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Mail retrieval via POP3 does not work, no popup for password

  • 4 replies
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  • Last reply by wpmc

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Hello all, Unfortunately the POP3 retrieval of an eMail address in Thunderbird does not work. The popup window for entering the password does not appear as usual. I also don't see any message e.g. no mails available or similar.

My other POP3 eMail account is working. On my smartphone the POP3 retrieval of the first account also works. Sending mails works fine with the first account (via SMTP).

What can I do now?

Thanks for the help Volker

Hello all, Unfortunately the POP3 retrieval of an eMail address in Thunderbird does not work. The popup window for entering the password does not appear as usual. I also don't see any message e.g. no mails available or similar. My other POP3 eMail account is working. On my smartphone the POP3 retrieval of the first account also works. Sending mails works fine with the first account (via SMTP). What can I do now? Thanks for the help Volker

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In the meantime, I found out that it is due to AVG Antivirus. If the email scanner is off, then retrieving mails from the first account works.

But why does it work with the second account even with the scanner turned on? I have been using both AVG and POP3 accounts for years.

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Volker.Metzger said

In the meantime, I found out that it is due to AVG Antivirus. If the email scanner is off, then retrieving mails from the first account works. But why does it work with the second account even with the scanner turned on? I have been using both AVG and POP3 accounts for years.

Hello Volker.Metzger.

Well, this basically appears to be an issue with AVG itself and not Thunderbird. It does appear that there has been some recent activity on this issue with AVG Support so they appear to be aware of it but will take some time to resolve it. Also when looking at a web search, it does appear as if this issue has appeared over the past years from time to time. Oh well. Some new iteration of the e-mail scanner likely breaks from time to time and causes this issue. Hopefully they will get it right soon.

Other than that, good luck with this for now and as you said, it might be best to use it with the e-mail scanner off so you could safely download your e-mails but it is up to you, as you did say you had an alternative method. Although, let me ask. Your first and second accounts that you are referencing in your example...you said you can not get the first account to work but the second account will work with the AVG scanner. Does the second account come from your ISP and the first account comes from a secondary source that may have a host that is slightly different from what you have for your smtp server settings?

I think I saw one post where if you have an account with the same host as the smtp server settings, it may work. If you have an account with the host being different, that may not work. I could be wrong but then I don't know your e-mail settings and I don't use AVG to test this with. Either way, good luck with this and hopefully AVG gets it right soon.

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Thanks for your help.

The two email addresses are with different providers. In the meantime I have the idea that it could be something to do with the certificates.

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Hey Volker.Metzger.

Well, you're welcome for the help I offered, as long as it can lead to you resolving your problem. Else, I'm just posting gibberish that doesn't do anything except allow me to see myself post stuff. ;)

Now as you said that your two e-mail addresses are from different providers, I might even make a wager that the one e-mail address that is getting caught up by AVG is the one that is NOT from the provider that you are using for the SMTP server. Am I right? If so, you'll have to change that a bit.

If the first e-mail address that gets caught by AVG is the address from a provider that is not the same as the one you are currently using for your SMTP server, I would advise you to try to use the SMTP server for that provider and use the secure selection. You are able (or should be able) to use multiple SMTP servers within Thunderbird and have a specific SMTP for a specific e-mail address, if you want. Yes, there is a default setting for SMTP servers but when you have multiple e-mail accounts and multiple hosts, it sometimes is better to use the respective SMTP server for the host that it applies to. And while you're at it, I might suggest using the encrypted password method with SSL/TLS settings. Yes, you will need to enter your password to SEND e-mails but then when using hosts that you are not directly logged into, like your ISP, you should send those e-mails over an encrypted connection anyways.

So, if you do try a different SMTP server for each e-mail address that do not share an Internet Provider, let me know how it goes as that is likely what is setting off AVG.

A basic example is below: e-mail 1: v.m@abc.com smtp 1: smtp.abc.com

e-mail 2: v.m@def.com smtp 2: smtp.def.com

Hopefully this was helpful and can resolve your issue with AVG.