Thunderbird Not Downloading eMails

[hawke1]

Suddenly Thunderbird has stopped downloading eMails.
It says no messages to download.
I have checked with Outlook.com and there are definitely messages waiting to download.
I am currently using 60.9.1, mainly to make use of Theme Font and Size Changer etc.

Assistance required please.

[Daifne]

Moving to Thunderbird Support

[DanRaisch]

Who is your email provider?
Without posting your full email address, what settings do you have under menu path Tools->Account Settings Server Settings:
Server name:
Port # :
User name : (Is it your full name or just the bit before the @ symbol)
Connection Security:
Authentication Method:
What security software is running on that system? Did it recently install and update? Did you recently update Thunderbird?

[hawke1]

Dan,
Many thanks for response.

To answer your questions:

email provider - Outlook.com
Server Name - pop-mail.outlook.com
Port# - 995 Default - 995
User Name - Fullname@outlook.com
Connection Security - SSL/TLS
Authentication Method - Normal Password

I am running Avast Free, which I believe was updated about a week ago, but I am not absolutely sure about that.
It was installed mid December.

I am running Thunderbird 60.9.1 as I mentioned previously to maintain use of addons.
The last time Thunderbird was updated was to 68.3 (mid December) and addons were no longer supported - so I then reverted to 60.9.1.


At the moment I have Thunderbird updates disabled.

If you need any more info please let me know.
Regards
Roger

[tanstaafl]

If Thunderbird can't download a message from a POP server because it thinks there is something wrong with it it is not smart enough to complain and then skip to the next message. Try reading and then deleting the oldest new message using a browser/webmail and then restart Thunderbird. If you're lucky that will free up the logjam and Thunderbird will download new mail starting with the the oldest new mail.

The newest new mail is typically at the top of the webmail folder listing. In that case you want to read and delete the one at the bottom of the list of new mail. If necessary compare the subject/time&date from the Thunderbird folder listing with its folder listing to figure out which one would normally be downloaded next.

Its possible to have both a POP and a IMAP account for the same email address at the same time. I realize you prefer a POP account but you might temporarily try using a IMAP account to verify you can login to outlook.com and that there is no problems due to your anti-virus scanner etc. You could also use the IMAP account to read and delete the oldest new message rather than doing that via webmail.

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Hotmail

[hawke1]

tanstaafl,
Many thanks for response.

Just to confirm - are you saying log in to my outlook.com account and then read and delete the oldest message that has not been downloaded?

Is IMAP preferable to POP?
To change to iMAP do I just click on the link you provided and insert the details as shown?

[tanstaafl]

"Just to confirm - are you saying log in to my outlook.com account and then read and delete the oldest message that has not been downloaded?"

Yes.

"Is IMAP preferable to POP?"

Yes. IMAP accounts have several advantages but they are more complex, and require a learning curve. Some people are so used to using POP accounts that a IMAP account just doesn't seem to work like a mail account should work. Most email clients on smartphones use IMAP accounts, so anybody using one is more likely to be comfortable using a IMAP account on a desktop/laptop. A IMAP account is a poor choice if you have a slow internet connection because every time you open a message it fetches it from the server.

See http://kb.mozillazine.org/IMAP

"To change to iMAP do I just click on the link you provided and insert the details as shown?"

You should add a new account using the new account wizard (tools -> account settings -> account actions -> add mail account) instead. The new account wizard knows how to configure a outlook.com IMAP account. You basically just need to provide your name, email address and password and review what it defaults to.

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Hotmail is just documentation

[hawke1]

tanstaafl,

I carried out your instructions and the problem has gone away - many thanks for that.

All the years I have been using Thunderbird I have never come across this problem before - is it common? and can you please explain the cause of it?

As regards POP versus IMAP, I think I'll stay with POP for now. I'll do some research and sort it out from there.
I only access email via one device (PC)

[oliverzofia]

If Thunderbird not downloading the emails then do the following things:
First, log in to the webmail page of your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and erase the older emails from the inbox that has not yet been downloaded or displace it to a server folder. Open the Thunderbird and try to get Emails again.

[tanstaafl]

"All the years I have been using Thunderbird I have never come across this problem before - is it common? and can you please explain the cause of it?"

Sometimes Thunderbird tries to download what it considers a "bad" message (bad headers, something wrong with an attachment or it has a broken MIME layout) in a POP account. When that happens its not smart enough to complain and then automatically skip over it to the next message. So you get a logjam.

The standard workaround when you think that happens is to read the oldest new message in webmail using a browser, delete that message, logout and try again with Thunderbird. Note that the oldest "new" message may not be at the top of the listing. It might be at the bottom of the messages listed in bold because they're new. If you're unsure look at the time stamp.

You might have started to run into this problem because you're getting mail from somebody new. Its very dependent upon who is sending you mail, and what they use to send it. Thunderbird is a lot more brittle than other email clients, unfortunately. It won't tolerate errors that many other email clients just ignore.