Passwords: changing them, saved passwords and a primary password

Thunderbird remembers the password for each email address. If you change the password of an address, you also need to update it in Thunderbird.

You have changed the password of your email address

You change the password of an email address in DirectAdmin (see Changing the password of an email address). Then:

1. Thunderbird tries to log in with the old password and gets an error. It usually asks for the new password by itself.
2. Enter the new password and tick the option to let Thunderbird remember it.
3. Send a test email. If Thunderbird also asks for a password for the outgoing server, enter the same password.

Doesn't Thunderbird ask for the new password? Then remove the old one:

1. Click the menu button and choose Settings.
2. Choose Privacy & Security on the left and click Saved Passwords….
3. Find the lines with your email address. There are usually two: one for imap:// and one for smtp://. Remove them.
4. In the mail window, click Get Messages. Thunderbird now asks for the password.

Please note: Also update the password on your other devices, such as your phone. A device that keeps logging in with an old password will cause the server to block your IP address. Your email will then stop working on every device using that internet connection (see Common errors and how to fix them).

A primary password

Anyone using your computer can view your saved passwords in Thunderbird. To prevent this, turn on a primary password. Thunderbird will then ask for that password once after you start it.

1. Click the menu button and choose Settings.
2. Choose Privacy & Security and tick Use Primary Password.
3. Choose a strong password that you will remember (see What a strong password really is).

Please note: If you lose the primary password, you also lose all the passwords saved in Thunderbird. Your email itself stays safely on our server. You simply enter the passwords of your email addresses again.

Passwords and your Nextcloud

For your Nextcloud calendar and contacts, you use an app password in Thunderbird, not your regular password. If you change your regular Nextcloud password, the app password keeps working (see How your calendar and contacts work with your Nextcloud).