What Happens When I Change the IMAP Mail Server address for an Existing Thunderbird Email Account? Multiple email accounts show other account's emails; Can not download emails from mail server with 78.0.1, but can with 68.11.0; The difference between IMAP and POP3; Thunderbird FAQ; Glossary of Terms including types of Accounts. The only reliable way to do it for two Macs is to quit Mail on both machines and then copy one Mac’s entire /Library/Mail/V3 folder (in El Capitan) or /Library/Mail/V2 folder (in Yosemite or earlier) to the other’s. But this overwrites all messages on the second Mac, which may result in lost data.

“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?”

“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.

Why Force Thunderbird to Download All Messages?

  • 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.

    • Mac Mail Imap Download All Messages 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:

    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

    Mac Mail Imap Download All Messages Android

    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.

    Mac Mail Imap Download All Messages Sender

    Mac mail imap download all messages app

    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 1password mac how to download documents.

    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.