Thunderbird cannot find a Gmail account despite being able to do so previously (deleting and replacing the account is an attempt at troubleshooting)
Hi, I successfully set up two Gmail accounts in Thunderbird and was sending and receiving messages for a while. Suddenly I was unable to either send or receive. My account settings are correct (they are exactly as they were when I successfully set up the accounts). I am able to access my incoming emails and send new emails via webmail. I have deliberately deleted one of the accounts and attempted to set it up again but Thunderbird now cannot find the account details, despite being able to find them previously. I am really confused now and would much appreciate someone's help as I've no idea what to do to resolve this! Thank you. Regards, Nick Chown
Later: (1) I have now deleted both my accounts and tried replacing them. I have the correct Gmail details (password etc). All I get is a message from Thunderbird saying "Sorry - we're unable to communicate with our sign-up server. Please check your connection." There is no problem with the connection.
(2) I only changed from Freeserve (now EE) email to Gmail because of problems sending and receiving Freeserve messages with Thunderbird; as Gmail accounts worked I had assumed Freeserve was the problem but am not so sure now as lightning seems to have struck twice now Gmail doesn't work.
Modified by Nick Chown
Chosen solution
Thanks Matt for the very prompt response. I was working on this problem into the early hours of this morning. It turned out to be a problem with my firewall. I resolved it by turning the firewall off temporarily while I got the email client to contact its server which got the email client set up properly. It sends and receives messages as it should despite the firewall having been turned back on (as quickly as I possibly could). Apparently it is possible to have an 'exception' to a firewall. I'm told that the email software has to make contact with the server every two weeks (I thought it was doing that all the time its in use!) and I should allocate an exception.
Anyway, thanks again for taking the time and trouble to respond.
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Try the following, It is probably your anti virus, but this will confirm it.
- Restart the operating system in safe mode with Networking. This loads only the very basics needed to start your computer while enabling an Internet connection. Click on your operating system for instructions on how to start in safe mode: Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, OSX
- If safe mode for the operating system fixes the issue, there's other software in your computer that's causing problems. Possibilities include but not limited to: AV scanning, virus/malware, background downloads such as program updates.
Chosen Solution
Thanks Matt for the very prompt response. I was working on this problem into the early hours of this morning. It turned out to be a problem with my firewall. I resolved it by turning the firewall off temporarily while I got the email client to contact its server which got the email client set up properly. It sends and receives messages as it should despite the firewall having been turned back on (as quickly as I possibly could). Apparently it is possible to have an 'exception' to a firewall. I'm told that the email software has to make contact with the server every two weeks (I thought it was doing that all the time its in use!) and I should allocate an exception.
Anyway, thanks again for taking the time and trouble to respond.
Thunderbird connects to Mozilla everytime you open it, to check for updates and to get the welcome message.tip of the day. That is in addition to the connection to the ISPDB to get account setting in the case of new accounts.
Firewall should open ports 80 and 443 plus whatever ports are used for the mail servers. In the case of anti virus firewalls (The pits really) Thunderbird should be allowed full internet access. Automatic settings see issues re appear with every security update as the internal version changes.)