There are several answers to this question but none seem to reflect my problem. I have recently installed Thunderbird on a new Laptop, I have copied the profile and I can see everything on the new machine everything works ok. However if the PC reads the mail it appears in the inbox ok, but it can't be seen by the laptop. Similarly if the laptop reads the Email it can be seen on it but not on the PC. I use an imap server on both machines. Is there any answer to this please.
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2Is the root issue that TBird will not download emails that have already been read? Please explain further what you mean when you say you "copied the profile"? Did you copy all the email, or just the account settings? Are the server/connection settings the same on both computers?music2myearβ music2myear09/02/2025 20:03:31Commented 16 hours ago
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3If this is truly IMAP, not POP, then the email should be kept on the server. Perhaps there is a filter set in Thunderbird to move the file to a local folder, then delete it from the IMAP server?DrMoishe Pippikβ DrMoishe Pippik09/02/2025 21:24:09Commented 15 hours ago
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If you are using IMAP it's not necessary to copy the thunderbird profile. Just add the mail account and let it download the mails.Gerald Schneiderβ Gerald Schneider09/03/2025 06:05:54Commented 6 hours ago
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1 Answer
If both Thunderbird setups are really using IMAP, your emails should stay on the server and be visible on both computers. This issue you describe usually happens when one of the accounts is actually set up as POP3, or when Thunderbird is not pointing to the right folders. Open Account Settings -> Server Settings on both machines and confirm the account type says IMAP. Also chek that both are subscribed to the same IMAP folders. If you find one is POP3, remove it and set it up again as IMAP. Once both are IMAP and looking at the same folders, reading a message on one computer will be reflected on the other.
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