Thunderbird is extremely slow with new UI update 128.3.tesr

[Sheldon]

First....  I love the over interface and functionality of Thuderbird...... However, there is extreme latency and delays with almost all activity ..... Composing /typing emails, doing bulk (delete) transactions, etc.  I am currently using Thunderbird update 128.3.tesr.

I would imagine that there are background processes that are causing these ongoing delays.  

PLEASE ADDRESS THIS ISSUE ASAP.... It is most critical for the success of Thuderbird!

Thanks, in advance, for you attension to this problem/issue!

Sheldon 

[ChrisTG74]

The same here. Since the last update TB seems to lag for no reason and especially deleting mails sometimes take ages with freezing of the main-window here on Windows 10.

[jaydear]

Me too! I'm now on 128.5.2esr and TB's speed not getting better. TB seems to get stuck on the "Checking feeds for new items..." process that happens before it starts downloading - both processes are slow. I minimize the amount I download by using MailWasher to delete junk and spam emails. Mailwasher's listing and deleting is mega-super-fast! I've tried changing TB's sorting order from "date" to "order received and back" as suggested in another posting, but there is no improvement. TB was very fast and nice to use before this new epoch started and I sincerely hope that the devs will be able to untie the knots that are choking it now as a priority. When this is fixed I'll be turning off auto-updates!

Win 11 Pro, 32GB ram, ASUS gaming PC, POP3 only

[utopism]

Same here deleting a message stalls for 30 seconds or more, I have 128.6.0esr under Linux.

[Jean-Baptiste]

Same here on 128.7.0esr. Checking a mail account takes 15 seconds. Carrying out the same task with a different e-mail client takes less than one second.
After four month since the problem has been first reported, I am somewhat surprised about the delay in addressing the problem.

[jaydear]

I have solved this for my situation by changing Windows' security settings to NOT scan the TB message logs every time I send or retrieve mail. There is a big post about this somewhere in the Mozilla system, but I can't find it again. Surely something must have changed in TB to cause the huge security-related slowdown because it seems it is affecting TB users on other OS's too. I have tried logging in to find the post I made, but I can't find anything of mine. It is so frustrating and time wasting <sigh>. We are drowning in a sea of information and killing the planet by using so much energy to run countless billions of servers that hide everything.

[s_beecher]

I would love it if you could tell us where exactly to change that setting in Windows. I'm not having issues with Thunderbird except that it is now taking up to 40 seconds to send every single email, which as you know is very annoying.

[jaydear]

You need to edit your security settings to exclude the folder/s that contain your email messages. In Win 11 go to Start, Windows Security, Virus & Threat Protection settings, Exclusions, Add or Remove Exclusions and you will see the UAC window (Do you want to allow etc.). Click Yes. You will now see exceptions that programs may have put there or it might be empty. In any case you need to add an exclusion. Click "folder" then enter the following line:
C:\Users\your user name\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles 
That should now appear in the list of exceptions and indicate that it is a folder. MS Defender will not scan your emails any more and sending /receiving emails should be lightning fast again. You might need to reboot Windows to enable the change. It worked for me and others. I hope this helps you.
If you're using Win 10 the process is similar, but I don't have Win 10 any more so I can't give you the specifics.

[dsooley]

I am on 128.8.0esr (64-bit) on a Windows 11 machine and the search in sent mail is slow and incomplete. If I login to my Google in a browser the search is instant and has depth?

[jaydear]

Try this: Edit your security settings to exclude the folder/s that contain your email messages. In Win 11 go to Start, Windows Security, Virus & Threat Protection settings, Exclusions, Add or Remove Exclusions and you will see the UAC window (Do you want to allow etc.). Click Yes. You will now see other exclusions that programs may have put there or it might be empty. In any case you need to add an exclusion. Click "folder" then enter the following line:
C:\Users\your user name\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles 
That should now appear in the list of exceptions and indicate that it is a folder. MS Defender will not scan your emails any more and sending /receiving emails should be lightning fast again. You might need to reboot Windows to enable the change. It worked for me and others. Please reply if it helped you.

[dsooley]

Yes, this seems to have helped. Thanks!!!

[jaydear]

My pleasure. Thanks for letting me know 😁

[emilycestmoi]

Also having this issue but on MacOS. I have used Thunderbird for a decade and have had no issues with performance until the 128 update. Lots of hanging, lots of restarts, etc. Has anyone downgraded to an earlier version? For the first time in a decade I'm considering looking for another email client.

[utopism]

Hi, I have not considered downgrading, because I use the buggy version to exchange diagnostic information with the developers. On my side I have no un-sollicited restarts, only hanging when viewing a message or sending calendar postpones.