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Move Thunderbird Email Profiles to Another Location Easily

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Published By Jamie Kaler
Rollins Duke
Approved By Rollins Duke
Published On June 6th, 2025
Reading Time 6 Minutes Reading

Do you also want to move Thunderbird email profiles to another location to boost your productivity or manage Thunderbird data? If yes, then this is the blog that can help you in the easiest and most reliable way possible. So, Thunderbird is a very prominent open-source email client that saves the profile data locally on the device so that users can not only access it when required but also move Thunderbird profile to another drive accordingly.

Therefore, to guide the users about the reasons behind this, the location of Thunderbird profile data in the system, manual ways to do this, and a professional tool to move Thunderbird profile folder, we prepared this complete blog post. It shares everything in an explanatory yet clear way so that users get complete knowledge of the topic. So, without any ado, let’s get a step ahead!

Reasons to Move Thunderbird Email Profiles to Another Location

There are multiple factors that instigate an individual to move Thunderbird profile to another drive, and some of the most common ones are mentioned below:

  • The primary reason to move Thunderbird profile folder is when the user is switching from one device to another. 
  • Also, this helps an individual take a regular backup of the Thunderbird profile data and prevent data deletion or corruption. 
  • In case the user is switching the operating system such as Windows OS to macOS, they also seek a way to move Thunderbird email profiles to another location.
  • In addition to this, when a user is casually organizing or decluttering the disk space then also they need to move Thunderbird profile to another drive of the system.
  • Last but not least, another prominent reason to move Thunderbird email profiles to another location is when any corruption of files happens and Thunderbird starts malfunctioning.  

How to Find Your Thunderbird Profile Location on Windows OS?

The default Thunderbird profile location on any Windows operating system device is “C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\”. But, if in case you are not able to find the Thunderbird profile data there as well due to any uncertain reason, then you can follow the below-mentioned steps and then go further to move Thunderbird profile to another device.

Method 1: Without Using Thunderbird 

  1. Make sure Thunderbird is installed on your system.
  2. Then, click on the Start button, and in the search bar type %APPDATA%.
  3. Hit the Enter key to get the results.
  4. Now, search for a folder titled “Roaming” and click on it.
  5. Next, in the Roaming folder, browse the Profiles directory.
  6. Further, find the Thunderbird profile there and copy the path.

Method 2: Using Thunderbird

  1. Run Thunderbird and click on Tools.
  2. Now, choose the Accounts Settings option.
  3. Further, click on Server Settings from the left panel.
  4. Finally, copy the location mentioned in the Local Directory field. 
  5. You can also click on Browse to open that location.

How to Move Thunderbird Email Profiles to Another Location?

There are two manual ways to move Thunderbird profile to another drive or location, such as an external drive, OneDrive, or so on. And, thus, to know about them in brief, read the below-shared methods carefully.

Method 1: Make Changes in Profile Folder

  1. Run Thunderbird and click on the menu icon with 3 horizontal lines.
  2. Click on Help and select More Troubleshooting Information.
  3. Now, from the pop-up page, find the Profile Folder section and click on Open Folder.
  4. Once done, go three levels up to the Roaming folder and right-click on the Thunderbird folder.
  5. Copy the folder and paste it to another drive, whether external or OneDrive.
  6. And, with this, you are done with the drill to move Thunderbird profile to another drive.

Method 2: Change Local Directory Location

  1. Launch Thunderbird on your device.
  2. Go to the menu bar and click on Tools. 
  3. Then, choose Account Settings. 
  4. Further, click on Server Settings and go to Local Directory. 
  5. Click on Browse and select a new location to move Thunderbird email profiles to another location.
  6. Finally, click on Ok and restart to see the changes.

Why Are Conventional Methods Unreliable?

  • These ways to move Thunderbird profile to another drive are very complicated and technical. 
  • There is a high chance of data loss or errors using the manual way to move Thunderbird profile folder.
  • It consumes multiple resources of the user and makes it an inefficient way to move Thunderbird email profile location.
  • These methods are not highly appreciated by industry experts due to their limitations.

Alternative Solution to Move Thunderbird Profile to Another Drive

Professionals always recommend taking a backup of Thunderbird data before heading to practice any manual way to move Thunderbird profile to another drive. Since the conventional methods are indirect and cannot be relied upon, either downloading the crucial files locally or moving them to another email client as a backup is always suggested by experts. Also, one minor wrong attempt in the manual way to move Thunderbird email profiles to another location can hamper the profile data directly and lead to corruption, data loss, or alteration. Therefore, to help in this matter, getting the MailsWare Thunderbird File Converter is the best option. The quick steps to use this tool are:

  1. Install and run the tool mentioned above.
    install the tool
  2. Now, select bulk Thunderbird data using the default or manual selection modes.
    select thunderbird data
  3. From the list of 30 saving options, choose any one, such as convert Thunderbird to PDF.
    choose saving option
  4. Give the saving location to store the output.
    saving location
  5. Click on Convert and have handy access to your important Thunderbird data.
    move thunderbird email profiles to another location
Features of the Pro Tool
  • It is very easy to use and has dedicated sections, buttons, and tabs for each action.
  • Supports all the attachments and attributes of Thunderbird emails.
  • Has 30+ export options, which allow users to export Thunderbird to Gmail, Outlook, PST, EML, MBOX, MSG, and other prominent options.
  • It has multiple file selection modes, which lead to a decluttered and specific result only.
  • The best thing is that it also offers a demo edition so that users can first check its functionality and then invest in the license edition.
Conclusion

In this blog post, we briefly described multiple easy methods to move Thunderbird email profiles to another location. Therefore, we provided a step-by-step guide to each solution so that you can swiftly follow them without any confusion. However, before making any changes to the existing settings, we always suggest taking a backup of data so that you never lose any of your crucial information.

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