How to Backup Thunderbird Emails Effortlessly?

Any unforeseen scenario can happen to you when you have no backup prepared. Similarly, backing up Thunderbird emails becomes more important when using a Thunderbird email client. Without a backup, one can lose its important files and data to unforeseen scenarios like system crashes, hardware failure, or accidental deletion. In this article, we will learn how to backup Thunderbird emails so let’s get started.

Locate Thunderbird Email Profile for Backup

To backup Thunderbird emails you have to first look out for your Thunderbird profile location. The Thunderbird profile location totally depends on your operating system:

Windows: C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\
Mac: ~/Library/Thunderbird/Profiles/

The Thunderbird profile folder has all the email data, settings and preferences saved in the default location. Therefore, one should backup Thunderbird profiles, emails and folders for a smooth function of your Thunderbird email client.

Why Should You Backup Thunderbird Emails and Profile Regularly?

Backing up Thunderbird emails regularly become very crucial to protect yourself from any unforeseen scenarios. Let’s talk some of them:

• Thunderbird Profile Corruption: Thunderbird profile is prone to corruption and it gets corrupted very easily, to avoid that scenario one should backup their Thunderbird profile very often.
• Cyber Threat Protection: Backup Thunderbird profile to protect yourself from incoming cyber threats like malware, ransomware, and other cyber attacks.
• Protection from Unforeseen Scenarios: Thunderbird profile backup can protect you from the unseen challenges like system crashes, hardware failure, or accidental deletion and one should backup Thunderbird emails regularly.
• Migrate Thunderbird Emails: If a user wishes to migrate their Thunderbird emails they should take a backup of their Thunderbird profile for a smooth migration.
• Data Recovery: In case of corruption or unexpected errors users can easily restore their important Thunderbird profile by just having a backup.

Various Methods to Backup Thunderbird Emails

There are several methods for backing up Thunderbird emails and profile by several ways, and in this article we will talk about each and every possible way to save Thunderbird emails for a complete understanding of the topic altogether. Let’s talk about it:

Manually Download Thunderbird Emails

Thunderbird stores its emails, contacts and other settings in the profile folder and one should navigate to its default profile location to backup the files, Follow these simple steps to backup Thunderbird emails manually.

Method 1: Copy Profile Folder to Backup Thunderbird Emails

1. Firstly, locate your Thunderbird profile on your system to backup Thunderbird profile.

• Windows: C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\
• Mac: ~/Library/Thunderbird/Profiles/

Now, copy the entire profile folder to a much safer folder location to save your Thunderbird profile.

Method 2: Download Thunderbird Emails by Using ImportExport Tools NG add-on

1. Open Thunderbird email and click on the menu (Three horizontal lines) on the top right of the ribbon.
2. Now, select Add-on and Themes from the dropdown menu to further save Thunderbird profile.
3. Now you can see a search bar on the top of the page, search for ImportExport Tools NG and click on Add to Thunderbird.
4. At last, use the add-on to backup Thunderbird emails by selecting “Backup” and choose the desired folder.

Method 3: Backup Thunderbird Emails as EML Files

1. Open Thunderbird, and select the emails you wish to copy.
2. Now, right-click on the selected emails, choose the Save As option and select the folder to save the EML files.

Now you can easily import these resultant EML files to any email client ensuring a safe backup of your Thunderbird emails.

How Does This Tool Work?

1. First up, Download and run the Thunderbird backup tool and click on Next.
   
2. The tool will automatically configure your Thunderbird mailboxes data. However, you can manually choose from Select files or Select folders.
   
3. Now, select the required folders to backup Thunderbird profiles and click on Next.
   
4. You can now choose from multiple file saving options accordingly, to download Thunderbird emails as per your choice.
   
5. You can see that the tool will automatically select the Thunderbird default destination path, click on next.
   
6. Now, you can your Thunderbird email backup will be saved on the default destination path.
   

Manual Method vs Professional Method: Which One to Pick?

Elements	Manual Method	Professional Method
Time needed	It can be time-consuming, especially when dealing with larger files or folders.	Professional method is typically faster as professional tools are designed for bulk transfers as well.
Data Security	When backup Thunderbird emails, the manual method does not guarantee data security as this method provides no encryption.	Usually, designed with advanced encryption options and great features simultaneously.
Speed of transfer	On the negative side, this method is slower, as several OLM files make the process slower.	On the positive side, this method is faster as you don’t have to follow many steps.
Usage	Better work with small-scale backups.	Useful for both small-scale and large-scale backups.
Technical Knowledge	All things considered, the manual method does not serve non-technical users as it requires technical know-how.	A professional tool is specially designed with a user-friendly interface and requires no technical know-how to backup Thunderbird profile.
Data Loss	Download Thunderbird emails manually can lead to data loss due to performing several steps.	A professional tool helps you to keep your data intact and restores all the components of your email while backing up.
Additional Features	The manual method is restricted to the steps only. Therefore, it does not provide any additional features.	The tool provides additional features like “I am Admin”, “Copy to Default Folder”, Change Language, and so on.

Conclusion

In summary, backing up Thunderbird emails is absolutely important as it is the first protective layer to keep your Thunderbird emails safe and protected. However, one should choose the right and best method to backup Thunderbird emails and profile. Try a professional tool like the recomended one which will ensure data protection, effortless backup and secure storage.