Push & Notification — Deep Dive

← Back to March dashboard

March 2026 · 47 reviews · TB 38 · K-9 9 · 24 non-English reviews machine-translated

⚠️ Q1 trend: 19 → 23 → 31 negative push mentions — accelerating

Push and notification issues are the single largest driver of 1–3★ reviews in March. Avg rating across all 47 push-related reviews: 2.85★. These 47 reviews break into three distinct problems that look identical from the outside but need different fixes.

All push reviews
47
TB 38 · K-9 9
Negative 1–3★
31
of 47 total
Avg rating
2.85★
vs 3.87★ overall TB
Reply rate
100%
31/31 negatives
Problem A
34
delivery failure · 2.50★
Problem B
5
v17 regression · 3.00★
Problem C
8
poll / UX · 4.25★
↓ Recommendations & star rating math What it takes to hit 4.0★ · 4 actions ordered by effort
jump ↓
A

Push delivery failure

34 reviews · core bug · avg 2.50★
2.50★
avg rating
34
reviews
24
negative 1–3★
TB 26
K-9 8
1
12
2
6
3
6
4
7
5
3

APush delivery failure — the core bug

These 34 reviews all describe the same failure mode: push notifications either never arrive, stop arriving after some time, or the entire sync process stalls silently and requires a manual restart. Several specific patterns:

TB ★☆☆☆☆ English 2026-03-02 · OnePlus Nord CE 3 · v—
Worst email app I've ever used. Poor layout, display, and I never get notifications on time...
Dev reply · Thanks for letting us know, and we're sorry notifications aren't coming on time! Are you using notifications at a set interval (15 minutes or higher) or push (instant) notifications? We are also working on an improved design experience this year.
TB ★☆☆☆☆ English 2026-03-06 · Samsung Galaxy A12s · v16.1
👏👏delayed👏 notifications
Dev reply · Ugh, we're sorry you're having issues with notification delays! We'd love to help troubleshoot this in more detail to help see what is going on exactly and help fix it! Please open a support question at Settings > Get Help for us and our support community!
K9 ★☆☆☆☆ English 2026-03-06 · Samsung Galaxy A12s · v—
👏delayed👏👏 notifications
Dev reply · Ugh, we're sorry you're having issues with notification delays! We'd love to help troubleshoot this in more detail to help see what is going on exactly and help fix it! Please open a support question at Settings > Get Help for us and our support community!
K9 ★☆☆☆☆ German 2026-03-10 · Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra · v16.1
Original
Push funktioniert beim S25 Ultra einfach nicht mehr. Programm muss mit Gewalt geschlossen und neu geöffnet werden, dann läuft der Sync meistens wieder korrekt aus. Hätte K9 über 10 Jahre und seit 1 Jahr läuft nicht mehr gut. Schade
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
Push simply no longer works on the S25 Ultra. The app has to be force-closed and reopened, after which sync usually works correctly again. I've had K-9 for over 10 years and for the past year it's been running poorly. A shame.
Dev reply · Lesen Sie bitte Einstellungen > Hilfe > Einstellungen > "Push konfigurieren..." und aktivieren Sie dann "Ordner verwalten". Aktivieren Sie Benachrichtigungen unter Einstellungen > [Konto] > Benachrichtigungen > "Neue Mail..." und auf Ihrem Telefon unter Einstellungen > Benachrichtigungen > Nachrichten. Deaktivieren Sie außerdem die Akku-Optimierung
TB ★☆☆☆☆ English 2026-03-11 · Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra · v—
o well so much for ditching Microsoft. 1k options on desktop and mobile but I have to keep it running all the time?? and enable push sync on over 40 accounts and thousands of folders? rip.
Dev reply · Thanks for the feedback, and we're sorry this is a blocker for switching from Microsoft. We're working on making push easier to enable, and the reason ours is enabled by folder is because we use a privacy-preserving push service that has limits of folders that can be enabled per account.
TB ★☆☆☆☆ English 2026-03-11 · Google Pixel 9 Pro XL · v—
Stupid Bugs ruin this app. Constantly fails to send messages with attachments, stuck in outbox for no apparent reason. Also does not push notifications.
Dev reply · Please read Settings > Getting Help > Settings > "Configure push..." and enable push and Notifications in Manage folders > [folder]. Also enable Settings > [account] > Notifications > "New mail.." and your phone's notification settings in Settings > Notifications > Messages. Please also turn off battery optimizing. We're working on the other bugs!
K9 ★☆☆☆☆ German 2026-03-16 · Sony Xperia 1 IV · v16.1
Original
aus einer Mail kein Ereignis im Kalender erstellen zu können.... schwach dass dies hiermit nicht möglich ist Push-Mail bei Outlook Mailadresse nicht möglich.... oje wie schwach! EREIGNISSE KÖNNEN NICHT AUS DEM MAILPROGRAMM ERSTELLT WERDEN. ICH MEINE EINE MAIL AUS DER MAN EINEN KALENDEREINTRAG ERSTELLEN KANN .....
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
...being unable to create a calendar event from an email — weak that this isn't possible here. Push email with an Outlook address is not possible either... oh how weak! EVENTS CANNOT BE CREATED FROM THE MAIL APP. I MEAN AN EMAIL FROM WHICH YOU COULD CREATE A CALENDAR ENTRY.
Dev reply · Vielen Dank für das aktualisierte Ticket und Entschuldigung für die Verwirrung! Wir prüfen, wie wir die Kalenderunterstützung, einschließlich der Ereignisse, verbessern können, indem wir entweder den Kalender des Telefons integrieren oder eine Kalenderkomponente für die App entwickeln. Wir haben noch kein Datum, aber das ist eine Priorität.
K9 ★☆☆☆☆ English 2026-03-21 · OnePlus 11 · v—
Why I can only see outbox? It's even worse then thunderbird as I can't set notifications there. Totally useless.
Dev reply · We're sorry you're only seeing the outbox! Please to to Settings > [account] > Folder to enable your other folders, as something may have happened during set up. If this doesn't help, please go to Settings > Get Help for more troubleshooting. Thanks!
TB ★☆☆☆☆ German 2026-03-22 · Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra · v16.1
Original
omg, die Email's werden nicht automatisch abgerufen , man muss die Synchronisation immer manuell starten. Wozu braucht man so eine Email app, die es nicht automatisch macht! Samsung S24
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
omg, emails are not fetched automatically, you always have to start sync manually. What's the point of an email app that doesn't do it automatically! Samsung S24
Dev reply · Dies könnte ein Problem mit der Nachrichtensynchronisierung sein, aber es könnte auch ein Problem mit den Akkueinstellungen sein. Kannst du sehen, ob das Problem weiterhin auftritt, wenn du in den Einstellungen deines Telefons > Apps > Thunderbird gehst und sicherstellst, dass es uneingeschränkten Zugriff auf den Akku hat?
K9 ★☆☆☆☆ English 2026-03-25 · Fairphone 4 · v17.0
bad sync no real reason to use, besides sending data to a third party...
Dev reply · We're sorry sync is still an issue, and this is one of our priorities to fix this year. There is a chance this could be related to battery permissions - K-9 needs unrestricted battery access to make regular syncing work!
TB ★☆☆☆☆ Portuguese 2026-03-29 · POCO F6 Pro · v16.1
Original
único problema é as notificações que demora para aparecer não integra em tempo real dos recebimentos dos e-mail, precisa melhorar.
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
The only problem is the notifications that take a long time to appear — it doesn't integrate in real time with incoming emails. Needs improvement.
Dev reply · Leia Definições > Obter ajuda > Definições > "Configurar push..." e active o push e as notificações em Gerir pastas > [pasta]. Active também as notificações em Definições > [conta] > Notificações > "Novo correio..." e as definições de notificação do seu telemóvel em Definições > Notificações > Mensagens. Desactive também a otimização da bateria
TB ★☆☆☆☆ English 2026-03-31 · Google Pixel 9 · v17.0
I keep not getting notifications of emails. I've read the documentation, enabled the push service etc. I'm a tech person, I've been using thunderbird for desktop for 20 years. If I can't easily make this app work, it's essentially unusable for most people.
Dev reply · Please read Settings > Getting Help > Settings > "Configure push..." and enable push and Notifications in Manage folders > [folder]. Also enable Settings > [account] > Notifications > "New mail.." and your phone's notification settings in Settings > Notifications > Messages. Please also turn off battery optimizing (we're working to simplify this!)
TB ★★☆☆☆ German 2026-03-02 · Samsung Galaxy S24 · v16.1
Original
Ist so leider nicht brauchbar. Die Einrichtung und die Übernahme der Passwörter und Kontoeinstellungen hat schnell und super per QR-Code funktioniert. Das war es aber leider auch schon. Die automatische Synchronisation funktioniert nicht, trotz aller Berechtigung und Einstellungen, die es nur gibt. Ebenfalls ist die Wischaktion unbrauchbar. Es geht nur das Wischen in eine Richtung, die andere Richtung geht dann nicht mehr. Da muss nachgearbeitet werden.
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
Unfortunately not usable like this. Setup and transfer of passwords and account settings worked quickly and brilliantly via QR code. But that's unfortunately where it ends. Automatic synchronization doesn't work despite every available permission and setting.
Dev reply · Wir arbeiten daran, die Synchronisierung von Nachrichten zu verbessern - können Sie bitte Ihre Batterieeinstellungen überprüfen, um sicherzustellen, dass Thunderbird uneingeschränkten Zugriff hat? Und überprüfen Sie bitte Einstellungen > Allgemeine Einstellungen > Interaktion > Wisch-Aktion, um sicherzustellen, dass beide Richtungen zugewiesen sind
TB ★★☆☆☆ Croatian 2026-03-03 · Samsung Galaxy A54 · v16.1
Original
Koristim Thunderbird desetljećima na desktop računalima. Ovdje na Androidu ne obavještava o pristiglim porukama, ne rade ni push notifikacije, treba ručno osvježavati. Sve je podešeno: pozadinski rad, sinkronizacija, obavijesti, postavke mapa -push obavijesti, optimizacija baterije - rad u pozadini. Sve je podešeno kako treba.
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
I've been using Thunderbird on desktop computers for decades. Here on Android it doesn't notify about incoming messages, push notifications don't work, you need to refresh manually. Everything is configured: background activity, synchronization, notifications, folder settings — push notifications, battery optimization — background activity.
Dev reply · Žao nam je što i dalje imate problema s push obavijestima i željeli bismo vam pomoći s detaljnijom dijagnostikom! Možete li, molimo vas, otvoriti upit za podršku za nas i našu zajednicu u Postavke > Potraži pomoć? Hvala!
TB ★★☆☆☆ Croatian* 2026-03-17 · Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 · v16.1
Original
Thunderbird desktop koristim preko 2 desetljeća. Veselio sam se mobilnoj verziji no nije na razini zadatka - osnovne funkcionalnosti ne rade: a) Sinkronizacija emailova i push obavijesti na Androidu ne rade b) U aplikaciji nije moguće dodati napredno formatirani potpis već samo plain tekst. Nažalost, trebati će potražiti drugo rješenje ako se ovo ne zakrpi. Koristim Xiaomi 14T EDIT: Nije pomoglo njiže napisano. Volio bih da se uz opis aplikacije navede i lista uređaja na kojima provjereno radi.
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
I've been using Thunderbird desktop for over 2 decades. I was looking forward to the mobile version but it's not up to the task — core features don't work: a) Email sync and push notifications on Android don't work b) It's not possible to add a properly formatted signature in the app, only plain text. Unfortunately.
Dev reply · Žao nam je što savjet nije pomogao! Na Xiaomi telefonima možda ćete također morati omogućiti 'Pozadinske podatke' i 'Neograničenu upotrebu mobilnih podataka' u Postavke > Aplikacije > Thunderbird. Ako ovo ne uspije, molimo vas da otvorite pitanje za nas i našu zajednicu u Postavke > Potraži pomoć. Hvala!
TB ★★☆☆☆ English 2026-03-20 · Samsung Galaxy S23+ · v16.1
It's a great unified inbox but the fastest time you can receive notifs after receiving an email is 15mins and it doesn't copy the promotions/social/etc folders like on Gmail where it auto dumps ad emails. mailbox widget only shows unified mailbox and doesn't have dark mode
Dev reply · Unfortunately Gmail's promotions/social/etc. folders are features only available in their apps. And while we're working on more widget options, you can go to Settings > Get Help > Email and Messaging > "Configure push" to learn how to set up instant notifications.
TB ★★☆☆☆ English 2026-03-30 · Samsung Galaxy A03s · v—
was great until, for months on end, it was suddenly completely unable to sync or send emails (all emails would indefinitely go to outbox regardless of connection, and i would never receive any new emails), rendering the app completely unusable. no fix i tried worked. it's great on desktop though.
Dev reply · Unfortunately messages being stuck in the trash may involve a silent error with our existing database. We are actively working on improving error messaging to let users know when the errors that cause these kinds of issues happen, which we hope to deliver later this year.
K9 ★★☆☆☆ Slovak 2026-03-31 · Samsung Galaxy A55 · v17.0
Original
mal som nastavene synchronizaciu schranky kazdu hodinu, doteraz fungovalo, teraz uz nefunguje, musim manualne synchronizovat schranky
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
I had my inbox synchronization set to every hour, it worked until now. Now it no longer works — I have to sync my inbox manually.
Dev reply · Děkujeme za nahlášení a omlouváme se, že synchronizace s dotazováním nefunguje! Rádi bychom to s vámi vyřešili podrobněji. Mohli byste pro nás a naši komunitu podpory otevřít dotaz na podporu v Nastavení > Získat nápovědu? Děkujeme!
TB ★★★☆☆ English 2026-03-05 · OnePlus 11 · v16.1
For unknown reasons notifications doesn't work. Any hints?
Dev reply · If using push, please read Settings > Getting Help > Settings > "Configure push..." and enable push and Notifications in Manage folders > [folder]. Also enable notifications under Settings > [account] > Notifications > "New mail.." and your phone's notification settings in Settings > Notifications > Messages. Please also turn off battery optimizing
TB ★★★☆☆ Italian 2026-03-05 · Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro · v16.1
Original
Ottima, idea, specialmente "open source" ma: la posta unificata non ha le funzionalità della "posta in arrivo" della versione desk ( la suddivisione degli account, intendo), le notifiche arrivano quando capita, e spesso mi trovo a districarmi nei doppioni delle mail ricevute, prodotto assai acerbo, ma nello stesso tempo molto importante in questo panorama, di clienti mail, anche a pagamento, ma di scarsa qualità, un 5 stelle mancato, per ora il più brutto progetto, della Mozilla foundation.
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
Great idea, especially being open source, but: the unified inbox doesn't have the features of the 'inbox' from the desktop version (I mean the per-account breakdown), notifications arrive randomly, and I often end up dealing with duplicate received emails. A very unfinished product.
Dev reply · Siamo spiacenti per i problemi con le notifiche e i messaggi duplicati, e i problemi di qualità della vita come questi sono la nostra massima priorità da risolvere. E per avere account divisi invece di una vista unificata, è possibile disattivare questa funzione in Impostazioni > Impostazioni generali > Visualizzazione!
TB ★★★☆☆ German 2026-03-20 · Huawei P40 · v16.1
Original
Kann mich der Rezension von Uwe, 2.3.26 nur anschließen, bei mir genauso, Einrichtung auf Handy geklappt, jedoch keine Synchronisation mit Laptop, warum weiß ich nicht?
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
I can only agree with Uwe's review from 2.3.26 — same situation for me: setup on the phone worked fine, but no synchronization with laptop — I don't know why.
Dev reply · Wir entschuldigen uns für alle Probleme! Die Verbesserung des QR-Supports ist eine unserer Prioritäten in diesem Jahr. Im Moment gehen Sie bitte zu Einstellungen > Hilfe holen > Installation... > "Einstellungen importieren...", um unseren Support-Artikel zu lesen, und versuchen Sie, Ihr Telefon weiter von Ihrem Computer zu entfernen!
TB ★★★☆☆ Italian 2026-03-23 · Samsung Galaxy M54 · v16.1
Original
Attivare le notifiche è risultato più complesso del dovuto/di quanto ci si aspetterebbe ed in ogni caso vi sono ritardi considerevoli tra la ricezione delle mail e l'arrivo delle notifiche
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
Setting up notifications turned out to be more complex than necessary / than one would expect, and in any case there are considerable delays between receiving the email and the notification arriving.
Dev reply · Sorry for any frustration with notifications! We're working on ways to make them easier to enable, as well as to reduce any delays. This might be caused by issues with message sync, which is a top priority to improve this year!
TB ★★★☆☆ German 2026-03-28 · Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra · v17.0
Original
Die App ist grundsätzlich super. Leider habe ich auf dem Galaxy S26 das Problem, dass sie sich, wenn die Push Verbindung im Hintergrund aktiv ist, sporadisch aufhängt. Das merke ich daran, dass der Akkuverbrauch steigt und keine Mails mehr synchronisiert werden können. Nur ein erzwungenes Beenden der App und ein Neustart lösen das Problem. Zudem würde ich mir wünschen, dass man die neuen Avatare in den Benachrichtigungen deaktivieren kann. Die vorherige Darstellung hat mir besser gefallen.
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
The app is fundamentally great. Unfortunately on the Galaxy S26 I have a problem where, when the push connection is active in the background, it occasionally hangs. I notice this because battery usage goes up and no more emails can be synced. Only a force-close fixes it. [Note: device code m1s = Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra — reviewer likely has a typo for S24/S25]
Dev reply · Danke, dass Sie dies gemeldet haben! Könntest du den Einfrierfehler unter github.com/thunderbird/thunderbird-android/issues für unser Bug Triage Team und unsere Entwickler melden? Und Sie können das Monogramm unter Einstellungen > [Konto] > Allgemeine Einstellungen wiederherstellen
TB ★★★☆☆ Italian 2026-03-29 · POCO F8 Ultra · v17.0
Original
per me non è un gran problema, cmq segnalo che io continuo a non ricevere nessuna notifica, anzi, non l'ho proprio mai ricevuta (poco F2 pro prima, F8 Ultra ora) e che con l'ultimo aggiornamento ora l'elenco degli account compare XX al posto delle iniziali del nome 🤷 ... e un'ultima cosa anche se di poco conto: l'animazione delle frecce di "sincronizza account", girano in senso opposto alla loro direzione!
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
For me it's not a big deal, but I'm reporting that I still receive no notifications at all — in fact I've never received a single one (POCO F2 Pro before, F8 Ultra now). Also, with the last update the account list now shows 'XX' instead of the name initials. And one more thing even if it's off-topic [review continues]
Dev reply · Leggere Impostazioni > Guida in linea > Impostazioni > "Configura push..." e abilitare push e notifiche in Gestione cartelle > [cartella]. Attivare anche Impostazioni > [account] > Notifiche > "Nuova posta..." e le impostazioni di notifica del telefono in Impostazioni > Notifiche > Messaggi. Disattivare anche l'ottimizzazione della batteria
TB ★★★★☆ Danish 2026-03-08 · Samsung Galaxy A35 · v16.1
Original
Enkel ,overskuelig app og super let opsætning når man som jeg har Thunderbird på PC - men jeg får ikke notifikationer ved indkomne mails og det synes ikke at være en indstillings mulighed (derfor kun 4 *)
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
Simple, clear app and super easy setup when you have Thunderbird on PC like I do — but I don't get notifications for incoming mail, and that doesn't seem to be a setting option (hence only 4★)
TB ★★★★☆ Italian 2026-03-10 · Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra · v16.1
Original
Ottima app, ho risolto tramite assistenza anche il problema delle notifiche push e ora sembra funzionare tutto in modo ottimale. Si possono importare i vari account dalla versione desktop senza troppi problemi e in modo veloce
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
Excellent app. I also resolved the push notification problem with support assistance, and now everything seems to be working optimally. You can import all your accounts from the desktop version without too much trouble and very quickly.
Dev reply · Grazie per aver aggiornato il tuo commento e siamo lieti che il consiglio sulle notifiche push sia stato utile!
TB ★★★★☆ English 2026-03-12 · Samsung Galaxy A16 5G · v16.1
Everything the Internet was supposed to be! Functional. Quick. Could be easier to use. Well documented. Configuring push could be easier, but figure it out and it works.
TB ★★★★☆ English 2026-03-17 · Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ · v16.1
Signatures do not synchronize and do not support HTML? Seems nice otherwise.
Dev reply · While we're working on HTML signatures for the Android app, unfortunately we don't yet have the ability to sync them from the desktop app. You can also request this feature at connect.mozilla.org, our official feedback site! Thanks for using the app and your review!
TB ★★★★☆ Portuguese 2026-03-20 · Samsung Galaxy A16 5G · v—
Original
Uso o Thunderbird no meu computador e ele funciona muito bem. Mas no celular ele possui bugs de sincronização e notificação. O app simplesmente parou de notificar e quase fui prejudicado por isso. Principalmente por causa do bug das notificações tive que desinstalá-lo.
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
I use Thunderbird on my computer and it works very well. But on mobile it has sync and notification bugs. The app simply stopped notifying me and I nearly suffered because of it. Mainly because of the notification bug I had to uninstall it.
K9 ★★★★☆ German 2026-03-25 · Fairphone 5 · v17.0
Original
Eigentlich ganz brauchbar, aber Ordnerverwaltung fehlt. Mit IMAP möchte ich auch meine Online Ordner verschieben, erstellen und löschen können, so dass sie dann auch synchronisiert werden. Das fehlt.
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
Actually quite usable, but folder management is missing. With IMAP I'd also like to be able to move, create and delete my online folders so they sync. That's what's missing.
TB ★★★★☆ German 2026-03-30 · Samsung Galaxy S24 · v17.0
Original
Die Android App ist leider nicht sinnvoll nutzbar. Einrichtung funktioniert zwar problemlos aber eine automatische Synchronisation ist nicht möglich, mit allen Berechtigungen und Thunderbird aus der Standby Routine entnommen. Es bringt mir wenig, jedes mal aktiv nach potenziellen Mails schauen zu müssen. So für mich leider nicht brauchbar. Schade, denn ich würde es gerne nutzen wollen. Edit: Nach den Vorschlägen zur Problemlösung funktioniert die Synchronisation.
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
The Android app is unfortunately not meaningfully usable. Setup works fine, but automatic synchronization is not possible even with all permissions granted and Thunderbird removed from the standby routine. It doesn't help much to have to actively check for new emails every time.
Dev reply · Wir freuen uns, dass die Anleitung funktioniert hat. Die Erstellung von Fehlermeldungen zur Behebung von Synchronisierungsproblemen wie diesem hat für uns hohe Priorität. Vielen Dank für die aktualisierte Bewertung!
TB ★★★★★ German 2026-03-10 · OnePlus Nord 3 · v16.1
Original
Ich verstehe nicht, warum die Thunderbird Mobile App aktuell nur 3,8 Sterne hat – für mich klar 5. Sehr nutzerfreundliches, übersichtliches Design und viele Konfigurationsmöglichkeiten. Meine Konten aus Thunderbird auf Windows konnte ich schnell und problemlos aufs Smartphone übertragen. Der gemeinsame Posteingang für alle Konten ist ebenfalls sehr praktisch. Einziger Wunsch: Push/Live-Synchronisation für alle Konten mit einem Klick aktivierbar machen statt einzeln.
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
I don't understand why the Thunderbird mobile app currently only has 3.8 stars — for me it's clearly a 5. Very user-friendly, clear design and lots of configuration options. I was able to quickly and easily transfer my accounts from Thunderbird on Windows to my smartphone. The unified inbox [review continues]
TB ★★★★★ Chinese (Simplified) 2026-03-23 · OnePlus Nord 4 · v16.1
Great app, but I have a question about proxy. I'm a user from China mainland, due to well known reason, I have to use a proxy when accessing Gmail. but here comes a problem that when the proxy disconnects, the app keeps notificating me that cannot access the gmail server. my suggestion is enable user to ignore some message like this for a while. thanks
K9 ★★★★★ English 2026-03-30 · Honor Magic5 Pro · v17.0
everything ok except push email are very slow. Update 01.04. Dev responded, thank you
Dev reply · We're so glad this advice worked, and thanks for the updated review and the five stars!
B

v17.0 — Notification management regression

5 reviews · new bug · avg 3.00★
3.00★
avg rating
5
reviews
5
negative 1–3★
TB 4
K-9 1
1
0
2
0
3
5
4
0
5
0

Bv17.0 notification management regression

These 5 reviews are a distinct bug from Problem A: notifications that won't clear after the email is read, emails reappearing on the notification slider after being dismissed, and mark-as-read not syncing to the notification shade. Users experiencing this may have push delivery working fine — the failure is in notification state management. Worth tracking separately from delivery failures, and already present in both v16.1 and v17.0.

TB ★★★☆☆ English 2026-03-02 · Motorola Edge 50 Pro · v16.1
DO NOT USE POP. any new mail, once opened is deleted to the trash bin. use IMAP. 2. Mail notifications is sketchy. worked for me once. then only sounds afterward. 3. Push does not work. in fact, once turned on as per instructions, no mail is ever checked. tried this for three hours. used my PC to fill up my 3 mailboxes with several new emails. 4. Sync is sketchy. it does not check till I pick up the phone and log in, and yes I leave the app active. once active on the phone 15 min sync works.
Dev reply · Thanks for providing your feedback, and we'll help in our reply as much as we can. You can't use sync and push on the same account, so you'll want to disable sync in a folder if you want to use push. Be sure the battery isn't restricted for the app, and double check the article at Settings > Get Help > Settings > "Enable push"
TB ★★★☆☆ English 2026-03-04 · Samsung Galaxy S24+ · v16.1
Almost great, but the one super annoying thing is having to confirm you want to delete an email from notification. It didn't use to be this way, but this extra step makes it a huge hassle to just delete emails you know you don't need from the notification.
Dev reply · Thanks for letting us know about this! We'll get this feedback to our mobile and design team about an option to delete without a confirmation. You can also suggest this as a feature at connect.mozilla.org, our official feedback website!
TB ★★★☆☆ English 2026-03-25 · Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra · v17.0
Since a recent update I can no longer delete some emails from my notifications slider, the emails appear deleted but then reappear on the slider! having that feature was the main reason I downloaded this in the first place. Hopefully this can be rectified soon as it is very annoying.
Dev reply · Thanks for reporting this, and unfortunately this is a recurring bug we're working on fixing. You can comment on this issue and follow our progress on fixing it here: https://github.com/thunderbird/thunderbird-android/issues/10731
K9 ★★★☆☆ Italian 2026-03-27 · Xiaomi 14T Pro · v—
Original
le notifiche non sono più cancellate una volta letti i messaggi ma si deve cancellarle una alla volta
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
Notifications are no longer cleared once messages have been read — you have to dismiss them one by one.
Dev reply · Grazie per averci segnalato questo problema, che potrebbe essere correlato a un problema che abbiamo riscontrato con i messaggi che non vengono eliminati nella visualizzazione dell'elenco dei messaggi anche quando sono stati eliminati nella visualizzazione dei messaggi. Stiamo lavorando per risolvere il problema e ci scusiamo per la frustrazione!
TB ★★★☆☆ Spanish 2026-03-28 · OnePlus 12 · v17.0
Original
A mejorado, pero la última versión no marca correos como leídos, y se quedan las notificaciones, incluso si oprimo "marcar como leído", persiste la notificación.
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
It has improved, but the latest version doesn't mark emails as read, and the notifications linger — even if I press 'mark as read', the notification persists.
Dev reply · Gracias por informarnos de este problema, que podría estar relacionado con un problema que tenemos con los mensajes que no se eliminan ni se marcan como leídos en la vista de lista de mensajes. Estamos investigando este problema y sentimos la frustración.
C

Poll interval & setup friction

8 reviews · UX gap, not a bug · avg 4.25★
4.25★
avg rating
8
reviews
2
negative 1–3★
TB 8
K-9 0
1
0
2
1
3
1
4
1
5
5

CPoll interval & setup friction

Not a bug — push works, or would work if discoverable. The friction is the 15-minute minimum poll interval and push configuration being buried. Several 2-3★ ratings are entirely caused by this. One 5★ reviewer asks why push isn't the default: "it would save you so much hassle and bad reviews." Problem C reviews are recoverable — these users aren't churning over a bug. An onboarding "set up notifications" prompt or making push the default flow would convert some of these to 4–5★.

TB ★★☆☆☆ English 2026-03-18 · — · v—
I can't wait 15 minutes for it to check mail. It will not accept my login passwords for my Google Account. Yet, I can login on my laptop with my Google Account. Any app that has this issue is not worth using. Sorry Mozilla, but Thunderbird is not user friendly. JMHO
Dev reply · Please check the Google support article at Settings > Get Help > Passwords and Sign In (some types of Google accounts need extra permissions) and the push notification article at Settings > Get Help > Setting. If these don't help, we'd love to troubleshoot! Press on the 'Ask the community' section on the main Get Help page!
TB ★★★☆☆ French 2026-03-03 · Google Pixel 8 · v16.1
Original
Problème de notifications qui n'apparaissent plus depuis la dernière mise à jour. Je ne parle pas des notifications push, mais bien du relevé occasionnel (toutes les 15 min). Cela fonctionnait très bien auparavant.
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
Notification problem — they no longer appear since the last update. I'm not talking about push notifications, but the regular polling (every 15 min). It used to work very well before.
Dev reply · Merci de nous l'avoir signalé, et nous travaillons à l'amélioration de la synchronisation des messages pour ces notifications. Pour l'instant, pouvez-vous vérifier les paramètres de batterie de l'application Thunderbird pour vous assurer qu'ils ne sont pas limités ?
TB ★★★★☆ English 2026-03-13 · tokay · v16.1
Please add folder poll frequency "Every 5 minutes"
TB ★★★★★ English 2026-03-01 · Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra · v16.1
So far so good, absolutely love this client..... But... Why do you not default push email which would save you so much hassle and bad reviews? I don't understand.... I love that you guys have released this.... I will be donating something to you guys. Thanks
TB ★★★★★ Polish 2026-03-02 · Motorola Moto G52 · v16.1
Original
hostuję własną domenę i korzystam z tej aplikacji. Nie używam powiadomień push tylko 15 min . Na chromeboku korzystam również z thunderbirda. Nie mam żadnych problemów. Poprostu działa. Dodane tylko jedno konto.
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
I host my own domain and use this app. I don't use push notifications, just the 15-min poll. I also use Thunderbird on my Chromebook. I have no problems. It just works. Only one account added.
TB ★★★★★ Russian 2026-03-11 · Samsung Galaxy S25 · v16.1
Notification settings a little bit hard to find :)
TB ★★★★★ French 2026-03-28 · Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra · v17.0
Original
Très bonne application. Contrairement à ce qui est dit, le push est configurable, mais avec une manipulation certes un peu complexe...
TRANSLATED machine-translated for analysis · click to hide
Very good application. Contrary to what is said, push is configurable, but with a process that is admittedly a bit complex…
TB ★★★★★ Greek 2026-03-29 · OnePlus 9 Pro · v—
Hi team. Recently, I downloaded the app, but I noticed that the incoming emails are updated every 15 minutes. Could you please reduce the time into 1 min? Also is there any notification for incoming emails? I made folders for better correspondence with clients. Still there is no notification for incoming email.

Recommendations & star rating math

What would it actually take to hit 4.0★?

TB March baseline: 3.87★ across 374 reviews. Goal: 4.0★. Deficit: 47 star-points.

Fix scenario Reviews affected New avg Δ Hits 4.0★?
COnboarding push default / 15-min UX fix 3 3.89★ +0.02 ✗
BFix v17.0 notification clear/delete bug 5 3.90★ +0.02 ✗
C + BBoth low-effort fixes 6 3.89★ +0.02 ✗
AFix push delivery — all Problem A → 4★ 18 3.97★ +0.10 ✗ close
AFix push delivery — all Problem A → 5★ (optimistic) 24 4.04★ +0.16 ✓
The uncomfortable truth: Fixing Problems B and C together moves the avg by +0.02★. The 4.0★ annual goal lives entirely inside Problem A. There is no UX shortcut — push delivery has to actually work.

Recommended actions, ordered by effort vs. impact

Action Effort Why
OEM-specific battery exemption steps in dev replies
Samsung: Adaptive Battery → Never sleeping. OnePlus: Battery → App freeze off. Different for each OEM. Current replies are generic and frequently don't solve the problem.
 LOW May unlock review updates from users who were replied to but never fixed. 31 negatives all received a reply — even a 10% conversion to 4★ is ~3 star-points.
Fix v17.0 notification clear / mark-as-read bug B
5 reviews all 3★, all about the same bug. Already tracked in GitHub issues. A patch release that fixes this would be worth asking those reviewers to update.
 MED Known regression, small blast radius, clear user expectation. Fast win once fixed.
Make push the default in account setup C
Reviewers explicitly ask for this. Minimal engineering — it's a default-on change, not a new feature. Won't recover existing bad reviews but prevents new ones.
 LOW Stops bleeding from Problem C going forward. Q1 pattern suggests these reviews will keep coming monthly until the default changes.
Fix push delivery on OEM battery-managed devices A
The actual engineering fix: keep-alive that survives Samsung One UI / OnePlus battery management. This is the only lever that gets to 4.0★. See: thunderbird-android issues.
 HIGH Only fix that moves avg past 4.0★. 26 TB reviews averaging 2.65★. Q1 trend is accelerating — deferring this costs ~8 additional negative reviews/month at current rate.

Analysis notes

Translation methodology

24 of the 47 reviews in this dataset are in languages other than English (German, Italian, French, Croatian, Portuguese, Spanish, Polish, Slovak, Danish). Each non-English review shows the original text with a TRANSLATED toggle below it. Translations are machine-generated (Claude) for analysis purposes only and are not claimed to be certified translations. Two reviews were labeled with the wrong language code by the Play Store (one Croatian review labeled English, one Greek-locale reviewer writing in English) — these are noted inline.