Inbox messages deleted

[pawncob]

I didn't do anything! All the messages in my inbox just disappeared.
Is there any way to recover them? They're not in any other folders.

[BruceAWittmeier]

Who is your email provider?
Did you setup Thunderbird to leave the emails on the email server? If so, they may still be there even though they do not appear in TB.

https://www.google.com/search?q=thunder ... e&ie=UTF-8

[DanRaisch]

How is the account set up in Thunderbird, as POP or IMAP? Find out using menu path Tools->Account Settings->Server Settings->Server Type at the top right of the dialogue.

[pawncob]

Hi,
email provider is gmail.
Account is using IMAP. Missing emails are not on the gmail account.

[DanRaisch]

Where are you looking for these messages on the Gmail server? Have you looked in the AllMail "folder"?

[pawncob]

Yes I've just checked it. Hard to know what emails are missing though, I didn't make a note of them before they disappeared!
I'm not worried about the emails that disappeared, just wondering why it happened- and how to prevent it happening again.

[tanstaafl]

Check your IMAP account's synchronization & storage settings. Maybe somehow the disk space settings changed.

If there is a pattern (such as all messages more than X days old) we can probably help you figure out what caused it. If its essentially random messages all that I can suggest is to verify that the messages don't exist in webmail (browser based) either. If they don't exist in webmail either than its probably a problem with your email provider.

[pawncob]

No settings changed at gmail.
Thanks.

[tanstaafl]

Is the problem only with the inbox? i.e. you still have messages in Sent Mail

If you log into Gmail webmail using a browser are the old messages there? If they are still there perhaps an update to Thunderbird for some unknown reason changed your account settings. Try something like compose a new message, save the draft and verify if you exit and restart Thunderbird you can still see the draft message.

[semigeek]

Try repairing Inbox?

Right-click Inbox > Properties > Repair Folder

[BruceAWittmeier]

First I would look at the gmail account through Thunderbird. You should see a folder for gmail in the list.
Double Click it to open.
Scroll down to the Trash bin
Doublt click it -- see if anything you are looking for is there.

I would try:
Log into your gmail through Google chrome or Firefox.
Go through the same or similar steps -- locate the trash for gmail.
Check the contents

[pawncob]

Well, it's happened again,but now I know why.
I accessed my Gmail account on my tablet, and deleted the 7 items in the inbox. This removed all the emails in my inbox in Thunderbird on the computer (about 12).
Not sure why, but I suppose the only way to prevent it is not to use gmail on the tablet. Is it safe to remove gmail on the tablet, or will it delete my entire gmail account?

[tanstaafl]

Uninstalling Gmail on your tablet shouldn't delete all your Gmail accounts. It should just eliminate one way to use Gmail. You should still be able to login using a browser to Gmail or continue to use another Thunderbird installation installed on a Windows PC for example.