after update thunderbird not downloading pop emails

[ostromd]

sometime after updating to 52.x thunderbird lost the ability to download from earthlink.net, using pop email

before the update there were no issues

I had made no changes to the settings in thunderbird and earthlink support verified the email settings

I have had to resort to using webmail, which works but I would rather be using thunderbird

I tried uninstalling thunderbird and installing a 43.x version, but it would not download emails either.

Did the latest version of thinderbird change some setting to cause this problem?

[DanRaisch]

Confirm also that you have Thunderbird set to "Check for new messages at startup" and to "Automatically download new messages". Find those options under menu path Tools->Account Settings->Server Settings.

Close Thunderbird. Log onto the account again using web mail. Delete the oldest message not yet downloaded to Thunderbird. Launch Thunderbird and see if it is then able to download messages.

[ostromd]

They are valuable emails and I cannot just delete them

[tanstaafl]

Then log into webmail using a browser, read and move several of the oldest new messages to another folder, log out, and try Thunderbird again. You may not be able to download them but you can still read them using webmail. if you ever switch to a IMAP account I suspect you can read them using Thunderbird.

POP accounts are becoming a legacy feature. IMAP is the preferred solution nowadays as they allow access to all of the folders on the server, work better with email clients on mobile devices, and if they have a problem with a bad message, it doesn't cause a logjam.

See https://www.support.earthlink.net/artic ... -email.php if you want to add a IMAP account. It can co-exist with the POP account while you decide if you want to keep it.

[sfhowes]

Was this account set to download headers only? If so, there was a bug that has been fixed in 52.1.1.

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbi ... easenotes/

[Hadriano55]

Hi,
Yes, I do have the same problem as well. My system is CENTOS 7.2, updated yesterday. Thunderbird's version is 52.1.0 and is set to download the headers.
How can I update/upgrade to 52.1.1?
I've checked the Linux repositories and there are no updates available as yet.
Why there's not a button under Help to say 'UPDATE?' instead of the program updating itself by calling home?
The user can click on this button. If there's an update available, then yes; if not, then nothing would happen. Strange behaviour.
So, help please?
How can I update manually without re-installing the thing from fresh?
thanks.

[DanRaisch]

Updating manually does not "reinstall the thing from fresh." You'll find the profile still in place after installing a downloaded version of the program. Get the new version from the official Mozilla site rather than the Linux repositories -- https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/

[Hadriano55]

I think the clue was in the question: 'without re-installing.'
I am well familiar with the ins-and-outs of Thunderbird, profiles, backups, etc.
Now, how can one update the installation of Thunderbird when a minor fix is released?
How do you go from 52.1.0 to 52.1.1 without going through the whole process as if the thing was afresh?
Thanks.

[tanstaafl]

The automatic update leaves the profile (which has your mail, settings, address books, add-ons etc.) alone though it may add a setting. You can enable automatic updates through tools -> options -> advanced -> update. Options is replaced by Preferences under Linux. If you use help -> about Thunderbird -> check for updates it will install an update (if available) regardless of the settings.

If you are using a third party build from your Linux distro (rather than a Mozilla Linux build) it depends upon the distro. Many disable the automatic update feature and you have to use something like the synaptic package manager to get and install updated packages. It will store the profile in a different default location, but should keep it when updating too.

[Hadriano55]

Thank you.
I cannot find the 'enable automatic updates' on my system and also that crucial button, the one that I think should be present and is missing from Help/About Thunderbird. is not there either. [my sytem is CentOS 7.2, updates/patches/fixes are installed via a cron job]
As you have suggested, the last update must have broken Thunderbird as it does come from the repositories. I also think this is not the first time that this has happened. [You may be aware that CentOS, being based on RedHat, lags behind the updates due to, but not exclsively, security and tightness.]
Anyway, my aim is to find a way to go from 52.1.0 to 52.1.1 without going through the whole shebang.
Thanks again.

[Grumpus]

Thunderbird 52.1.1 is starting to become available in repositories for Linux distributions.
Mint and Ubuntu are both 52.1.1 now. It also seems some of the Linux distributions didn't go for the initial release and waited for 52.1.1