as needed. It would be nice if we could auto-forward. I never thought of that. I also don't want to leave my AT&T (Bellsouth) email, as I have used the same address since 1998! It is my primary email. I have always used desktop email (the old Windows mail program, and then Thunderbird when it was discontinued). I suppose I could try to get used to Yahoo Mail (webmail) if needed ... but would prefer to have the desktop option.

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