Soft Ferret

How to set up Thunderbird with Gmail and Outlook accounts

Google says Gmail no longer supports apps that need your Google password, so you sign in with Google. Outlook.com wants OAuth2 too, with IMAP switched on first.

Pasha, November 2, 2026, prices checked November 1, 2026

Thunderbird costs Free. Two things trip people up. One is the sign-in method. The other is a setting on the provider's side.

This guide covers only what Google's and Microsoft's help pages say, read on Nov 1, 2026. Mozilla's Thunderbird help articles wouldn't load for me. So there are no menu paths or version numbers here. Use Thunderbird's own account setup screen for those steps, and expect the menu names to differ by version.

Gmail

Google's page on using Gmail in other email clients names Thunderbird as one you can add. The instruction is short: open the client and look for an option to "Sign in with Google."

Google also says Gmail no longer supports third-party apps or devices that require you to share your Google username and password. App passwords aren't recommended, it says, and are unnecessary in most cases.

IMAP needs no switch. Google's IMAP page says that starting January 2025 the "Enable IMAP" and "Disable IMAP" options are gone for personal accounts, IMAP access is always on, and existing connections aren't affected.

If sign-in fails with errors such as "Username and password not accepted" or "Invalid credentials", Google's steps are: upgrade to the latest version of the email client, remove the Gmail account from it, then add it again and choose "Sign in with Google." Google adds that you can connect Gmail to up to 15 email clients at a time per account, and a "Too many simultaneous connections" error means closing some.

Outlook.com

Outlook.com is the one with a setting to flip first. Microsoft says POP and IMAP access are disabled by default. In Outlook.com, go to Settings, then Mail, then Forwarding and IMAP, switch on "Let devices and apps use IMAP" and save.

Microsoft's page lists manual settings, for when automatic setup can't find them:

  • IMAP: outlook.office365.com, port 993, SSL/TLS
  • SMTP: smtp-mail.outlook.com, port 587, STARTTLS
  • Authentication for both: OAuth2/Modern Auth
  • Username: your full email address

Microsoft says Outlook.com requires Modern Auth, and that if your password isn't recognised you may need an app password. It also warns of connection errors if you configured the account as IMAP in several email clients, and gives a workaround through your account's recent activity page.

This covers personal Outlook.com addresses. Work accounts on Exchange run through a different route that I haven't checked here.

Next

Thunderbird's home page says you can "manage all accounts separately or in a unified inbox", which is the point of adding both. If you're weighing it against rivals, read the multiple-accounts roundup, Thunderbird against Spark, and Outlook alternatives for Windows. Thunderbird's specs are on its product page.

Price checked November 1, 2026.

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