Thunderbird & FQ email

[jack]

I've used Thunderbird for all my FQ email accounts for some time - love them both. Now I have two problems:

1. I want to switch my current usage from POP3 to IMAP -
currently my incoming server settings are:
pop.{mydomain}.com on port 110.
Outgoing server (SMTP) is mail.{mydomain}.com, port 1025.
Works great, but how do I convert to using IMAP?
2. Trying to set up a new user from scratch to use Thunderbird,
using IMAP to start with. The latest release of Tbird has a new
'improved' installation procedure, which guesses at the settings,
and apparently gets it wrong. It comes up with server settings:
pop.{domain}.com, port 993, and outserver: pop.{domain}.com,
(forget what it set the port to, it was on client's machine elsewhere).
Net result was unable to send - it simply went into a loop trying.

I've searched this forum and the knowledgebase, as well as Thunderbird online help pages. I have a fundamental understanding of how IMAP vs. POP works for the user, but internally, I'm lost. Does IMAP require using a different outgoing server? different outgoing port?

I'd like to experiment more, but Thunderbird absolutely refuses to let me install two copies on the same PC - even when installed in a different folder, it collects all my previous version's data and behaves more like an update than separate install. I know this is as much a Thunderbird question as FQ email, but can anyone help?

Jack

[Melissa]

Hi Jack,

The information you're looking for is in the following knowledgebase article "IMAP available?":
http://service.FutureQuest.net/kb547

The settings needed would be:
username: same as your POP username
password: same as your POP password
IMAP server/host name: pop.example.com (where example.com is replaced with your own domain name)

The standard port for IMAP is 143. IMAP over SSL (IMAPS) uses port 993. (See Secure POP, SMTP, and IMAP access (http://service.futurequest.net/kb384).)

Hope this helps,
Melissa

[Kevin]

pop.domain and mail.domain are currently the same IP address. Therefore it makes sense that their auto-configuration only detected one or the other. You should use the two different host names though just in case we ever change the way things work. We haven't made and imap.domain so the pop.domain name works for either protocol.

Port 993 is the correct port for IMAP over SSL. This would be a significant increase in the security of your email account as port 110 is POP over plain text (995 is POP over SSL).

The outgoing server and port are the same either way. Port 1025 is also not SSL encrypted while port 465 is SMTP over SSL.

[Kevin]

I just played a bit with my Thunderbird install and a throwaway account.
I manually setup a POP account but I didn't see a way to convert it to an IMAP account. Then I added an IMAP with the same email address and it worked. So I assume the procedure is to add an IMAP account then delete the old POP account.

Of course you could simply disable the POP account for a bit to make sure the IMAP account is working and if you have email stored under the POP account you would want to move it to local folders before you delete that account.

[jack]

Thanks Melissa - I did read those documents, but they leave out a lot...

Which Kevin (thank you, thank you) supplied. I don't know what happened, but after several attempts, adding a new account to Tbird managed to come up with the correct settings for IMAP by itself - and as Kevin pointed out, there is no way to convert an account from POP to IMAP, but recreating it works.

Thanks All,
Jack

[Kevin]

It kinda makes since that you can't just convert from one to the other because Thunderbird treats POP and IMAP accounts in fundamentally different ways. POP accounts are simply downloaded and stored locally while IMAP account (including folders) are stored on the server.

Of course this difference is also very significant if you plan to access your email from more than one client and/or device.

[jack]

It kinda makes since that you can't just convert from one to the other because Thunderbird treats POP and IMAP accounts in fundamentally different ways. POP accounts are simply downloaded and stored locally while IMAP account (including folders) are stored on the server.

Yeah, but surely the folks at Mozilla know that giving us the option to flip back and forth is just a SMOP???:wink:

Of course this difference is also very significant if you plan to access your email from more than one client and/or device.
That's my plan...

Thanks again...
Jack

**(Simple Matter Of Programming)

[Arseweb]

I'm coming up against Thunderbird's inability to switch server type, from the other side.

I want to connect using pop, but thunderbird's auto-detect thing comes up with IMAP for the incoming server type. I can then edit the settings, but not the server type.

Can anyone explain to me how to do this? I've set up thunderbird to work with my FQ email many times over the years but never had this problem before.

[Kevin]

Try this: http://support.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/kb/FAQ+Changing+IMAP+to+POP

[Arseweb]

Try this: http://support.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/kb/FAQ+Changing+IMAP+to+POP
Fantastic, thanks. Don't know how my search didn't find that!

I'd tried hitting the "stop" button like it says but I guess I hadn't been getting in there quick enough.