Home  »  Blog  »  fix  »  How to Fix the Issue “Why is Thunderbird not working with Gmail”?

How to Fix the Issue “Why is Thunderbird not working with Gmail”?

Bhawna Barwal | fix gmail software technology thunderbird | 4 minutes read | Modified on: 08-07-2025

Are you struggling with “why is thunderbird not working with Gmail issue”? Then this blog will be saviour one for you. Here we will look at the reasons of this error and the best possible solutions to fix it. So read it till the end and grasp the genuine solutions for the query.

Reasons of Why is Thunderbird not working with Gmail

There are several reasons why Thunderbird might not be working with Gmail. Here are the most common causes and their best possible solutions:

Incorrect Account Settings:  (IMAP/SMTP) Thunderbird requires the correct IMAP and SMTP settings to connect to Gmail.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): If you have enabled two-factor authentication for the Google account, Thunderbird may not be able to connect to Gmail directly using your regular password. In this case, you need to generate and use an App Password.

Outdated Thunderbird Version

An outdated version of Thunderbird may not support Gmail properly, especially with new Gmail security standards. Ensure you are using latest version of Thunderbird. You can check for updates under Help > About Thunderbird.

Manual Ways to Resolve Why is Thunderbird not Working with Gmail

Gmail IMAP Settings

  1. Ensure that IMAP is enabled in your Gmail account.
  2. To enable IMAP in Gmail:
  3. Go to your Gmail inbox on a web browser.
  4. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner and select See all settings.
  5. Go to the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
  6. Ensure IMAP Access is enabled.
  7. Click Save Changes.

Create App Password

  1. Go to your Google Account settings.
  2. Navigate to Security.
  3. Under “Signing in to Google,” select App Passwords.
  4. Generate a new app password for Thunderbird and use it instead of your regular Gmail password.

For Authentication Go With OAuth2 Method

  1. Run your Thunderbird email client.
  2. Then directly go to the Account Settings.
  3. Click on the Server Settings, and then Outgoing Server option.
  4. Select OAuth2 in Authentication method.
  5. Lastly click on the “Done”, and login to Google account and give permissions.

Account Password Issues

Check if, Mozilla Thunderbird is saving the correct password. Sometimes Thunderbird might store an incorrect password that causes login issues. Go to Thunderbird’s Saved Passwords (Tools > Options > Privacy & Security > Saved Passwords) and remove any outdated entries.

Gmail Access to the New Device

  1. Just open a web browser and log into your Gmail account.
  2. Go to the Security option.
  3. Next, select labelled as Recent security events.
  4. Review all of the devices and the recent activities.
  5. Lastly, verify the device activity where you are attempting to set up Gmail.
  6. If you accomplish this successfully, it should fix the problem of Thunderbird not connecting to Gmail.

Reconfigure Gmail account

  1. Launch Mozilla Thunderbird on your device first.
  2. Select the Account Settings option by clicking on the menu.
  3. Click the Remove button just after selecting Account Actions situated at the left panel.
  4. Then click on the menu icon once. Thereafter, restart Thunderbird.
  5. Select the “New” option then “Existing Mail Account”.
  6. Now enter your name, Gmail address, app password.
  7. Click “Done” to save the account.
  8. Give the necessary permissions when the sign-in to access your Gmail account appears.

The above provided manual solutions may seem tricky to those belong from any non-technical background. The method can take lots of time, also the risk of losing data is there in the manual methods. Users may encounter several errors while approaching this method. Users must follow the simple and precise automated method to fix this error which mentioned below.

Automated Way to Fix Why is Thunderbird not working with Gmail

To get rid of demerits of manual methods’ limitations users can opt for BitData Migration Thunderbird Converter.  This expert solution enables to tackle any kind of error. It is a seamless method to export Thunderbird to MBOX.  Also it is a direct method to work with a bulk Thunderbird data that is essentially important to save time and efforts. This application also gives you access to convert Thunderbird to PST, PDF, Gmail, and many more. It is easy to use and workable on all editions of Windows like Windows 10, 11, 7, 8.1 etc. And it also goes well with Mac OS editions like Monterey, Catalina, High-Sierra, Mojave, etc. Take a demo of this app and convert 20 items from Thunderbird completely free of cost. Now let’s know the working of the software.

win download buynow

mac download buynow

  1. Firstly open this application.
  2. Select required Thunderbird data.
  3. Choose any saving option.
  4. Then select the path, if required, then hit the Export button to start the conversion.

Read more:

How to Fix “No valid MBOX files were found” Error?

Conclusion

The article shows you correct way to handle why is thunderbird not working with Gmail. Users must make sure several things like, Double-check your account settings and use the proper Gmail IMAP/SMTP server details. Use two-factor authentication, generate an app-specific password. Keep Thunderbird updated and check your Gmail settings to allow less secure apps or use OAuth. Also, users can opt for an advanced Thunderbird Tool to fix the error that works with Windows and Mac Operating Systems.