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[email protected] has disconnected - Thunderbird Error

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  • 8 have this problem
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  • Last reply by stoc2528

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Thunderbird was working fine using IMAP then today I got the error "Server [email protected] has disconnected. The server may have gone down or there may be a network problem."

As far as I can tell imap.gmail.com has not gone down but I get this error on 2 different computers on 2 different networks. One running Thunderbird 45.6 on Windows 7 and one a Linux box also running Thunderbird 45.6

Can anyone help me with this issue?

Thunderbird was working fine using IMAP then today I got the error "Server [email protected] has disconnected. The server may have gone down or there may be a network problem." As far as I can tell imap.gmail.com has not gone down but I get this error on 2 different computers on 2 different networks. One running Thunderbird 45.6 on Windows 7 and one a Linux box also running Thunderbird 45.6 Can anyone help me with this issue?

All Replies (3)

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Do each of these, in order.

1. Double-check the e-mail server settings in Thunderbird with what your e-mail provider says they should be:

Google server settings: Read (and send), Gmail messages on other email clients using IMAP

Thunderbird menu: Tools: Account Settings: For incoming e-mail: Select "Server Settings" on the left side under your e-mail account, and the settings are on the right side. For outgoing e-mail: Select "Outgoing Server (SMTP)" on the left side, then select the server you want on the right side. Click the "Edit" button to change the settings.

2. Restart Thunderbird with add-ons disabled (Thunderbird Safe Mode). On the Help menu, click on "Restart with Add-ons Disabled".

If Thunderbird works like normal, there is an Add-on or Theme interfering with normal operations. You will need to re-enable add-ons one at a time until you locate the offender.

3. Restart the operating system (Windows or OSX), 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 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, OSX. Then see if Thunderbird works better.


Then report back.

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Thanks, Bruce

I've used the same two add-ons forever without problems. I disabled them and TB is working fine now. Tomorrow I'll enable one add-on at a time and try to re-create the problem to find the culpable add-on.

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Thunderbird is working fine now. The add-ons don't seem to be causing a problem. My only guess is that it was, indeed, a gmail problem. I was even able to delete some old emails with large attachments and "compact folders" which dropped my Thunderbird profile folder from 7.25gb down to 2.5gb

Thanks for the help, Bruce!