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How to Fix Thunderbird Duplicate Emails Problem Yourself?

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Published By Jamie Kaler
Rollins Duke
Approved By Rollins Duke
Published On June 14th, 2025
Reading Time 5 Minutes Reading

Are you also encountering the Thunderbird duplicate emails problem? If yes, then we are here to help you and make you fix the Thunderbird remove duplicate messages effortlessly. So, Thunderbird is an amazing email client that has numerous features, but sometimes due to server issues or human error, it creates duplicate emails in Thunderbird, which eventually makes a user seek a solution to delete duplicate emails from Thunderbird. However, there are multiple manual ways with which one can fix the Thunderbird duplicate emails problem, but they are not so reliable. Therefore, apart from that, we will also be sharing the professional solution, the reasons behind this issue, and the pros and cons of each way. So, without any further ado, let’s dive in to find the most reliable solution.

Why Does the Thunderbird Duplicate Emails Problem Happen?

There are multiple reasons that lead to Thunderbird remove duplicate messages, and some of the most prominent ones are mentioned below:

  • The most common situation is when the IMAP server disconnects, and Thunderbird restarts downloading the messages, irrespective of the fact that some of them have already been downloaded.
  • Also, when the setting of  “Leave messages on server” is on in the POP3, then this Thunderbird duplicate emails problem happens since it is unable to identify which data has already been downloaded.
  • Apart from this, if Thunderbird has multiple accounts fetched in it and a duplicate message is coming on both accounts from the same email address, then this happens.
  • Furthermore, if Thunderbird experiences an unplanned shutdown and the user restarts it, then this email client creates the situation of Thunderbird remove duplicate messages.
  • Plus, email forwarding rules, mailbox corruptions, as well as misconfigured add-ons are also the reasons behind the Thunderbird duplicate emails problem.

Manual Methods to Fix Thunderbird Remove Duplicate Messages

There are 3 very prominent conventional ways to delete duplicate messages from Thunderbird. Therefore, to learn about them in detail, read each method one by one and decide whether they are helpful for you or not.

1. Install the Thunderbird Remove Duplicate Messages Add-On

  1. Launch Thunderbird on your device and go to Tools.
  2. Click on Add-ons and search for “Remove Duplicate Messages”.
  3. Select the Add it to Thunderbird option and restart Thunderbird.
  4. Once done, right-click on the folder that has duplicate emails.
  5. Select the option “Remove Duplicate Messages”.
  6. Now, this will pop up a window with details of duplicate emails.
  7. Further, click on Delete Selected to remove Thunderbird duplicate messages.
  8. Finally, click on the Ok button to resolve Thunderbird remove duplicate messages.

2. Use the Filter Option For Thunderbird Remove Duplicate Messages

  1. Run Thunderbird and click on Tools.
  2. Now, go to the Message Filters option and click on “New”.
  3. Once done, name this filter “Duplicate Email Filter”.
  4. Make sure to add conditions to find duplicate Thunderbird emails.
  5. Also, set the filter so that the replica emails go to Trash.
  6. After this, click on Ok to create a new filter to fix the Thunderbird duplicate emails problem.
  7. Then, click on the Run Now option, and this will delete all the same emails automatically.

3. Use the Search Option of Thunderbird to Delete Duplicate Emails

  1. Run Thunderbird on your device.
  2. Open the folder that has duplicate emails.
  3. Now, sort the emails using the filters such as Date, Sender, and Subject.
  4. Further, manually search for duplicate Thunderbird emails.
  5. Next, delete duplicate emails from Thunderbird by right-clicking the duplicate emails and choosing the delete option.
  6. Do this one by one for each duplicate email, and with this, you Thunderbird duplicate emails problem.

Drawbacks of the Conventional Methods

  • It is very complex for beginners who belong to a non-tech background.
  • Also, these methods are very lengthy and hectic, which eventually consumes user energy and time.
  • The Thunderbird plugin to delete duplicate emails has lots of limitations, such as it does not support large mailboxes.
  • There is always a risk of data loss when following the manual solutions to resolve Thunderbird remove duplicate messages easily.
  • These ways are not approved and are not highly recommended by industry experts.

Professional Way to Delete Duplicate Emails From Thunderbird

After learning about the drawbacks of the manual methods, it is recommended to go for a professional tool such as MailsWare Duplicate Remover. It has dual file selection modes and options to scan and delete Thunderbird duplicate emails. Also, it is very easy to use and gives quality output with minimal effort. The quick steps to use this tool to remove Thunderbird duplicate messages are:

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  1. Install the tool and start on your device.
    install the tool
  2. Then, choose the Thunderbird data using the given options.
    add thunderbird profile
  3. Further, select the scanning and deleting option.
    select a mode
  4. Once done, browse and choose the destination option.
    saving destination
  5. After this, apply the advanced filters for more specific results.
    advanced filter
  6. Finally, click on Extract to fix the Thunderbird duplicate emails problem.
    thunderbird duplicate emails problem

Features of the Professional Tool

  • It supports bulk action and easily works with large mailboxes.
  • This tool is the best alternative to the Thunderbird add-on to delete duplicate emails from Thunderbird.
  • It has multiple file selection modes so that one can choose specific files or folders.
  • Also, there are advanced filters such as date, subject, excluded folders, and more, which help in a decluttered output.
  • This software is tested to give 99.9% accurate results without any data loss.

Conclusion

In this complete blog, we briefly discussed the manual and professional methods to fix the Thunderbird duplicate emails problem. Therefore, the conventional solutions are very indirect and have multiple limitations that restrict the user’s productivity. Thus, in such a case, depending on the automated solution that professionals use is the best alternative as it is not just safe but also efficient to delete duplicate emails from Thunderbird.

Read Next: How to Fix Thunderbird Freezes When Downloading Messages Error?

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