Set up Gmail to work with Thunderbird (IMAP)

Thunderbird 2.0

Note: if you're using an older version of Thunderbird, we highly recommend upgrading to version 2.0.
To set up your Thunderbird client to work with Gmail:
1. Enable IMAP in Gmail.
2. Open Thunderbird, and select Tools > Account Settings.
3. Click Add Account.
4. Select the Email account radio button and click Next. The Identity screen appears.
5. Enter your full name in the Your Name field. Enter your full Gmail email address (username@gmail.com) in the Email Address field, and click Next.
6. Select IMAP as the type of incoming server you are using. Enter imap.gmail.com in the Incoming Server field.
7. Set the Outgoing Server to smtp.gmail.com, and click Next.

8. Enter your Gmail username (including @gmail.com) in the Incoming User Name and Outgoing User Name fields, and click Next





9. Enter a name for your email account in the Account Name field, and click Next.
10. Verify your account information in the dialog box, and click Finish.
11. Select Server Settings from the folder list below your new account.
12. Update the Port value to 993.
13. In the Security Settings section, select SSL from the Use secure connection options.
14. Select Check for messages at startup and Automatically download new messages
15. Click Outgoing Server (SMTP) in the folder list



16. Select the smtp.gmail.com (Default) entry from the list and click Edit. The SMTP Server page appears.
17. Enter smtp.gmail.com as the Server Name and set the Port to 587.
18. Select User name and password and enter your Gmail username (including @gmail.com) in the User Name field.
19. Select TLS from the Use secure connection radio buttons and click OK.
20. Click OK to save your changes and exit the Account Settings dialog.

adjust your client's settings as needed.
* Did you click 'Save Changes' after enabling IMAP in Gmail? To ensure that Gmail can communicate with your mail client, be sure to click Save Changes on the Forwarding and POP/IMAP settings tab.