Mozilla Thunderbird is a desktop-based multi-platform application to manage emails, chats, news groups, etc. Recently, a new and updated version of the application has been launched –Thunderbird 102.7.0. This is the first ever version of the email client that handles OAuth2 authentication for Microsoft accounts differently. However, the newly released version is not available automatically but the users have to update it manually. To update to the 102.7.0 version, users have to manually go to Menu > Help > About Mozilla Thunderbird.
The Thunderbird team has also made some changes and added new features in the latest version. These include:
- Thunderbird on macOS now asks for the primary password on startup, if it is set.
- It no longer offers to import incomplete OpenPGP keys.
- Selecting or deselecting the dictionary in the spelling composition toolbar no longer closes the menu immediately. Changes to the dictionary via the editor context menu still close the context menu.
- Contact address lines are now displayed in the expected order.
- Custom 1-4 fields restored in Address Book UI.
- Existing data from pre-102 profiles is preserved.
However, the new version of Thunderbird has a bug, which is affecting OAuth2 authentication for Microsoft 365 Enterprise accounts. Also, check the How to Archive Thunderbird Emails blog to save Thunderbird emails as a backup.
After installing the latest version, some users have reported receiving a notification on their first run of Thunderbird 102.7.0, which asks for administrative approval. It requires the following permissions:
IMAP.AccessAsUser.All (Read and write access to mailboxes via IMAP)
POP.AccessAsUser.All (Read and write access to mailboxes via POP)
SMTP.Send (Send emails from mailboxes using SMTP AUTH)
offline_access"
How to Resolve the Issue?
The Thunderbird team is already working on resolving the issue. It can only be fixed in the next updated version – Thunderbird 102.7.1. This version will automatically be available to all users of the email client. Therefore, the users who have not yet installed the latest version are asked not to install it until the new version is released with a fix.
The Thunderbird users, who are affected by this issue, can revert to the previous version (Thunderbird 102.6.1), until the next version with the fix is released.
Here are the steps to install the old version of Thunderbird:
- Open the Thunderbird application.
- Click on Tools > Options > Advanced > Update. Then, disable the automatic updates.
- Now, uninstall your current version of Thunderbird.
Note: When you uninstall the application, the profile will not be deleted.
- Download and install the setup of the previous version.
- Choose the operating system.
- Install the setup using the setup file. You need to use the same location to store the installation files which you have used earlier.
- Once the Thunderbird is installed, launch it.
- Thunderbird will automatically select your profile.
Note: Some add-ons may not work due to incompatibility with the old version.
Conclusion
The latest Thunderbird version – 102.7.0 has an issue, which is affecting OAuth2 authentication for Microsoft 365 Enterprise accounts. Mozilla issued a statement in this regard and asked users to wait for next version (102.7.1) for a glitch-free Thunderbird access. In the meantime, the users can go back to their previous Thunderbird version.
To avoid such issues, you can also consider migrating to another reliable email client, such as Microsoft Outlook. If you want to move to Microsoft Outlook, then you will require converting the MBOX files into Outlook compatible PST format.
To ease the process, you can use a specialized MBOX to PST converter software, such as Stellar Converter for MBOX that can convert the MBOX files into PST format without any glitch. The software has an easy-to-use interface that can facilitate Thunderbird MBOX to Outlook PST conversion in a few simple clicks. It also offers advanced filter options to selectively convert the MBOX file data. In addition to PST, it allows you to save the MBOX file data in file formats, such as MSG, EML, RTF, PDF, and HTML.