+63 (0)2 661-2384
+63 (0)2 661-2384
If you have not yet downloaded Thunderbird, you can download a copy from Mozilla, free of charge, by clicking here (opens Thunderbird's web site in a new window).
Creating a New Account
We are assuming that you now have a copy of Thunderbird and you have installed it on your computer. When you open ThunderBird for the first time you may be prompted to import settings from another mail client (if you have one set-up), or you may be prompted to set-up a new account.
If you choose to import settings, this usually works very well. If you still have trouble, refer to the 'checking settings' section below.
If you need to create an account from scratch, you can choose to do that, instead of importing an account. If you are not prompted to create an account, click on File > New > Account.
If you are going ahead with creating an account, you should now have the 'Account Wizard' on your screen. Follow these steps:
Choose the type of account to create - select 'Email account'.
Press 'Next'.
Type your name in proper case e.g. 'Fred Smith' (this is what your contacts will see in the 'From' field of emails they receive from you. It does not effect whether the account will work or not).
Type your email address in the 'Email address' field. Be sure to type this entirely in lowercase and make sure it is exactly correct. Otherwise, when your contacts reply to your emails, you will not receive them, as they will be wrongly addressed.
Check the details, then press 'Next'.
Make sure that 'POP' is selected as the type of mail server that you are using.
In the 'Incoming Server' field, type the name of your incoming server. If Snowweb.net is your web hosting provider, your mailserver name will be 'mail.yourdomain' (substitute 'yourdomain' for your domain name including the .com or .net etc). If your domain is with another hosting company, you will need to obtain this information from them. Ensure that you type this carefully and in lowercase.
When you are sure that is correct, press 'Next'.
Type your mail username in the 'Incoming User Name' field. If Snowweb.net is your web hosting provider, then type your full email address in there in lowercase.
When you are sure it is correct, press 'Next'.
In the 'Account Name' field, type a friendly name by which you can refer to this account. This will not be shown on any other computer, it is only for your information, to help you distinguish between accounts, if you have several set up.
Press 'Next'.
Uncheck the box 'Retrieve messages now' if you don't want your messages to be REMOVED from your mailserver when you download them, as by default, they will be. If you choose to uncheck this, you can go into Tools > Account Settings, and check the box 'leave messages on server', before you download your messages for the first time (do this after you press 'Finish').
Review the settings, use your back button if necessary. When you are happy that all is OK, press 'Finish'.
You can now check your mail. It should work. If it does not, you can use the section below to check your settings.
Troubleshooting and Checking Settings Manually
I'm going to assume that you now have an email account setup in ThunderBird. I will lead you through step-by-step checking the settings. If I haven't mentioned a particular setting, that is probably because you should leave it well alone.
Open Thunderbird and click > Tools > Account Settings.
In the left hand side (LHS) of the 'Account Settings' box, you should see your email address or the name which you gave to your email account. It should be displayed in bold. Please click on it. (If you have another account already setup, you will also see that account name in bold too either above or below it. Please be careful which account you are updating here, e.g. there is an item called 'Server Settings' under both accounts! Be aware which one you are updating!!
* On the right hand side (RHS) in the 'Account Name' type either your email address or a friendly name like "John - main email account'.
** In the 'Your Name' field on the same page, type the name you want others to see in the 'from' field of emails they receive from you.
Leave the 'Reply-to Address' blank unless you want people who reply to your emails, to reply to an alternative address instead.
** In the 'Organisation' field, type the name of your company/organisation or leave it blank. This field is displayed in reputable mail programs, if it is present.
In the LHS panel, click on 'Server Settings'
At the top of the RHS panel it should say 'Server Type: POP Mail Server' (If it doesn't, you need to delete the account and start again(!), this time selecting 'POP3' when Thunderbird asks you what type of email account you are setting up).
Concerning the 'Server Name' (below 'server type'), if Snowweb.net is your web hosting provider, you need to type 'mail.yourdomain' (include the .com or .net etc). In that case it would look something like this 'mail.yourdomain.com'. Now if we are not your web hosting provider, may be now, would be a great time to sign up for one of our web hosting packages. If you don't know your incoming mail server name, you will need to obtain that information from your mail provider, before you can complete this exercise. Sorry.
Set the 'Port number' to '110' (if it is not already)
In the 'Username' field, type your username, which (if you are our customer, is your complete email address typed in lowercase (email addresses should always be completely in lowercase). If we are not, you can try using your email address and if that fails, try using just the part before the '@' symbol.
Below that, ensure that only the following boxes are checked; 'Check for new messages on Startup' (optional), 'Check for new messages every 10 minutes' (optional but don't set this value too low as it will use up your bandwidth, tranfer limit and server resources, not to mention your PC's resources). Also check 'Automatically download new messages' and if you think you may want to access your mail by webmail sometimes too, then you should check 'Leave messages on server', but be sure to check the two boxes below that ('for at most' put a value in the box, probably not exceeding 7 days' & 'Until I delete them from Inbox'. If you were to leave the messages on the server indefinitely, you would soon exceed your storage limit on the web hosting, and need to upgrade to a hosting plan or mail account with more storage.
Next we will setup the outgoing server: On the LHS panel, click 'Outgoing Server (SMTP)'.
If this is the first account to be setup in Thunderbird, on the RHS panel type your outgoing mail server name (which is usually the same as your incoming one) (e.g. 'mail.yourdomain.com'), into the 'Server Name' field. If you already have an account setup in addition to the one which we are currently working on, click the 'Advanced' button, then type the server name into the 'Server name' box there (otherwise you don't need to click the 'Advanced' button).
The port should already be set at '25'.
Check the box 'Use name and password'.
Type your full email address in the 'Username' field (or whatever your email account username is, if you are not one of our customers.
Regarding 'Use secure connection', check the left hand radio box where it says 'No'.
If you did click the 'Advanced' button to enter your SMTP settings (and only IF you did!), click 'OK', then click 'OK' again. Before you do this, be sure NOT to click 'Set default'.
Now on the LHS panel under where it displays your account name in bold, click 'Server Settings' again (NOT 'Outgoing Server). Make sure you are in the correct account here.. remember that there are server settings for each individual account.
Near the bottom on the RHS panel, click 'Advanced'.
Click the 'SMTP' tab.
Select the mail server from the drop down list (which may only have one server in it), which corresponds to the account we are setting up. If you have more than one account, do not leave it set to 'Use default server'.
Click 'OK'.
If you have another account setup you may want to make your new account the default mail account, so that when you click 'Write email', it will be be sending from your new account and not from your other account. To do this, in the LHS panel, select the account which you want to make the default (you click on the account name) and click the button below on the LHS, which says, 'Set as default'. If the button is disabled, then the account is already the default account.
Click 'OK' to exit 'Account Settings'.
That's it!
* = This is not displayed to your contacts neither can it affect whether the account will work. Therefore you should used mixed case e.g. "My Name - My Company".
** = This is displayed to your contacts when they receive mail from you but does not effect whether your account will work or not. Therefore you should used mixed case e.g. "My Name - My Company".
If for any reason it fails check that all the settings you entered are correct. Check that you can access the Internet by viewing web pages and ensure that you typed your password correctly. Make sure you followed the above instructions to the letter.
If all else fails, contact your email service provider.
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