I use the Thunderbird mail program. I really like it, as it does everything I need a mail program to do, and then some. The fact that it’s free, is a bonus. 
Recently Thunderbird upgraded to v3.0.1 and well, the folks at Thunderbird could have done a better job on configuring the email account setup process.
By default, Thunderbird is setting up IMAP email accounts. Since I prefer POP3, and apparently so do a lot of other folks, I’m not sure why Thunderbird has decided to choose for me which type of mail account I want to setup.
However, thankfully there is a way around this.
First, initiate the setup of an account and let it continue as if setting up an IMAP account. While the pop-up account setup window is still open, after it’s finished checking the IMAP account configurations, you’ll see a screen that looks like this:
Click the ‘Edit’ button to change the settings. Then you’ll see the screen change to this:
Click the arrow next to where it says IMAP in the incoming server settings and select POP. Make sure to change the port number (in the above example, the port is shown as 110) and your security preference.
Choose your desired outgoing server settings.
Click ‘Re-test Configuration’ to make sure you’re settings are correct.
That’s it!
Traci Knoppe
P.S. Do you use Thunderbird, or another mail program?
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Traci,
Thanks for this info on setting up POP3 in Thunderbird.
I’ll totally agree with you that they could have definately done a better job with the setup in this new version.
Seems like this must have just been an oversight. You’d think with all the users, they would have thought of this…
Great step-by-step tutorial!
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I always encounter some problem issues when it comes to pop3 and now knowing this information helps me on how to configure it. Thanks.
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This problem is NO oversight, here is a direct quote made by a moderator on the Mozilla web site.
” You are running into a well known problem where the developers have repeatably rejected suggestions such as letting the user explicitly chose the account type on the first screen. Its the same in the 3.3 alpha 4 builds too.”
I wonder if these developers work for Microsoft too.
Not cool. I have stopped using Thunderbird for a variety of reasons, this being only one of them.
Hi Traci, came to your site as I want to try using thunderbird. Been using outlook and want to try a new email client
which one do you recommend using? Thanks
Thunderbird is a great free email program. For a variety of reasons, I’m now using the full version of Outlook; but Outlook Express is also free. So you might give that a try.