What to do if Thunderbird is slow on Windows 10
- Thunderbird is undeniably popular and many Windows 10 users run it as their main correspondence tool.
- Don't let slow responsiveness in the email client slow your pace down - check out these tested fixes to get Thunderbird in a snappier state in no time.
- Of course, it's not all about speed. Keep your inbox clean with these Best Anti-spam Email Filters for Thunderbird.
- Don't be shy to explore our Web & Cloud Hub as well.
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Thunderbird is a popular email client and many Windows 10 users utilize it. Despite its popularity and simplicity, some users reported that Thunderbird is slow on Windows 10, so let’s see if we can fix that problem.
What can I do if Thunderbird is slow to send emails?
1. Start Windows 10 in Safe Mode
According to users, sometimes third-party applications and your settings can interfere with Thunderbird and cause it to become slow.
In order to check if third-party applications are the problem, you can try running Thunderbird from Windows 10 Safe Mode. To enter Safe Mode, you need to do the following:
After Safe Mode starts you need to locate and run Thunderbird. If Thunderbird works without any problems, it means that the issue is caused by a third-party application or by your configuration settings.
Solution 2 – Start Thunderbird in Safe Mode
Just like Windows, Thunderbird also has its own Safe Mode, and by using Safe Mode you’ll reset Thunderbird to default settings. In addition to resetting Thunderbird, you’ll also temporarily disable all third-party extensions that might be interfering with Thunderbird.
To start Thunderbird in Safe Mode, you need to do the following:
You can also access Safe Mode while in Thunderbird simply by clicking the Help menu and choosing the Restart with Add-ons Disabled option. After that just click, the Restart button, and Thunderbird will start again in Safe Mode.
Once Thunderbird starts in Safe Mode, check if everything is in order. If there are no problems, it means that your Thunderbird configuration or one of the installed add-ons is causing this issue, so be sure to change your settings and disable unnecessary add-ons.
Some users are also suggesting starting Thunderbird Safe Mode while you’re in Windows 10 Safe Mode, so be sure to try that as well.
3. Change your email client
This might seem like a drastic solution, but it’s actually a practical move.
If you simply do not want to deal with the hassle of a troubleshooting process, switching email clients is the logical step and we have a powerful recommendation for you.
If Thunderbird is slow to send emails or download attachments, this non-lagging software will feel like a breeze.
Mailbird is a top-rated email client, designed to complement the Windows 10 structure to the point where it seamlessly blends with the OS’s architecture.
This email client features an uncluttered and very intuitive interface that will allow you to easily manage your emails, attachments, and contacts in one unified Inbox.
Speaking about that, the incredible Attachment Search feature allows you to quickly and effortlessly track down even year-old attachments.
By adding integrations to the table (and Mailbird surely does allow you to connect all your favorite email, calendar, task, and messaging apps into one), you will enjoy a plethora of functionalities to cover all your communication needs.
In addition, you have easy emails and contacts management from a unified Inbox, seamless app integrations (Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, Dropbox, Google Calendar), or custom sounds notifications for incoming and outgoing emails.
There is a snooze feature to separate and prioritize your emails, so you always stay on top of endless tasks coming into your mailbox.
You can also enjoy customization options (numerous free color themes, different Windows-adapted layouts, and more)
Using intuitive keyboard shortcuts, you will archive, compose, reply, or forward emails with ease. And if something goes wrong, you have multi-language 24/7 free support.
4. Keep your Thunderbird up to date
If your Thunderbird is slow on Windows 10, be sure that you have the latest updates installed.
The community is working hard on Thunderbird, and if you’re having certain issues with it on Windows 10, we strongly advise that you check if you have the latest version installed.
Some versions of Thunderbird might suffer from certain issues, and in order to fix those issues, it’s highly recommended that you download and install the latest version.
After installing the latest version of Thunderbird on your PC, check if the issue is resolved.
5. Delete the msf files
Thunderbird uses MSF files to store the index of all emails, but sometimes these files can get corrupted, and that can cause Thunderbird to become slow. In order to fix this problem, you need to delete MSF files from the Thunderbird folder.
Keep in mind that MSF files will be recreated as soon as you start Thunderbird, so none of your emails will be deleted. To delete MSF files, do the following:
If deleting MSF files manually seems complicated to you, some users are recommending using the ThunderFix tool, so you might want to try it.
With this tool, you just need to select your profile and click the Fix profile button and all msf files will be removed.
6. Use Config Editor
Some versions of Thunderbird use Direct2D hardware acceleration, and this feature can sometimes reduce your performance, especially if you’re using a low-end graphic processor on your PC.
You can disable this feature by using Config Editor in Thunderbird. To do that, follow these steps:
Few users reported that they fixed the problem simply by using layers.acceleration.disabled option, so you might want to try doing that.
7. Turn on Automatic Compacting of Folders
You can improve the performance of Thunderbird simply by turning on the Automatic Compacting feature. To do that, follow these steps:
If you decide to use a lower value for Automatic Compacting, be sure to set mail.purge.ask to true using Config Editor in Thunderbird.
Another way to improve performance in Thunderbird is to disable Global Search and Indexer feature. This feature is useful if you search for your emails using keywords, but if you’re a basic user you probably aren’t using this feature.
To disable Global Search, do the following:
You can also improve the performance of Thunderbird simply by disabling the Message Pane feature.
To do that, navigate to View > Layout and disable the Message Pane option. Some users claim that they fixed the problem with slow Thunderbird simply by turning on Fetch headers online option in the Server Settings window, so you might want to try that.
8. Add Thunderbird to the list of exclusions
Certain antivirus tools keep a close eye on your email client and scan all your emails. This is a great feature since it scans all your emails for malicious attachments, but despite its usefulness sometimes you can experience performance issues with Thunderbird.
If your Thunderbird is slow, be sure to add it to the list of exclusions in your antivirus software and check if that fixes the problem.
Keep in mind that adding Thunderbird to the list of exclusions can be a security risk sometimes, so be sure not to open any suspicious emails or attachments.
If that doesn’t fix the problem, you might want to consider disabling your antivirus software temporarily and checking if that solves the issue.
If the issue is resolved by disabling your antivirus, be sure to switch to different antivirus software and check if the issue persists.
9. Make your messages available offline
Users reported that Thunderbird is slow to load messages on Windows 10, and if you have this problem on your PC, you might want to make your messages available offline. To do that, follow these steps:
By enabling this option all your messages will be downloaded to your hard drive, and you’ll be able to open them instantly while having all advantages of an IMAP account. If you want, you can also make other folders available offline.
10. Change Maximum number of server connections
According to users, you might be able to fix the problem with Thunderbird simply by changing the Maximum number of server connections value. To do that, follow these steps:
Apparently, the issue is caused if the number of connections is higher than 1. If this value is higher than 1, Thunderbird tries to connect multiple times to the server.
After the server rejects all these connections the entire process might slow down, therefore be sure to change the Maximum number of server connections to 1.
11. Keep your folders small
According to users, if you have more than 1000 email messages in a folder that can lead to some issues on your PC. To fix this problem, be sure that you frequently delete contents from the Trash folder.
If you want to keep your folders small, you can permanently delete an email simply by holding the Shift key and choosing the delete option.
Having performance issues with Thunderbird can be a big problem, but we hope that you managed to fix the problem by using one of our solutions.
Feel free to share your troubleshooting experience with us in the comments section below.
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