Thunderbird is a free email app for Windows, Mac and Linux, and a good choice for keeping a local archive of your mail.
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Username | Your full email address, e.g. you@yourdomain.co.uk |
| Password | The email account’s password |
| Incoming server (IMAP) | mail.yourdomain.co.uk, port 993, SSL/TLS |
| Incoming server (POP3) | mail.yourdomain.co.uk, port 995, SSL/TLS |
| Outgoing server (SMTP) | mail.yourdomain.co.uk, port 465 SSL/TLS, or 587 STARTTLS |
| Outgoing authentication | Required — same username and password |
Steps
- Open Thunderbird. On first run the account setup opens; otherwise use Account Settings → Account Actions → Add Mail Account.
- Enter your name, full email address and mailbox password.
- Select Continue. Thunderbird tries to find the settings.
- If it offers a configuration, check it says IMAP, server
mail.yourdomain.co.uk, port 993 SSL/TLS incoming and 465 SSL/TLS outgoing. - If not, select Configure manually and enter: - Incoming: IMAP,
mail.yourdomain.co.uk, 993, SSL/TLS, Normal password, username your full address - Outgoing: SMTP,mail.yourdomain.co.uk, 465, SSL/TLS, Normal password, username your full address - Select Re-test, then Done.
Keeping a local archive
Thunderbird’s Local Folders stay on your computer. Moving older mail there frees space on the server and gives you a copy independent of your hosting. How to back up your email