Changed imap server, folders showing old imap folder
My IMAP service provider has made an urgent request to change to a different server for IMAP and SMTP. The old server is about to be retired very shortly. At present both old and new servers are working. I have updated the Server Settings to the new server name. Server settings show the new IMAP server under Account Settings. However when I look at the properties for Inbox it still shows the old server. Is this a problem? If so, what is the fix/work-around?
Many thanks for reading.
Chosen solution
Correct - the 'location' text is in the form "imap://myusername@serverdomain/INBOX" - the imap:// implying it is an imap location and not a file location. However, I agree it refers to the location on the hard disk where copies of the emails are kept. Thunderbird did not allow me to set up a new account whist the old one was active - so I have taken the precaution of creating a separate account on a different machine using the new IMAP server. The problem arose with a Thunderbird installation on a Linux Mint machine, the backup Thunderbird client is now running on a Windows 10 box. If, for any reason there is a problem when the failing IMAP server is taken down or falls over I have mechanisms in place to restore. However since the backup Thunderbird client is working properly with the new IMAP server what could possibly go wrong?
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when I look at the properties for Inbox it still shows the old server.
If you're talking about the 'Location' field in Properties, then this isn't a problem. It's the local storage folder for the account, and it doesn't affect the server at all.
However, the proper way to make the switch to the new server would have been to create a new IMAP account with the settings of the new server. When doing this make sure to give it a unique name.
Once the new account is working properly, and all messages are visible, you can delete the old account in Thunderbird.
You can consider yourself lucky that the new server already had all the messages, otherwise it would have erased your entire email archive.
Chosen Solution
Correct - the 'location' text is in the form "imap://myusername@serverdomain/INBOX" - the imap:// implying it is an imap location and not a file location. However, I agree it refers to the location on the hard disk where copies of the emails are kept. Thunderbird did not allow me to set up a new account whist the old one was active - so I have taken the precaution of creating a separate account on a different machine using the new IMAP server. The problem arose with a Thunderbird installation on a Linux Mint machine, the backup Thunderbird client is now running on a Windows 10 box. If, for any reason there is a problem when the failing IMAP server is taken down or falls over I have mechanisms in place to restore. However since the backup Thunderbird client is working properly with the new IMAP server what could possibly go wrong?
the 'location' text is in the form "imap://myusername@serverdomain/INBOX" - the imap:// implying it is an imap location and not a file location.
That's a very good point. Thinking about it, you're most likely correct. And it's rather unlikely that the 'Location' field points to a file location.
But I don't really know what the impact is (if any), when this is pointing to the old server. Therefore I'd recommend to follow the suggestion above and creating a new IMAP account with the new server settings.
Thunderbird did not allow me to set up a new account whist the old one was active
That shouldn't be a problem as long as you don't use the same name as for the existing account.