Thunderbird 102.7.0 requires manual updating due to a bug

Martin Brinkmann
Jan 20, 2023
Thunderbird
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The Thunderbird team has released Thunderbird 102.7.0 to the public. The new version of the open source email and messaging client is not available as an automatic update, but only as a manual update.

thunderbird 102.7.0

The only exception is Thunderbird for Ubuntu Linux, which has been distributed as a snap already.

Reason for that is a bug that affects OAuth2 authentication for Microsoft 365 Enterprise accounts.

The team plans to release a fix for the issue in Thunderbird 102.7.1 and distribute that version automatically again to all installations of the email client. The fix is in testing already internally.

Thunderbird and OAuth2 authentication

Thunderbird 102.7.0 is the first version of the email client that handles OAuth2 authentication for Microsoft accounts differently. The team had to make the change, according to a blog post on the official Thunderbird website, to meet Microsoft's publisher verification requirements.

The project switched to a new Azure application and ID. Some users who use Thunderbird may receive a notification prompt on first run of Thunderbird 102.7.0 that prompts for administrative approval.

If that is the case, an IT administrator needs to approve the client. The team provides the following information on the procedure:

"If you encounter a screen saying “Need admin approval” during the login process, please contact your IT administrators to approve the client ID 9e5f94bc-e8a4-4e73-b8be-63364c29d753 for Mozilla Thunderbird (it previously appeared to non-admins as “Mzla Technologies Corporation”).

We request the following permissions:

IMAP.AccessAsUser.All (Read and write access to mailboxes via IMAP.)
POP.AccessAsUser.All (Read and write access to mailboxes via POP.)
SMTP.Send (Send emails from mailboxes using SMTP AUTH.)
offline_access"

Thunderbird users who are affected by the issue may install Thunderbird 102.6.1 again until the fixed version is released. Progress can be followed here.

Other changes in Thunderbird 102.7.0

Thunderbird 102.7.0 is a security update, but the notes have not been published yet.

The Enterprise policies support Thunderbird-specific preferences now.

The release includes a number of fixes:

  • MSF files loss experienced if too many folders were open at startup.
  • Windows 7 users sometimes received the error "Another operation is using the folder" when copying emails between local folders.
  • Email address pill accepted incorrectly formatted email addresses.
  • Uppercase letters in the hostname prevented security exceptions for messages sent using a self-signed certificate.
  • S/MIME certificate verification "was prohibitively slow".
  • OpenPGP key import failed if the key block had comments with Unicode characters.
  • The scrollbar was unusable in the chat conversation sidebar under certain circumstances.
  • Deleting events from the Today Pane using the Backspace-key on Mac deleted the selected message instead.
  • Changes to localized builds and langpacks, which now use the "comm-l10n" repository.

The full release notes are available here.

Thunderbird users may update the client manually by selecting Menu > Help > About Thunderbird.

Now You: will you install Thunderbird 102.7.0 or wait for the fix?

Summary
Thunderbird 102.7.0 requires manual updating due to a bug
Article Name
Thunderbird 102.7.0 requires manual updating due to a bug
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Thunderbird 102.7.0 is a manual update for the email client that improves security and makes an important change to OAuth2 authentication.
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Comments

  1. yves said on January 29, 2023 at 10:57 am
    Reply

    Hello,
    The version 102.7.0 does not correct the spelling neither during the typing nor before sending a message managed in 102.6.1.
    I have updated to version 102.6.1
    however in this version there is still a bug
    In the box of sending is written “Close” there should be “Send”.
    thank you for rectifying this box
    Sincerely

  2. Marti Martz said on January 20, 2023 at 6:34 pm
    Reply

    I stopped using snap whenever possible _(this includes Thunderbird)_ as there are way too many issues with the “walled-garden” approach that it has.

    So good to know that there’s an upcoming work to do on most remotes. Thanks Martin.

  3. Anonymous said on January 20, 2023 at 7:17 am
    Reply

    Thunderbird is full of bugs. It loses mail and it loses drafts. Having to install manually doesn;t rate a mention!

    1. m3 said on February 1, 2023 at 8:15 pm
      Reply

      Same, TB has performed perfectly for me for the last ten years or so.

    2. Rb said on January 23, 2023 at 2:18 pm
      Reply

      > Thunderbird is full of bugs. <

      Not true in my experience. For example, one of my clients runs a UK wide company using just 3 PCs in small office. Each PC handles hundreds of emails a day, many with multiple large PDF attachments etc. Thunderbird has performed rock solid for 5 years, with no major issues or bugs. BTW. The 'losing draft emails' issue usually only happens when a folder within Thunderbird gets too large or requires a folder' repair'. All desktop email clients, including Outlook, face such issues when mailbox limits are exceeded.

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