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If I upgrade to a new version of Thunderbird, will my existing emails and files migrate across?

RoseanneandGlen
RoseanneandGlen
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We are currently on V31.7.0 on a 2013 Macbook Air running OS X 10.9.5. Although Thunderbird is set on automatic update, for some reason it won't do this. Can we fix this or do we need to download a new version and start again? If we do this - will our existing emails/files/contacts etc be saved?

Thanks

We are currently on V31.7.0 on a 2013 Macbook Air running OS X 10.9.5. Although Thunderbird is set on automatic update, for some reason it won't do this. Can we fix this or do we need to download a new version and start again? If we do this - will our existing emails/files/contacts etc be saved? Thanks

All Replies (1)

amanchesterman
amanchesterman
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They should be saved, yes. Thunderbird stores messages, contacts etc (the user data) in a folder called a 'profile'. It's in a different location to the program. When you reinstall the program, it looks in the default location for a profile folder, and if it finds one already there it uses it. (if it doesn't, it creates a new blank profile.) For peace of mind you can backup the profile on external storage like a memory stick (that's good practice anyway). Then you can install the latest Thunderbird and, if necessary, copy the profile back on to your computer. Instructions are here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-tb