Mozilla Thunderbird email client problem et al

[BarkingGhost]

One of the reasons why I have been using Mozilla's Thunderbird email client for so long is that it is ridiculously easy to migrate the profile (mailboxes, email, etc.) by simply copying the /Profile folder from one computer to another. In migrating away from a decade old iMac, I installed the latest Thunderbird client onto both a newer iMac (running Mojave) and also onto a Surface Pro (running Windows 10 Pro). Both migrated without problem in terms of opening up the client, seeing all of the mailboxes, email, and configurations.

On the Surface Pro I can use the client to communicate successfully with my web hosting provider's POP3 and SMTP servers, this isn't the case on the iMac. Both are connected on my LAN via wireless connectivity, but the web hoster's POP3 refuses connection even though the various mailbox accounts are configured identically as they are on the Surface Pro. Even crazier is that on the older iMac (running an older version of MacOS) works.

Other than a different hardware setup between the two iMacs, and a different version of MacOS, this client-server should still work, but it doesn't. I am not sure what to do or try at this point.

 

[mikzn]

I have migrated Thunderbird for more than 10 years - mostly IMAP - and currently is working on Mojave, Catalina and Big Sur with no issues on different MBP's

Did you copy the the Thunderbird folder (old Mac) to the User Library folder in Mojave?

 

[FarmerBob]

Any one know how to get away from Outlook 2011 for Mac?! i.e; migrate the database to something like Thinderbird. I'd love to move on. Especially away from MS as the take the best features away from the app with each release. Then they went to the subscription mode. BUT I hear they are releasing a new "Stand-Alone" Office product in 2021. Guess the subscription model ain't workin', fingers crossed . . . When I set up a machine for someone I put them in Thunderbird. But I started early in Outlook when it was still amazing. HELP! Please . . .

 

[BarkingGhost]

I had to sit this issue down as work got me busy. Today I went in and bulldozed Thunderbird from this particular newer iMac. After verifying that it was no longer present, and any USB-connected device with the Thunderbird folder copied from the old iMac unplugged, I rebooted and installed Thunderbird from scratch. As it couldn't find any existing profile folder anywhere it went through the new setup routine and guess what?

Using the information on a pre-existing account built into 1 and 1 (ahem, IONOS) mail servers, I setup first using the original setup of pop.1and1.com on port 110. I get an error message: Could not connect to server pop1and1.com; the connection was refused.

I reconfigured and restarted the app using IONOS and got the same message on pop.ionos.com as the server refusing the connection. I am no longer using wireless connectivity but direct Ethernet connection.

BTW, as of this very morning the older iMac, the one from 2010, still work just fine and can pull email from all accounts without issue. And while I still wonder what the root cause is for this unsolved issue, I have already implemented another solution that makes use of an ecosystem that is not Apple.

I actually have no use for the 2015 27" 5K iMac. It hasn't been hardly used and in hindsight given the lack of use and whatnot I feel that what I spent on it, even as B-stock, wasn't worth it. But that's all on me. I will literally destroy this unit by EOY.

 

[BarkingGhost]

I have migrated Thunderbird for more than 10 years - mostly IMAP - and currently is working on Mojave, Catalina and Big Sur with no issues on different MBP's

Did you copy the the Thunderbird folder (old Mac) to the User Library folder in Mojave?

Yes. But now I can't get a clean install to setup with IONOS on this iMac. The old iMac works like a charm, though.

 

[BarkingGhost]

It is flipping amazing what happens when you sleep!

I got up just a few minutes ago wondering if IONOS actually requires IMAP for Thunderbird to work on a Mac. I literally Googled "thunderbird email only works on mac using imap server" and THIS link shows someone that had the exact same problem I have been going through and how it eventually got solved:

joy2meuKüsimuse esitaja
28.10.19 11:49
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Mac cleanup pro was causing it to set up a proxy server. Under System Preferences click Network - and then Advanced - and then proxies to see if one of them was checked. That is what I need to get it to stop doing - setting up the proxy was what was messing things up.

I founds a SOCKS proxy was checked and unchecked it. BAM! Fixed. joy2meu contacted Apple support which got solution promoted. Shockingly, this proxy wasn't checked on my 10 year old iMac. Other than M$ Office 2011 and Lightroom, the only other software I installed was Firefox, Thunderbird and Google Chrome.

What exactly setup this proxy is a mystery.

 

[mikzn]

Glad you got it fixed - Awesome!

I've noticed that the auto update does not always work for some strange reason - especially on macOS Big Sur - does not hurt to check and make sure once a while

 

[BarkingGhost]

Well, after I discovered and implemented the fix I shut down the mac and went back to bed. This morning I got up, copied the content of the Thunderbird folder from the thumbdrive (not the folder itself), which was copied from the old mac, to the Thunderbird on the new mac ~/Library/Thunderbird and started the application. Problem was back.

I went looking in System Preferences/Network/Proxy and SOCKS was checked again. No way my copying and pasting could have induced that change so simply restarting the the mac is causing this. I'll have to look more closely this afternoon when I get some free time. Maybe Thunderbird itself upon launch is inducing this change--I'll test that!

 

[BarkingGhost]

Even when I forced an admin password on network settings and reboot the SOCKS proxy is still being enabled. Wow.