Why is Thunderbird Not Downloading Messages?

Jackson Strong | December 20th, 2023 | Mozilla Thunderbird

Thunderbird is a popular email client that allows users to manage multiple email accounts efficiently. It is a desktop-based email client that provides various functionalities to its users. It enables users to manage emails, news feeds, online chat, etc. Even after multiple advantages, users face some problems with Thunderbird like other email applications. One of them is Thunderbird not downloading messages. In this article, we are going to discuss the ways to fix this issue but first, we understand the reasons for this problem.

Reasons Why Thunderbird Not Downloading Messages

There are several reasons for this issue. Some of them are given below-

  • Incorrect Configuration Settings – One of the most common reasons for occur this issue is incorrect configuration settings. If the configuration settings are not properly then you cannot download Thunderbird email messages.
  • Corruption of Thunderbird Profile – A corrupted Thunderbird profile can lead to various issues, including with downloading messages.
  • Insufficient Storage – If the disk where Thunderbird is installed or the drive where it saves email data is full. It might prevent downloading messages from Thunderbird.

How to Fix Thunderbird Not Downloading New Messages?

Here, we will discuss some solutions to resolve Thunderbird not downloading messages issue which are given below-

Method 1. Check Email Server Settings

If your Thunderbird is not working properly and you are unable to download email messages. There is no matter which protocol you are using- POP or IMAP, it can happen in any case. Here, we will discuss methods for both protocols.

#1. If Your Thunderbird is Operating in POP3

Global searching is a database that utilizes global messages-db.sqlite like search index. It contains a copy of all Thunderbird emails. If this file gets corrupted then Thunderbird cannot download email messages. Follow the below given instructions to resolve this issue;

  1. Close Thunderbird application.
  2. Go to Thunderbird Profile folder and find global-messages-db.sqlite file.
  3. Delete global-messages-db-sqlite file from your system to force Thunderbird to download all POP3 messages.
  4. After that, restart Thunderbird application. It will automatically start the process of rebuliding global-messages-db.sqlite.
  5. You can check the status of re-indexing by clicking on Tools and then hit on Activity Manager.

Re-indexing time depends on the number of emails. So wait. Once it is complete, Thunderbird will download all emails. Hence, you can resolve this issue if you are using POP3.

#2. If Your Thunderbird is Operating in IMAP

Follow the below given instructions to resolve Thunderbird not downloading messages issue if IMAP is enabled in Thunderbird account;

  1. Open Thunderbird email client on your system.
  2. Now, go to Tools and click on Account Settings.click on Tools and account settings
  3. Select the Synchronization & Storage category for IMAP account.thunderbird not downloading email messages
  4. Tick on Keep messages for this account on this computer option.enable keep messages option
  5. After that, click on Advanced button to force Thunderbird to download email messages.click on advanced
  6. Select folder and click on Ok.click ok

Method 2. Reinstall Thunderbird Application

If after applying the above method, Thunderbird is unable to download messages then uninstall your Thunderbird application.
Again, reinstall Thunderbird and check the problem is solved or not.

Method 3. Switch to Different Email Client

If you are still encountering Thunderbird not downloading message error then shifting to a new email client like Outlook could be beneficial for you. Outlook supports PST file format. So, you need to export Thunderbird mailbox to PST and then import it into Outlook. For this, you can use a professional tool like Advik Thunderbird Converter. The software is capable of downloading Thunderbird data in your desired formats. It provides various advanced filter options to export specific email messages according to your needs.

Conclusion

Mozilla Thunderbird is widely used by users and it checks every minute new messages and downloads them. Sometimes, Thunderbird is not able to download new messages due to various reasons. In this post, we have discussed why is Thunderbird not downloading messages. Here, we mentioned some possible ways to resolve this issue. You can apply them and fix this issue.