Mozilla Thunderbird is a popular email client for desktop computers that lets users keep track of their emails, contacts, and calendars all in one place. It's a free, open-source program that both individuals and businesses utilize. Thunderbird can send and receive emails via POP and IMAP, and it saves emails in the MBOX file format. This makes it a good choice for keeping track of conversations and preserving crucial data on the computer.

Many users migrate to other email programs, such as Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail, or for a variety of reasons over time.

Let's talk about why people switch from Thunderbird, how manual conversion works, what its limits are, and how reliable software makes this process easier and safer.

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Why do people leave Thunderbird?

There are a lot of reasons why people could stop using Thunderbird and switch to another email service:

• For work: Some jobs need you to use Outlook or other programs that work with business systems.
• Better services: Outlook and other comparable applications include cloud services, complex calendars, and ways to organize tasks.
• Change of device or OS:  If you go from Windows to macOS, you can end up using Apple Mail, which doesn't accept Thunderbird's MBOX files.
• Email Backup or Migration: Users often want to save Thunderbird data in a different format or move it to a new email program.

How to Manually Convert Thunderbird Emails

People who don't want to use software can try to convert their Thunderbird data manually.  Depending on what format is needed, there are a few different ways to do it.

Convert Thunderbird to PST

• Outlook doesn't work with MBOX files directly; thus, the processes normally entail using an email account that uses IMAP:
• Set up a new Yahoo or Gmail account and add it to Thunderbird.
• Transfer all of your Thunderbird emails to this new IMAP account.
• Create the same account in Outlook and let it sync.
• Put the emails in a PST folder on your computer.

Downside: This process takes a long time, needs the internet, and might cause delays in syncing or loss of data if not done correctly.

Convert Thunderbird files to EML format

• Choose the emails you want to open in Thunderbird.
• Drag and drop the messages you want into a folder on the desktop.
• Each email will be saved as a separate .eml file.

Downside: It only works for a few emails and doesn't save the folder structure.

No direct method for MSG and EMLX

• MSG: Most of the time, people utilize another tool to change EML to MSG for MSG.
• EMLX: Thunderbird doesn't have a built-in way to handle EMLX, which is utilized by Apple Mail.

Disadvantage: It requires numerous stages and tools, which raises the risk of mistakes or missing information.

Limitations of Manual Methods

• It is possible to convert things manually, although it often leads to complications like:
• Attachments or inline pictures are missing.
• Folder structure that is broken
• Formatting or email headers that don't work
• It takes a long time, especially with big mailboxes.
• No help with mass migration
• There is a good probability of mistakes or an incomplete transfer.

Using a reliable Software to convert Thunderbird data.

GainTools Thunderbird Converter is a program that can convert Thunderbird emails into PST, EML, MSG, and EMLX formats.  It was made to make moving emails fast, easy, and without any problems.

You don't need to have Thunderbird installed for the program to read Thunderbird mailbox files and convert them into the format you choose. This program makes it easy for anybody to migrate data to Outlook, Apple Mail, or another email client.

Important key Features 

• Support for several formats:  Exports Thunderbird emails to PST, EML, MSG, and EMLX files.
• Folder Hierarchy Maintenance: This keeps the original folder structure in Thunderbird the same. 
• Attachment Preservation: All files, such as PDFs, photos, and documents, are kept with the emails.
• Batch Conversion: Lets you convert more than one Thunderbird file at a time to save time. 
• Preview Option: It allows you to look at the emails before conversion.
• No Thunderbird Needed: This will work even if Thunderbird isn't installed on the computer.
• It works with all versions of Windows, such as Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7.
• Free Trial Available: Users can try out the program before they buy it.

How to Use the Software to Convert Thunderbird Emails?

• Visit the official website to get the program.
• Put the program window computer
• Open the tool.
• To load Thunderbird mailbox data, click on "Add Folder" or "Add File."
• Select the format you want: PST, EML, MSG, MBOX, or EMLX.