---
title: "How to Add an Email Account in Mozilla Thunderbird"
description: "Add a Noiz mailbox to Mozilla Thunderbird with automatic setup or the manual IMAP and SMTP settings, and fix common login, certificate and sending errors."
url: "https://docs.noiz.ie/email/how-to-add-an-email-account-in-mozilla-thunderbird/"
section: "Email"
categories:
  - "Email > Desktop Clients > Thunderbird"
last_reviewed: "23 September 2026, against the current Thunderbird release (monthly Release and ESR channels)"
---

# How to Add an Email Account in Mozilla Thunderbird

This guide shows you how to add a Noiz mailbox to Mozilla Thunderbird, the free desktop email client for Windows, macOS and Linux, so that you can send and receive mail for your own domain from your computer. You will see both ways to set an account up: the automatic path, where Thunderbird tries to work the settings out for you, and the manual path, where you type the exact Noiz server settings in yourself. The manual path matters here, because a mailbox on a custom domain such as `yourdomain.com` very often does not autoconfigure, so knowing the correct settings saves a lot of guesswork. This article is for Noiz email clients whose mailbox lives on the Noiz mail platform.

Along the way you will also decide between **IMAP** and **POP**, the two protocols Thunderbird can use to fetch your mail. For almost everyone on Noiz hosting the answer is IMAP, and the reasoning is explained below so the choice is yours to make with confidence.

**Last reviewed:** 23 September 2026, against the current Thunderbird release (monthly Release and ESR channels). This guide is written for Noiz hosting and is kept current against Thunderbird. It complements, and does not replace, the official Thunderbird documentation linked below. Thunderbird updates frequently and the wording of buttons or the layout of the account setup screens can vary slightly between the monthly Release and the ESR (Extended Support Release), so if a screen differs from what you see here, the field names and values remain the same even when their arrangement moves.

### Official Documentation Reference

- [Thunderbird Support (Mozilla)](https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/products/thunderbird): the official support hub for Thunderbird, kept current with the latest release.
- [Automatic Account Configuration](https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/automatic-account-configuration): how Thunderbird tries to discover mail settings for you, and why it sometimes cannot.
- [Manual Account Configuration](https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/manual-account-configuration): the reference for every field in the manual setup form, including protocol, ports and connection security.

## Prerequisites

- The mailbox already exists on the Noiz mail server. If you have not created it yet, do that first: see [How to Create a Mailbox in Plesk](/plesk/how-to-create-an-email-address-in-plesk/). Thunderbird can only connect to a mailbox that has already been provisioned.
- You know the full email address, for example `you@yourdomain.com`, and the password that was set when the mailbox was created. The username for Noiz mail is always the full email address, not just the part before the `@`.
- Thunderbird is installed on your computer. Download it from the [official Thunderbird website](https://www.thunderbird.net/) and keep it up to date, so you get current security fixes and the modern setup screen described here.
- A working internet connection, and a domain whose mail is hosted at Noiz. If your domain was only recently pointed to Noiz, allow DNS changes time to take effect before the mail hostname will resolve.

## IMAP or POP: Choose the Right Protocol

Before you add the account, decide how Thunderbird should collect your mail. The two options are not interchangeable, and switching later means removing and re-adding the account, so it is worth a moment now.

- **IMAP** keeps your mail on the Noiz server and mirrors it to Thunderbird. Folders, read and unread status, and every message stay in sync across all your devices. Read a message on your phone and it shows as read in Thunderbird; file it into a folder on your laptop and that folder appears everywhere. This is the right choice for almost everyone, and it is what Noiz recommends.
- **POP** (POP3) downloads your mail to one computer and, by default, removes it from the server. It suits a single device with no need for webmail or a second device, and it can help if you deliberately want mail stored only on your own machine. Its weakness is that your other devices and Noiz webmail will not see mail that a POP client has already pulled down.

The practical rule: if you check mail on more than one device, or ever use webmail, choose **IMAP**. Only choose POP if you have a specific reason to keep mail on a single computer. The rest of this guide uses IMAP as the example; the manual settings table also lists the POP values in case you need them.

## The Noiz Mail Settings

These are the settings a Noiz mailbox uses. Wherever you see `yourdomain.com`, replace it with your own domain. Keep this table to hand: the manual setup in the next section is simply a matter of typing these values into the matching fields.

| Setting | Incoming (IMAP, recommended) | Outgoing (SMTP) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Server hostname | `mail.yourdomain.com` | `mail.yourdomain.com` |
| Port | `993` | `465` |
| Connection security | SSL/TLS | SSL/TLS |
| Authentication method | Normal password | Normal password |
| Username | Your full email address, e.g. `you@yourdomain.com` | Your full email address, e.g. `you@yourdomain.com` |
| Password | The mailbox password | The same mailbox password |

If you decide on POP instead of IMAP, the only change is the incoming server: use the same hostname `mail.yourdomain.com` with port `995` and SSL/TLS. The outgoing SMTP settings are identical either way.

Two points that trip people up on custom domains:

- The username is the **whole address**, including `@yourdomain.com`. A username of just `you` will fail authentication.
- Both incoming and outgoing use **SSL/TLS** on the encrypted ports (993, 465 and 995). Outgoing mail always uses port `465` with SSL/TLS: do not use 587 or 25 for sending, even if Thunderbird suggests them. Do not use the older unencrypted ports (143 for IMAP, 110 for POP); Noiz mail is secured throughout.

## Open the Account Setup Screen

If this is the very first time you have opened Thunderbird, the account setup screen appears on its own and you can skip straight to the next section. Otherwise, open it manually:

1. Click the **☰** menu button (three horizontal lines) at the top right of the Thunderbird window.
2. Choose **Add Account**, then **Email**. Older ESR versions label the first item **New Account**.

The same screen is reachable from **Account Settings**: open the **☰** menu, choose **Account Settings**, then at the top of the left panel click **Add Account** (**New Account** in older versions) and **Mail Account…**.

Current Thunderbird versions open the **Account Hub**, a setup window that walks you through one screen at a time. Older ESR versions open an **Account Setup** tab instead. The fields and the Noiz values are the same in both; where the button names differ, both are given below. Mozilla's [Automatic Account Configuration](https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/automatic-account-configuration) and [Manual Account Configuration](https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/manual-account-configuration) pages cover the screens in full.

![The Thunderbird app menu opened at its Add Account panel, with the Email option highlighted](/images/kb/400_thunderbird-menu-add-account-email.png)

## Enter Your Details

Fill in these details. The Account Setup tab asks for all three at once; the Account Hub asks for your name and address first and for the password on a later screen.

1. **Full name**: the name you want recipients to see, for example `Jane Smith`.
2. **Email address**: your full Noiz email address, for example `you@yourdomain.com`.
3. **Password**: the mailbox password. Leave **Remember password** ticked if you want Thunderbird to store it, so you are not prompted each time.

![The first screen of the Thunderbird Account Hub with the full name and email address filled in for an example Noiz mailbox; the password is asked for on a later screen](/images/kb/401_thunderbird-account-hub-details.png)

## Path A: Try Automatic Setup First

Click **Continue**. Thunderbird now tries to discover the settings by checking its own provider database and by looking for a configuration file published at your domain. If it succeeds, it shows the settings it found, usually offering both an **IMAP** and a **POP3** option.

1. Select **IMAP** (already selected by default when offered).
2. Confirm the discovered values against the Noiz settings table above. In particular check that the hostname is `mail.yourdomain.com` and that the ports are 993 (incoming) and 465 (outgoing) on SSL/TLS. If anything differs, use the manual path below instead.
3. Click **Continue** in the Account Hub and enter your password when asked, or click **Done** in the Account Setup tab.

![The Thunderbird Account Hub showing the automatically found IMAP and POP3 configuration options with the IMAP option selected](/images/kb/402_thunderbird-account-hub-configurations.png)

**Why automatic setup often does not work on a custom domain.** Thunderbird's automatic discovery relies on either a known large provider or a small configuration file that the domain publishes for the purpose. Most custom domains hosted on a standard mail platform do not publish that file, so Thunderbird either finds nothing or guesses settings that then fail to connect. This is expected and is not a fault with your mailbox. When automatic setup fails, or offers settings that do not match the table above, switch to the manual path below. It is completely reliable because you supply the exact values yourself.

## Path B: Configure Manually (Recommended for Custom Domains)

In the Account Hub, click **Manual configuration** on the first screen, or **Edit configuration** on the screen showing the settings Thunderbird found. The Account Hub then shows the incoming server first and the outgoing server on the next screen. In the Account Setup tab, click **Configure manually** to expand all the server fields at once. Enter the values exactly as follows.

### Incoming Server

1. **Protocol**: choose **IMAP** (or **POP3** if you deliberately chose POP earlier).
2. **Hostname**: `mail.yourdomain.com`
3. **Port**: `993` for IMAP (or `995` for POP3).
4. **Connection security**: **SSL/TLS**.
5. **Authentication method**: **Normal password**.
6. **Username**: your full email address, for example `you@yourdomain.com`.

### Outgoing Server (SMTP)

1. **Hostname**: `mail.yourdomain.com`
2. **Port**: `465`
3. **Connection security**: **SSL/TLS**.
4. **Authentication method**: **Normal password**.
5. **Username**: your full email address, the same as the incoming username.

![The two manual configuration screens of the Thunderbird Account Hub side by side: the incoming server screen with IMAP, port 993 and SSL/TLS, and the tested outgoing server screen with SMTP, port 465 and SSL/TLS, both using the full email address as the username](/images/kb/403_thunderbird-account-hub-manual-configuration.png)

### Test and Finish

1. Test the settings: click **Test** on the outgoing server screen of the Account Hub, or **Re-test** in the Account Setup tab. Thunderbird connects to the servers with the values you entered and confirms they work.
2. Click **Continue** and enter your password if the Account Hub asks for it, or click **Done** in the Account Setup tab. Thunderbird creates the account and begins downloading your folders and messages.
3. The Account Hub has no separate "successfully created" screen. It shows **Account created** while it looks for address books and calendars, with **Skip** and **Continue**, and then a last screen offering **End-to-end encryption** and **Email signature**, with **Add another email** and **Finish**. You can safely click **Finish** now and set those up later.

![The final Thunderbird Account Hub screen after the account is created, offering end-to-end encryption and email signature set-up with Add another email and Finish buttons](/images/kb/404_thunderbird-account-hub-finished.png)

Your Noiz mailbox now appears in the folder list on the left. Send yourself a short test message and reply to it to confirm that both sending and receiving work end to end.

## Troubleshooting

- **Symptom: "Unable to log in at server" or repeated password prompts.** The most common cause is a username that is not the full address. Open the **☰** menu > **Account Settings**, check **Server Settings** (incoming) and **Outgoing Server** (**Outgoing Server (SMTP)** in older versions), and make sure both usernames are the complete `you@yourdomain.com`. Then confirm the password by signing in to Noiz webmail with the same details; if webmail also rejects the password, reset it where the mailbox was created.
- **Symptom: Thunderbird cannot find the settings automatically.** This is normal for a custom domain. Use **Path B: Configure Manually** above and type the Noiz settings in yourself.
- **Symptom: Thunderbird warns that the server's certificate does not match `mail.yourdomain.com`.** The settings are right; the certificate belongs to the Noiz mail server's own name. Use the mail server hostname shown in your Noiz welcome email as the hostname instead, and the warning goes away.
- **Symptom: mail is received but will not send.** This is an outgoing (SMTP) problem. Check that the SMTP server uses port `465`, **SSL/TLS**, **Normal password**, and your full email address as the username. Some networks block outgoing mail ports; if sending fails only on a particular network, try another connection to confirm.
- **Symptom: the incoming server host does not resolve.** Confirm the domain's mail is hosted at Noiz and that DNS has propagated. Until then, `mail.yourdomain.com` may not point anywhere. Noiz support can confirm the status of your mail DNS.

If you work through the settings above and the account still will not connect, open a support ticket with the Noiz support team. Include the email address, whether the problem is with sending, receiving or both, and a screenshot of any error message Thunderbird shows. On Noiz managed plans the support team can verify the mailbox and its settings from the server side and point you to the exact value to correct.

---
Source: https://docs.noiz.ie/email/how-to-add-an-email-account-in-mozilla-thunderbird/