Manual Setup, POP3 or IMAP Setup
Overview
This guide explains how to set up your email account in Thunderbird on Windows. Thunderbird supports both POP3 and IMAP with SSL/TLS encryption and is an excellent choice if you want full control over your email settings.
Replace {YOUR-SERVER-ID} with the server ID shown in your welcome email (for example ez22), and use your full email address such as address@example.com.
POP3 vs IMAP – which should I choose?
- POP3 (recommended if you want long-term local backups)
- Downloads messages to your computer and can keep them indefinitely.
- Uses less server disk space.
- Ideal if you want a local archive and don’t need full syncing between devices.
- You can still leave messages on the server for 7–14 days so other devices can download them.
- IMAP (recommended for multi-device syncing)
- Keeps mail on the server and synchronizes folders between all your devices.
- Uses more server storage.
- What you read, move, or delete on one device is mirrored on the others.
Note: Emails stored in your Inbox and Sent folders are automatically retained for 180 Days and other systems folders (Trash/Spam etc) are retained for 30 days to help manage disk usage. To keep messages longer, use POP3 to download your email and save a local copy or when using IMAP move messages into a custom folder such as “Saved Email”.
Mail server settings
Incoming mail (IMAP)
- Server (hostname):
{YOUR-SERVER-ID}.ourcontrolpanel.com
- Port: 993
- Connection security: SSL/TLS
- Authentication method: Normal password
- Username:
address@example.com
Incoming mail (POP3)
- Server (hostname):
{YOUR-SERVER-ID}.ourcontrolpanel.com
- Port: 995
- Connection security: SSL/TLS
- Authentication method: Normal password
- Username:
address@example.com
Outgoing mail (SMTP)
- Server (hostname):
{YOUR-SERVER-ID}.ourcontrolpanel.com
- Port: 465
- Connection security: SSL/TLS
- Authentication method: Normal password
- Username:
address@example.com
Step 1 – Install and open Thunderbird
- Download and install Thunderbird for Windows from the official Thunderbird website.
- Open Thunderbird.
- If the “Set Up Your Existing Email Address” window does not appear, click ≡ (Application Menu) > New > Existing Mail Account…
[Optional screenshot: Existing Mail Account setup window]
Step 2 – Enter your name, email address, and password
- Your name: The display name you want recipients to see.
- Email address:
address@example.com
- Password: Your email password
Check or uncheck “Remember password” according to your preference, then click Continue. Thunderbird will try to auto-detect settings.
[Optional screenshot: Name / Email / Password entry]
Step 3 – Manual configuration (choose POP3 or IMAP)
When Thunderbird shows the configuration results, click Configure manually or Manual config to review and adjust the details.
Here you can select IMAP or POP3 for the incoming server type:
- IMAP – for multi-device sync.
- POP3 – for downloading and archiving mail on your PC.
[Optional screenshot: Manual config screen with POP3/IMAP options]
Step 4 – Enter incoming and outgoing server settings
Incoming (IMAP or POP3)
- Server hostname:
{YOUR-SERVER-ID}.ourcontrolpanel.com
- Port: 993 for IMAP or 995 for POP3
- SSL: SSL/TLS
- Authentication: Normal password
- Username:
address@example.com
Outgoing (SMTP)
- Server hostname:
{YOUR-SERVER-ID}.ourcontrolpanel.com
- Port: 465
- SSL: SSL/TLS
- Authentication: Normal password
- Username:
address@example.com
Click Re-test to confirm that Thunderbird can connect to the servers, then click Done to complete the basic account setup.
Step 5 – POP3 users: leave messages on the server (7–14 days)
If you chose POP3, you can control how long messages stay on the server:
- Click ≡ (Application Menu) > Account Settings.
- Select your POP3 account in the left-hand list.
- Click Server Settings.
- Under Server Settings, look for:
- Leave messages on server – check this.
- For at most X days – set this to about 7–14 days.
This allows other devices time to download messages while still keeping your server storage usage under control.
Step 6 – Test sending and receiving
- Click Write to compose a new message addressed to your own email.
- Send the message and verify that it arrives in your Inbox.
- Reply to this message to confirm that outgoing mail is working correctly.
Troubleshooting
- Cannot connect: Verify the hostname
{YOUR-SERVER-ID}.ourcontrolpanel.com, confirm that SSL/TLS is enabled, and double-check your email password.
- Can receive but not send: Make sure the SMTP server uses port 465 with SSL/TLS and authentication is set to Normal password with your full email address.
- Certificate warnings: Confirm that the certificate is issued for
{YOUR-SERVER-ID}.ourcontrolpanel.com (or your provider’s documented host) before accepting.
- Mailbox full / quota warnings: POP3 with “leave messages on server for 7–14 days” helps reduce server usage; IMAP users may need to archive older mail to local folders.
