How to Fix Thunderbird Emails Not Displaying Correctly?
Users often complain that “Thunderbird email is not displaying correctly”. The issue may be related to illegible email content, formatting, image distortion, or even email headers not showing properly in the message page. Here are the troubleshooting steps to fix Thunderbird not showing message content correctly.
Why Thunderbird Email Content is Not Showing Properly?
Often, it is easily resolved upon a basic Thunderbird restart. However, in some cases, the message content does not show correctly issues may prevail for a long time on Thunderbird Mac & Windows. It can be due to:
- Use of the legacy Thunderbird version.
- Add-Ons interfering with Thunderbird email content.
- Modification in toolbar, view & appearance settings in Thunderbird.
- Worst-case scenario – due to profile or folder data corruption.
Due to this, you may find it difficult to access emails and even consider switching to another email application.
Resolution to Thunderbird Email Not Displaying Correctly Issues
Here we have listed the troubleshooting steps for both Mac & Windows. Follow these steps in the given order as they are listed based on the ease & common cause of the issue.
Method 1 – Launch Thunderbird in Troubleshoot Mode
Troubleshoot Mode lets you access Thunderbird without additional features & add-on that can be the reason for interference with UI.
Note: To access Thunderbird in safe mode, you can start the application by holding the Shift key. Or you can follow the steps below:
- Go to Menu (three lines on the top-right).
- Choose Help >> Troubleshoot Mode.
- Restart Thunderbird.
If the issue resolves in the Thunderbird Troubleshoot Mode, you can disable unnecessary add-ons to permanently fix the issue.
Go to Menu >> Add-Ons & Themes >> Extensions tab and toggle off unnecessary extensions.
Method 2 – Update Thunderbird to the Latest Version
If the Thunderbird installation on your computer is not up to date. It lets you fix vulnerabilities or bugs with older versions. Fixing Thunderbird to let you view properly.
- Open Mozilla Thunderbird on your computer.
- Click on Menu >> Help >> About Thunderbird. (Mozilla Thunderbird will automatically fetch the details about the availability of any update.)
- Click on Update & Restart Thunderbird.
Method 3 – Set Thunderbird to Original HTML View
Thunderbird gives you three modes to view emails with HTML formatting – Original, Simple, and Plain. It often gets reset to Plain after an update, which may lead users to think that Thunderbird is not displaying emails properly.
To resolve Thunderbird HTML email not displaying correctly, follow the steps below:
- Open Mozilla Thunderbird on Mac or Windows.
- Click on View (on the toolbar) >> Message Body As.
- Select Original HTML mode.
- Open emails inside Thunderbird message folders (Inbox, Sent, Draft, etc.) to check if the issue is resolved.
Method 4 – Restore Thunderbird Toolbar to Default
In rare cases, Thunderbird is not displaying correctly, extreme customization in Toolbar settings. Thunderbird stores UI layout, display controls, and some message-view settings together. Mirror corruption or overlap can break Thunderbird message formatting.
- From the Menu bar at the top, select View.
- Choose the Toolbar option >> Customize.
- Click on the Restore Default button on the bottom-left.
Method 5 – Repair Index if Thunderbird Email Not Displaying Correctly
Thunderbird inbox became blank and stopped showing email headers properly, even though the messages still existed and could be opened individually.
Repair Thunderbird index files.
- Select the Folder under which Thunderbird email content is not showing properly.
- Right-click and choose Properties.
- Click on the Repair Folder button.
Method 6 – Modify Thunderbird Appearance Settings
Using special fonts in Thunderbird can cause issues with interpreting HTML formatting.
- Click on the Menu icon & go to Settings.
- Open the General Tab.
- Type Language and Fonts in the search bar.
- Go to Advanced.
- Disable Allow messages to use other fonts.
When Thunderbird Email Display Issues Cannot Be Fixed
Thunderbird email not displaying correctly issues cannot be fixed if caused by corruption of profile data. In such cases, you must restore the last available Thunderbird backup.
If emails display correctly in webmail but appear improperly formatted in Thunderbird. In such cases, you can consider migrating Thunderbird to another email client like Outlook, Apple Mail, or Better Bird, etc. Get the 4n6 Thunderbird Migration Tool to move bulk Thunderbird emails to other email clients with attachments and folder hierarchy, in a secure offline way. Try out the free version of the tool today.
FAQs: Thunderbird Not Displaying Message Content Correctly
Q1: Is there any risk of data loss if I restore Thunderbird to default toolbar settings?
No, the setting only affects the UI of the tool while emails and other data are stored in the Thunderbird profile folder separately.
Q2: Can my antivirus be the cause of Thunderbird’s broken message formatting?
Yes, if your antivirus software isn’t updated, Thunderbird may not function correctly, leading to the issue.
Q3: Why are emojis or special characters showing as illegible text in Thunderbird email?
This happens due to a different encoding standard used by the sender.
