Do you get the inbox and it's contents? Any other folders? Is the account IMAP or POP.

Yes, I have the inbox and ites contents and am receiving new email there. It's just the local folders that have disappeared. It is POP>

I am about as confused as it is possible to get.

POP only looks to the inbox and only downloads that single folder. But you say your folders are visible in your Yahoo account.

Please add the troubleshooting information to your post To find the Troubleshooting information:

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Will I be hearing back from you about this?

Please be patient. Everyone here helping with Thunderbird is an unpaid volunteer. We help here when we can, around the other things going on in our lives.

It appears that you need to learn about the difference between IMAP and POP, and when using POP like you are, the difference between the folders you see on Yahoo webmail, and the folders you see in Thunderbird. Plus what "Local Folders" are in Thunderbird.

POP means that Thunderbird asks the mail server (Yahoo in your case), to send all the new e-mails from Yahoo's Inbox to Thunderbird. Thunderbird then saves those e-mails on your computer in Thunderbird's Inbox. Usually with POP, the e-mail program (Thunderbird), will then tell the e-mail server (Yahoo), to delete those e-mails from the server.

Then you may move those e-mails from the Thunderbird Inbox to other folders you have in Thunderbird, like Thunderbird's "Local Folders". But the Yahoo servers don't know anything about that. All it knows is that you download the e-mails, which is all it was asked to do.

When you are using POP in Thunderbird, then when you move e-mails in Yahoo webmail from one folder to another, Thunderbird doesn't know anything about that either.

This is where IMAP comes in and helps things to stay synchronized. When using IMAP, Thunderbird asks the e-mail server (Yahoo), what e-mail folders it has and the basic information of what is in those folders. When you open an e-mail in Thunderbird, it asks the e-mail server to provide the contents of that e-mail to show you. Basic IMAP means that Thunderbird doesn't store any of the e-mails on your computer. This is how smartphones can access e-mail without having to store all of the messages, filling up the smartphone memory.

When using IMAP, the list of folders under your e-mail address in Thunderbird is the same as on the server (Yahoo webmail).

The "Local Folders" have folders and e-mails that are only saved on your computer, not on the e-mail server. If you move a message from the IMAP folders in Thunderbird to the "Local Folders", then the message will exist in the "Local Folders" and be deleted from the IMAP folders.

Your situation right now is that because you are using POP, Thunderbird has no idea about the other folders you have created in Yahoo webmail.

What you should do is start using IMAP instead of POP in Thunderbird.

I will write up the instructions how to do this properly, then post those instructions here in another post.

Switch from POP to IMAP account in Thunderbird.

In case my explanation of POP and IMAP is not good, look here:

http://www.pop2imap.com/

Matt said

Do you get the inbox and it's contents? Any other folders? Is the account IMAP or POP.

Hi Matt, Let's start over. I think I confused you. Both my wife and I have email accounts on Yahoo Mail. We both use the same email address--lmpane@bellsouth.net. Up until recently, whenever I accessed Thunderbird on either my desktop or laptop, I got my email with the local folders I set up for my account. However, now when I access Thunderbird, I am getting her account which does not have the folders I set up for my account. I can get email for my account with Thunderbird on both my Kindle Fire and my cell phone with my local folders. How do I tell Thunderbird so stop accessing her account and to access mine instead. She is even willing to delete her account if that will solve the problem, but I am reluctant to try this because our email addresses are the same, and I'm afraid deleting hers will also delete mine. All I want is to have Thunderbird give me access to my email instead of hers on my desktop and laptop. Does this help any?

M Ike

Your original question said nothing about your wife's e-mail and that your e-mails are getting mixed up. That is another issue.

It is not possible to have two e-mail accounts with one e-mail address.

It is possible to have more than one e-mail address put their e-mail into the same e-mail account. Perhaps that is what you are talking about? Address A and address B both send their e-mail to address "lmpane"? Or address B sends it's e-mail to address A?

You need to separate your e-mail addresses so the e-mail for both don't end up in the same account (lmpane). I don't know if AT&T will accommodate you or not with your current e-mail addresses. You will have to communicate with them about that.

Most definitely you don't want to delete the lmpane account, since that may be the only real e-mail account you have, with other e-mail addresses feeding their e-mail to it.

You say, "I can get email for my account with Thunderbird on both my Kindle Fire and my cell phone with my local folders."

Thunderbird is an e-mail program, and is not available for use on the Kindle Fire or a mobile phone. On those devices, you are using the e-mail app that was made for them.

What you are calling "local folders" for those devices is not related to "Local Folders" in Thunderbird on your Windows computer.

Those devices are probably accessing the e-mail account using IMAP, so they see the folders you have set up in Yahoo webmail.

Thunderbird on your computer is accessing the e-mail account using POP, and only retrieving the e-mails that are in the Yahoo Inbox. It will not show the folders you set up in Yahoo webmail. You might have created folders in Thunderbird with the same names, but they are not exactly what is on the Yahoo servers.

What I recommend that you do right now is create a new "account" in Thunderbird for your e-mail address using IMAP:

1. Press the Alt key or F10 key to show the Thunderbird menu.

2. Thunderbird menu: Tools: Account Settings.

3. Click the "Account Actions" button on the bottom left and choose, "Add Mail Account".

4. Enter your name, e-mail address, and password, then press the "Continue" button.

5. Then press the "Manual config" button and change the settings to what you see in my screenshot below. I got these correct settings from what AT&T says they should be: https://www.att.com/esupport/article.html#!/dsl-high-speed/KM1010523

6. Then click the "Done" button.

7. Thunderbird will probably complain and say you already have an "account" with the same name (the e-mail address). So you will need to change the name of the account. I suggest "lmpane IMAP".

Now you will have two "accounts" in Thunderbird for the same e-mail address. One POP, and one IMAP. The new IMAP one will show you the same folders that your Kindle Fire and mobile phone do.

Before you delete the POP account in Thunderbird, move all the e-mail from those folders to folders under "Local Folders" in Thunderbird.

Given how your other e-mail addresses work, you may or may not be able to set up IMAP accounts for them in Thunderbird also. You will have to discuss that with AT&T: Contact webpage for AT&T Internet