Skip to main content

Your basket

Monthly payment

  • every month for months, then
  • months contract
  • no annual contract

Monthly payment total

£xx

One-off payment

One-off payment total

£xx

Included with your package

Summary

Monthly payment

    One-off payments

    Reward Card included
    to say thanks for signing up
    Amazon gift card
    Amazon gift card to say thanks for signing up
    cashback icon
    Cashback to say thanks for signing up
    Today's payment
    Today's payment

    Email setup - Mozilla Thunderbird

    A guide to setting up Thunderbird - a simple email program from Mozilla.

    This article is not regularly maintained

    This archived article may contain information that's not up-to-date. It's here so you can still refer to this older info, but it's not regularly maintained and our Customer Support Advisors won't be able to help with queries about it.

    If you've got a question about this article, why not ask the Plusnet Community? Or, for the latest Help & Support articles, head over to Plusnet Help.

    This article is not regularly maintained

    This archived article may contain information that's not up-to-date. It's here so you can still refer to this older info, but it's not regularly maintained and our Customer Support Advisors won't be able to help with queries about it.

    If you've got a question about this article, why not ask the Plusnet Community? Or, for the latest Help & Support articles, head over to Plusnet Help.

    Select your provider

    The screenshots shown here were taken using Windows 7. Although the screen layout will be slightly different, the same steps apply for Thunderbird on Apple OS X and Linux based systems.

    The screenshots shown here were taken using Windows 7. Although the screen layout will be slightly different, the same steps apply for Thunderbird on Apple OS X and Linux based systems.

    Follow these instructions to set up your Plusnet or hosted domain email address.

    1. If this is the first time you've opened Thunderbird, the Mail Account Setup window will appear automatically (continue to step 2).

      Otherwise, go to File on the top bar and select Existing Mail Account...

    1. Fill in your name, email address and password. If you need help with these, there's more information below the screenshot.

     

    • Your Name: Enter your full name (or the name you'd like people to see when you send them email from this account)
    • Email Address: Enter the address you're setting up, this could be a Plusnet address (yourname@username.plus.com) or a hosted domain address (yourname@yourdomain.co.uk)
    • Password: Enter the password for the email address you're setting up (I don't know what this is)

    When you've done this, click Continue.

    1. Now Thunderbird will try and detect your mail settings. This won't work so you'll need to enter them yourself (see below the screenshot if you need help with this).

     

    • Incoming: Choose POP3 or IMAP from the dropdown box (I don't know what to choose)
      • If you chose POP3, enter mail.plus.net
      • If you chose IMAP, enter imap.plus.net
    • Outgoing: Enter relay.plus.net (if you've set up a Plusnet email account before you'll be able to choose it from the dropdown list)
    • Username: Enter the username for the email address you're setting up (I don't know what these are)

    Make sure the rest of the settings (Port, SSL, Authentication) are set to Auto or Autodetect as shown in the screenshot above. When you're finished, click Re-test.

    1. Thunderbird will take a minute to check the settings you've entered.

     

    • If your settings are correct, it'll say The following settings were found by probing the given server or Thunderbird has found the settings for your account, click the Create Account button and move to the next step
    • If there's a problem, make sure your settings match the screenshot in step 3 and click Re-test

     

    1. You'll see a warning screen like the one below, unfortunately our mail servers don't support encryption (we're looking into launching this feature) so to continue you'll need to tick I understand the risks and click Create Account.

    1. Click Tools on the top bar and select Account Settings.

    1. Select Outgoing Server (SMTP) on the left hand menu, choose the default SMTP account (relay.plus.net) and click Edit on the right hand side.

    1. Make sure the settings match those shown underneath the screenshot.

     

    • The Server Name should be relay.plus.net and the Port should be 25
    • Make sure Connection Security is set to None
    • Change Authentication method to No authentication (this will grey out the User Name box, so you can't edit it)

    Click OK once you've finished entering these details.

     

    1. That's everything you need to do, click OK again to finish.

      Click Get Mail and your email will be downloaded to your Inbox.

    The screenshots shown here were taken using Windows 7. Although the screen layout will be slightly different, the same steps apply for Thunderbird on Apple OS X and Linux based systems.

    The screenshots shown here were taken using Windows 7. Although the screen layout will be slightly different, the same steps apply for Thunderbird on Apple OS X and Linux based systems.

    Follow these instructions to set up your Force9 or hosted domain email address.

    1. If this is the first time you've opened Thunderbird, the Mail Account Setup window will appear automatically (continue to step 2).

      Otherwise, go to File on the top bar and select Existing Mail Account...

    1. Fill in your name, email address and password. If you need help with these, there's more information below the screenshot.

     

    • Your Name: Enter your full name (or the name you'd like people to see when you send them email from this account)
    • Email Address: Enter the address you're setting up, this could be a Plusnet address (yourname@username.force9.net) or a hosted domain address (yourname@yourdomain.co.uk)
    • Password: Enter the password for the email address you're setting up (I don't know what this is)

    When you've done this, click Continue.

    1. Now Thunderbird will try and detect your mail settings. This won't work so you'll need to enter them yourself (see below the screenshot if you need help with this).

     

    • Incoming: Choose POP3 or IMAP from the dropdown box (I don't know what to choose)
      • If you chose POP3, enter mail.force9.net
      • If you chose IMAP, enter imap.force9.net
    • Outgoing: Enter relay.force9.net (if you've set up a Plusnet email account before you'll be able to choose it from the dropdown list)
    • Username: Enter the username for the email address you're setting up (I don't know what these are)

    Make sure the rest of the settings (Port, SSL, Authentication) are set to Auto or Autodetect as shown in the screenshot above. When you're finished, click Re-test.

    1. Thunderbird will take a minute to check the settings you've entered.

     

    • If your settings are correct, it'll say The following settings were found by probing the given server or Thunderbird has found the settings for your account, click the Create Account button and move to the next step
    • If there's a problem, make sure your settings match the screenshot in step 3 and click Re-test

     

    1. You'll see a warning screen like the one below, unfortunately our mail servers don't support encryption (we're looking into launching this feature) so to continue you'll need to tick I understand the risks and click Create Account.

    1. Click Tools on the top bar and select Account Settings.

    1. Select Outgoing Server (SMTP) on the left hand menu, choose the default SMTP account (relay.force9.net) and click Edit on the right hand side.

    1. Make sure the settings match those shown underneath the screenshot.

     

    • The Server Name should be relay.force9.net and the Port should be 25
    • Make sure Connection Security is set to None
    • Change Authentication method to No authentication (this will grey out the User Name box, so you can't edit it)

    Click OK once you've finished entering these details.

     

    1. That's everything you need to do, click OK again to finish.

      Click Get Mail and your email will be downloaded to your Inbox.

    The screenshots shown here were taken using Windows 7. Although the screen layout will be slightly different, the same steps apply for Thunderbird on Apple OS X and Linux based systems.

    The screenshots shown here were taken using Windows 7. Although the screen layout will be slightly different, the same steps apply for Thunderbird on Apple OS X and Linux based systems.

    Follow these instructions to set up your Free-Online or hosted domain email address.

    1. If this is the first time you've opened Thunderbird, the Mail Account Setup window will appear automatically (continue to step 2).

      Otherwise, go to File on the top bar and select Existing Mail Account...

    1. Fill in your name, email address and password. If you need help with these, there's more information below the screenshot.

     

    • Your Name: Enter your full name (or the name you'd like people to see when you send them email from this account)
    • Email Address: Enter the address you're setting up, this could be a Plusnet address (yourname@username.free-online.com) or a hosted domain address (yourname@yourdomain.co.uk)
    • Password: Enter the password for the email address you're setting up (I don't know what this is)

    When you've done this, click Continue.

    1. Now Thunderbird will try and detect your mail settings. This won't work so you'll need to enter them yourself (see below the screenshot if you need help with this).

     

    • Incoming: Choose POP3 or IMAP from the dropdown box (I don't know what to choose)
      • If you chose POP3, enter mail.free-online.net
      • If you chose IMAP, enter imap.free-online.net
    • Outgoing: Enter relay.free-online.net (if you've set up a Plusnet email account before you'll be able to choose it from the dropdown list)
    • Username: Enter the username for the email address you're setting up (I don't know what these are)

    Make sure the rest of the settings (Port, SSL, Authentication) are set to Auto or Autodetect as shown in the screenshot above. When you're finished, click Re-test.

    1. Thunderbird will take a minute to check the settings you've entered.

     

    • If your settings are correct, it'll say The following settings were found by probing the given server or Thunderbird has found the settings for your account, click the Create Account button and move to the next step
    • If there's a problem, make sure your settings match the screenshot in step 3 and click Re-test

     

    1. You'll see a warning screen like the one below, unfortunately our mail servers don't support encryption (we're looking into launching this feature) so to continue you'll need to tick I understand the risks and click Create Account.

    1. Click Tools on the top bar and select Account Settings.

    1. Select Outgoing Server (SMTP) on the left hand menu, choose the default SMTP account (relay.free-online.net) and click Edit on the right hand side.

    1. Make sure the settings match those shown underneath the screenshot.

     

    • The Server Name should be relay.free-online.net and the Port should be 25
    • Make sure Connection Security is set to None
    • Change Authentication method to No authentication (this will grey out the User Name box, so you can't edit it)

    Click OK once you've finished entering these details.

     

    1. That's everything you need to do, click OK again to finish.

      Click Get Mail and your email will be downloaded to your Inbox.

    This is an archived article and may contain information that's not up-to-date - more info

    This is an archived article and may contain information that's not up-to-date - more info

    Was this article helpful?

    More ways to get help

    Plusnet community
    Our customers always have tips to share.
    Talk to our community

    Contact our team
    Message @Plusnet on X (formerly Twitter)
    Or call 0330 1239 123

    Sign Language service

    Contact us using British Sign Language

    My Account
    Manage your bills, packages and details.
    Sign into Broadband