Modify Thunderbird Email last modified 2022-07-07

The purpose of this page is to provide guidance in changing settings in an existing email account. If the email is working, nothing needs to be changed.

Access Settings

1. To change settings in Thunderbird, select your email address above the Inbox to highlight it, then select Account Settings far to the right beside the gear icon.
   
   
   
2. The screenshot below gives an alternate method of accessing the settings, as well as other useful menu options. Select the three horizontal bars on the right. Account Settings is on the menu, as well as a direct link to Preferences. Select Account Settings.
   
   
   

Incoming Mail Server

3. Select Server Settings under the email address on the panel on the left. The example in the screenshot outlined in the red rectangle below shows the correct settings for an @olympus.net email address using the POP protocol. The section below the rectangle shows additional options for POP accounts. If any change is made for either Incoming or Outgoing email settings, Thunderbird will prompt for a password the next time send or receive email is selected. Type in the email password to proceed.
   See the text below the screenshot for all account types: POP, IMAP, and Domain email accounts.
   
   
   
4. The text below describes correct incoming mail settings for all account types.
   1. For olympus.net email (janedoe@olympus.net) using POP or IMAP:
      1. Enter mail.userservices.net in the Server Name field.
      2. Port: 995 using POP or 993 using IMAP
      3. Connection Security for both: SSL/TLS
      4. Authentication method for both: Normal password
      5. User Name should be full email address (janedoe@olympus.net).
   2. For email in your own domain (sally@example.com):
      1. Enter mailc11.megamailservers.com in the Server Name field.
      2. Connection Security: SSL/TLS
      3. Port: 995 using POP or 993 using IMAP
      4. Authentication method: Normal password
      5. User Name must be full email address (sally@example.com).

Outgoing Mail Server

5. Select Outgoing Server (SMTP) in the navigation panel on the left. (Steps 1-3 must still be followed to see the option if there was no need to look at the incoming server). Note that the settings for the account show below the white rectangle under Details of selected server. If something needs to be changed, select the line in the white rectangle that coincides with the email address that needs an update, usually the Default account. Selecting the line will highlight the line in darker blue. Then select the Edit button on the right. A new dialog box for editing will open.
   
   
   
6. In the screenshot below the settings are correct for @olympus.net email. The description field can have any name that makes sense for the account - it is not an active settings field. It could be just Olympus, or Olympus Janedoe; here it is just janedoe.
   
   For domain email users, the Server Name should instead be mailc11.megamailservers.com, and the email address should be your domain email address, e.g., sally@example.com. The rest of the settings are correct for all account types.
   
   
   

Add or Remove Account

7. In the screenshot at step 2, the Account Actions button appears at the bottom of the navigation panel. Here the user may delete the account, change the default account if there are more than one email accounts, or add a new account.
   
   To add an additional account, select Add Mail Account, then refer to To add an additional account, select Add Mail Account, then refer to Setup Thunderbird Email.
   
   
   
   

Thunderbird Updates

8. Select the stack of 3 horizontal bars in the upper-right of Thunderbird. Select Preferences from the menu. (See Screenshot on step 2 at the top of this document.) Select General in the left-hand navigation panel.
   
9. Under General, scroll through the options to the Updates section. The current version being used is shown, as well as, Thunderbird is up to date, below the version, if that is so. One may select to Automatically install updates with the radio button. And on the right, there is a button to Check for Updates. If Thunderbird is behaving oddly, updating is always a good first step.
   
   
   

Change Password

10. If you’ve changed the email password with OlympusNet, try closing Thunderbird completely (on a Mac, select the Thunderbird menu, and Quit Thunderbird). Reopen Thunderbird, and it may give a prompt for the password. Type in the new password and make sure Remember Password is selected below the password field, and Save or Sign In.
11. The following steps are less easy, but might be needed if a persistent password error arises.
    
    1. Select the stack of 3 horizontal bars in the upper-right of Thunderbird. Select Preferences from the menu. (See Screenshot on step 2 at the top of this document.)
    2. Select Privacy & Security from Thunderbird Preferences.
       
       
       
    3. In the Passwords section on the right, select the Saved Passwords button.
       
       
       
    4. Beneath the panel that shows your email address(es), select the button Show Passwords.
       
       
       
    5. Select Yes to confirm you wish to show your passwords.
       
       
       
    6. If you have more than one line in the rectangle for a single email address, look at the password field for each. If one line contains an incorrect password, highlight only that line (it turns a darker blue when selected) and then select the Remove button. If the other line is accurate, nothing more needs to be done. Select Close, then test email. It is possible to correct the password, but one must double-click only in the field under the word password, until only that section turns a lighter blue than the rest of the line. Then select the delete key on the keyboard, and retype the password accurately. Select Hide Passwords, then Close when done, and test by sending email to your own address.
       
       
       
    7. Close the Preferences tab at the top of the window with the X. Or select email address to get back to the Inbox. If this is hard to see, just close Thunderbird completely and reopen.