How to disable automatic mail check in Mozilla Thunderbird

Question

I got 4 email accounts added to Mozilla Thunderbird. I need 3 of them check for new email automatically and 1 only when I press "Get Mail". I went to Tools->Account Settings->my@account.com->Server Settings and removed tick from "Check for new messages every 10 minutes" - but it still gets new email automatically for that account.

Answer 1

Apparently, I also needed to go under Advanced and uncheck "Use IDLE command if the server supports it" option after which emails stopped coming as I wanted.

I found this little piece of information here: https://makandracards.com/makandra/875-disable-automatic-e-mail-checking-in-thunderbird-3

Answer 2

In Thunderbird 45, the "Use IDLE command if the server supports it" setting moved to "Server Settings" and has been renamed to "Allow immediate server notifications when new messages arrive".

That means, to disable an automatic mail check, you now need to go to Edit > Account Settings > my@account.com > Server Settings and make sure the following three options are unchecked.

• Check for new messages at startup
• Check for new messages every X minutes
• Allow immediate server notifications when new messages arrive

You will also need to restart Thunderbird for these changes to take effect.