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Emails I send now show the name of the email account originally set up with me email provider many years ago, and not the identity I want to use.

  • 14 cavab
  • 1 has this problem
  • 7 views
  • Last reply by PeterHiggs

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Since the latest change on about 5th July, when "correspondent" appeared, all emails I send have an old identity which comes from the email provider, and not the identity I have put on the account. I am unable to change this in any preference. It appears this may be influenced by the advanced preference name "mail.provider.suggestFromName", which has a string value. Please advise how I can get mail from identity to be the one I put on the account?

Since the latest change on about 5th July, when "correspondent" appeared, all emails I send have an old identity which comes from the email provider, and not the identity I have put on the account. I am unable to change this in any preference. It appears this may be influenced by the advanced preference name "mail.provider.suggestFromName", which has a string value. Please advise how I can get mail from identity to be the one I put on the account?

All Replies (14)

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Check some settings:

Is the mail account name in folder pane still correct? It usually shows the email address. Or perhaps the default mail account is not ata the top of the list in Folder Pane.

  • Right click on mail account in Folder Pane and select 'Settings'

Account Settings window opens Is the entry for 'Email Address' correct ? If no:

  • enter correct email address.
  • click on 'Manage Identities' button

How many identities are listed ? If more than one....

  • choose the correct identity
  • click on 'set default'.
  • click on 'Close'
  • select 'Server Settings'
  • Username is usually the full email address.


Left Pane: Is the mail account at the top of the list, the correct default mail account ? If no:

  • select name of correct mail account which you want as default mail account
  • click on 'Account Actions'
  • select 'Set as default'
  • when all is correct click on OK

Did you need to make any changes? If yes, please say what needed changing.

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There is only one email account listed. The name on the account is correct in the setting pane. as there is only one account, this is the default.I have opened manage identities, and there is just the one account with the correct name. However, when I send an email, it lists the sender as the holder of the broadband account, which is not the correct name we wish to use, and appears nowhere in Thinderbird. This applies if you read the email in Thunderbird, or in Apple mail, or in Outlook.

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re :However, when I send an email,

Q: When you click on 'Write' to create email, is the 'From' email address correct at this point in time ?

Right click on mail account in Folder Pane and select 'Settings' Bottom left click on 'Outgoing server (SMTP):'

you probably only have one outgoing server as you only have the one account, but check... Select the outgoing server that is listed. Is the username = email address correct ?

If you have two smtp server: what does the other one contain? If this has the wrong email address,:

  • select that smtp server and click on 'Edit'
  • In 'Description type 'Not this one'
  • click on OK

Now check what the account is using to send.

  • Select the mail account name in left pane
  • bottom right - which outgoing server is selected ?

Q: does it now say 'Not this one' ?

  • If yes, then click on drop down and select the correct one.
  • click on OK
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Firstly, when I click Write, the email address and the account name are correct and as I want them. Looking at the outgoing server, there is only one, and this is the correct server for my email account as given by my broadband provider, who is my ISP. When I go to the bottom right of the pane, the server is my correct ISP server.

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It appears that when I send an email, even though the account in Thurderbird is set up correctly, all recipients see the email as being from a different name. That incorrect name is the name used when the email account was set up with the ISP. Looking into the Preferences, and going to Advanced, then to "config Editor". and typing "from" into the search, I see the following:

Preference=mail.provider.suggestFromName;

Status = Default

Type= string

Value = https://broker-live.mozillamessaging.com/provider/suggest

Is this the source of my problem? If so, how do I change the string value so that mail uses my Thunderbird identity.

I hope this is clear. Hope to hear a solution.

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Who is your ISP ? In your email address, what comes after the '@' sign?

This does not sound like Thunderbird. It sounds like your ISP / email provider.

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My ISP is BT in the UK. My email address ends with @btconnect.com The account has been set up for a number of years, and has worked with no problem with Thunderbird. The "from" on emails was exactly what we had put into the Thunderbird Account Identity when anyone received an email from us. This identity was different from the Name used to set up the ISP billing account. However, earlier in July, suddenly the "from" on all emails reverted to the person's name that was used to set up the ISP email account some years, who is not with us anymore.

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Do this to ensure replies use the correct email address.

  • In Account Settings > Server Settings
  • 'Reply-to-Address: type in the correct address, so it will be used when people click on 'Reply'
  • click on OK

then check this: Logon to the webmail account using a browser and see if the sending email address is correct. https://community.bt.com/t5/Email/Changing-the-sender-name/td-p/1583459

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I have added my email address in the reply to section. I still get the following If I set the inbox page to show the Subject, From, Correspondents, and due columns, I see the correct Identity that I typed into the account settings section that I want everyone to see in the "From" column, but the incorrect identity name that is nowhere in Thunderbird displayed in the correspondents column. The big problem is that in other mail programmes like Apple Mail and Outlook, the "correspondents" identity is show as who the email is from. Adding the reply to makes no difference.

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Q: Have you logged on to webmail account and checked to see what email address is setup as the sending email address?

Q:Do you have that 'Correspondent' in any of your address books?

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Q1 Webmail. Sorry I don't understand how to do this. Please advise? Q2 the Correspondent name and identity does not exist in any address book on Thunderbird

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re : Adding the reply to makes no difference. A recipient of the email would click on 'Reply' to get your correct email address put into a 'To' field instead of the erroneous one. So emails would get sent to the correct email address.

re :Webmail. Sorry I don't understand how to do this. Using a browser eg: Firefox or IE TRy logging on to the BT website https://home.bt.com On far right click on 'Email' Enter username and password. Note this may use the 'Correspondent' email address if they set it up usig a differnt email address from the one you are currently using. But if email address is the same as the one you are using and you only need to change the name that appears, then logon using your email address and password.(Same one as used in Thunderbird)

Modified by Toad-Hall

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This info is how to change the sender name: If you are on the BTMail system, log onto your BT email and go to settings > account > Highlight BT Mail account > click Edit > User Settings > Change Sender Name > Save.

If on BTYahoo system go to Settings (cog icon) > Accounts > Click on your account > You Name change it to what you want > Save.

Modified by Toad-Hall

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I cannot log into the BT account until tomorrow, but I will check then and respond. I still don't see why Thunderbird does not use the identity I put into the Account Setting section, as this is the obvious place to enter it. Also why Thunderbird "From" column shows identity added in Thunderbird, but any recipient sees a different identity. Will respond tomorrow. Thanks.