Thunderbird just rolled out version 143.0 of its popular desktop email client, bringing a wave of important fixes for Windows, macOS, and Linux users. This update doesn’t add flashy new features, but it does tackle a variety of frustrating bugs that were hitting everyday users.
One of the more critical fixes addresses an issue where web pages with bad certificates were simply showing as blank instead of displaying a warning. Another major problem involved Gmail. You see, users trying to send through smtp-relay.gmail.com were blocked, but that problem is now resolved. For anyone who relies on Thunderbird for Google-based mail, that’s a relief.
The update also fixes some annoying quirks with drafts. Switching draft folders back and forth wasn’t restoring properly, and saving a new draft sometimes left behind outdated versions. Thunderbird 143.0 straightens that out. Likewise, attachment handling on certain IMAP servers is now fixed so deleting or detaching files won’t leave you stuck.
Mac users will notice improvements too. The shortcut Cmd+Shift+F once triggered message search but had stopped working. Now it’s back in action! Global search also works better, as arrow key selection no longer skips results. For Linux and Windows users, long-standing menu and notification issues have been cleaned up, such as hidden menu bars after ESR upgrades and Windows notifications not bringing Thunderbird to the front when clicked.
Crashes were another sore spot that this release addresses. Thunderbird 143.0 fixes startup crashes, import crashes, and even hangs when adding accounts. Those stability improvements alone make this update worth grabbing.
On top of all that, there are small but welcome quality-of-life fixes: proper warnings for missing OpenPGP alias rule files, corrected keyboard accelerators, improved visual polish, and general security fixes that should help keep accounts safer.
Thunderbird 143.0 is available now for Windows 10 or later, macOS 10.15 or later, and Linux systems with GTK+ 3.14 or higher. If you’ve been running into any of the issues above, updating should make your experience a lot smoother.
