PostMigration steps - Thunderbird configuration

Overview

This article contains the instructions needed to take a copy of Thunderbird pointed to “classic” Exchange and reconfigure it to work with Exchange Online.

This article will not help you configure Thunderbird to connect to Exchange for the first time.

Procedures

Connect to RPI network - either hardwire or WiFi wpa2 if on-campus or VPN if off-campus.  (VPN connection is not needed after successful migration but may be needed for this initial configuration)

Configure Thunderbird to Allow Cookies

In order to properly authenticate with Exchange Online, Thunderbird needs to be configured to allow cookies from Microsoft's web site.  This section will ensure that cookies are allowed now and far into the future.

1. After starting Thunderbird, open the program Preferences and then open the “Privacy & Security” preferences.
2. In the “Privacy” section (near the top of the screen), underneath the “Web Content” heading, check the box next to “Accept cookies from sites”.
3. Then set the “Accept third-party cookies” drop-down menu to “Always” and the “Keep until” drop-down menu to “they expire”.
4. Close the program Preferences.

(A screenshot of the settings needed so that Thunderbird will accept cookies from Exchange Online.)

Optional and not Recommended: If you wish to configure Thunderbird to only allow cookies from certain sites, then you can do so by unchecking the “Accept cookies from sites” box and entering the following URLs in the list of exceptions:

• https://login.microsoftonline.com
• https://api-3e0243bb.duosecurity.com
• https://us.azureauth.duosecurity.com

Update the Incoming Email Settings

This section will help you configure Thunderbird to read emails stored on the Exchange Online servers.

1. Open the Account Settings for your email account and open the account's “Server Settings”.
2. Modify the settings as follows:
   • Server Settings:
     
     • Server Name:  outlook.office365.com
     • Port:  143
     • User Name:  Your full RPI email address  (ex: smithj@rpi.edu).
   • Security Settings
     • Connection Security:  STARTTLS
     • Authentication Method:  OAuth2

(A screenshot of the incoming server settings in Thunderbird's Account Settings window.)

Update the Outgoing Email Settings

This section will help you configure Thunderbird to send emails using the Exchange Online servers.

1. Open the Account Settings for the “Outgoing Server (SMTP)” (from the account-selection pane).
2. Click on the existing entry for the outgoing classic Exchange server (exchange.rpi.edu), then click on the “Edit…” button.
3. In the pop-up window that appears, change the settings as follows:
   • Server Name:  smtp.office365.com
   • Port:  587
   • Connection Security:  STARTTLS
   • Authentication Method:  OAuth2 (if you do not have this as an option skip to step 4)
     
   • User Name:  Your full RPI email address (ex: smithj@rpi.edu).
4. Were you able to select the OAuth2 authentication method in the previous step?  If not, then do the following:
   • Click on the “Cancel” button to return to the list of SMTP servers.
   • Click on the “Add…” button to create a whole new entry.
   • Fill out the settings for the new entry using the information provided above in Step #3.
5. Now, click on the “OK” button to save the changes.

(A screenshot of the SMTP server settings in Thunderbird's Account Settings window.)

6.  If you have more than one entry in the list of SMTP servers, make sure that the entry for smtp.office365.com is set as the default entry

Log into Your RPI Microsoft Account

Now that you have changed all of the settings, you'll need to log into your RPI Microsoft account so that Thunderbird can authenticate properly.

1. Go to the Inbox for your Exchange Online email account.
2. A pop-up window should now appear asking you to sign in to your RPI Microsoft Account.  (This window might appear behind the main Thunderbird window, so you may need to go looking for it.)

   

   (A screenshot of the Exchange Online login prompt in Thunderbird.)

3. Enter your full RPI email address and click on the “Next” button.  You will then be prompted for your RCS password.
4. Once you've entered both of these things, you should then see a prompt from the Duo Two-Factor-Authentication system, either asking for a second password or telling you that a notification has been sent to your mobile device:

   

   (A screenshot of the Duo 2FA notification message in Thunderbird.)

    

5. Having made it through the Duo system, you'll be asked if you wish to “Stay signed in?”  Personal preference if you want - Check the box that says “Don't show this again” and click on the “Yes” button.

Test the Configuration

Having completed the configuration and authentication steps, you should now double-check that everything is working properly.

1. Do you see all of your emails in the Inbox?  If you do not see them, then double-check all of the settings.  Then shut down Thunderbird and start it up again.  If you still do not see the contents of your inbox, then submit a Support Request to the Help Desk.
2. Assuming that you did see the contents of your Inbox, now try to send a test email to yourself.  If you are unable to send the email, then double-check all of the settings.  Then shut down Thunderbird and start it up again.  If you still are unable to send a test email, then submit a Support Request to the Help Desk.
3. Assuming that you did successfully send an email, open the Sent folder for your email account in Thunderbird.
   • Do you see your newly sent email in the folder?  If you do not see the test email, then try again.  If the second test email also fails to appear in the Sent folder, submit a Support Request to the Help Desk.
   • Do you see two copies of your newly sent email in the folder?  If this is the case, then follow these steps:
     • In Thunderbird, open the Account Settings for your email account and open the account's “Copies & Folders” section.
     • Near the top, under the “When sending messages, automatically” heading, uncheck the box next to “Place a copy in”.
     • Close the account settings and send another test email.  Verify that only one copy of the email gets saved into the Sent folder.

Last Reviewed:  28-Apr-2022