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Thunderbird Release Channel Update

18 responses

The monthly Release channel is ready to help you move from annual to monthly updates in Thunderbird. This update lets you know how to switch from the annual update (ESR) to monthly updates (Release), why you might have to wait, and what features you’ll get first!

How do I switch from annual to monthly updates (ESR to Release)?

Right now, you can switch to the Release channel through manual installs only from the Thunderbird website Downloads page.  Other installation sources will have the Release version in the future such as Windows Store,  3rd-party sites and various Linux packages such as Snap and Flatpak.  

If you use Add-ons, however, we recommend checking if your installed Add-ons work in the Release channel with versions 136.0 or higher.

First, back up your profile data, as you should always do before making major changes. And check that your computer meets the System Requirements for version 136.  Then go to the Downloads page of the website. If Release Channel does not show “Thunderbird Release” then correct it. Click the ‘Download’ button. For Windows and macOS, run the downloaded file to install the monthly release into the same directory where the ESR is currently installed. (If you have installed Thunderbird ESR into a directory that is different from the default location, then you must do a custom installation to that directory.)  For Linux, consult the Linux installation knowledge base (KB) article.  

I switched to Release but I want to switch back to ESR. How do I do this?

If you switched to Release but want to switch back, for example, because of Add-ons, follow the steps below. Please note, this is valid for the current Release and ESR channels, and we will update here in the event of an underlying database change in ESR that would not make this possible:

What’s new in 136.0?

Now that you know how to make the switch, here’s some reasons to make the change. Here are some of the key features you’ll get as soon as you upgrade to the Release channel:

Improved Dark Reader

Enable dark reader for the message pane with `mail.dark-reader.enabled` preference

Improved Dark Mode

Messages are automatically adapted to dark mode with a quick toggle in the header

A Global Switch for Threading

New “Appearance” Settings UI to globally control message threading/sorting order

Filters in the Folder Pane

Message filters are now available in the Folder Pane context menu

Horizontal Threadpane Scrolling

Enable horizontal threadpane scrolling with `mail.threadpane.table.horizontal_scroll` preference

Improved Calendar Setup Wizard

Added checkbox to select/unselect all calendars in the calendar setup wizard

See all the changes in our Release Notes.

18 responses

Mark m wrote on

I’m guessing this is for the desktop version. Is thier anything similar for the android version? Thanks

Monica Ayhens-Madon wrote on

Yes there is! Here’s the link to our latest Android Progress Report, which comes out (mostly) every month! https://blog.thunderbird.net/2025/03/thunderbird-for-android-january-february-2025-progress-report/

Bruno G. wrote on

Be aware that several add-ons are not yet compatible with TB 136.

Monica Ayhens-Madon wrote on

Thanks for bringing that up, and we are aware that legacy add-ons aren’t yet compatible. This database is the best place to track which add-ons are compatible with which versions of Thunderbird: https://thunderbird.github.io/add-on-reports/atn-tb128.html

Jan wrote on

The option to switch should be in the application settings. Reinstalling the application can be a bit of a gamble.

Monica Ayhens-Madon wrote on

Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll try to point Wayne, our community and release manager, to this comment – he’s better able to talk about technical issues and if this would be possible.

Dave wrote on

Where is comparable info for the ESRs? Release notes, system requirements, etc. And, for both ESR and monthly, is there a single page (perhaps for each of those) that I can go to to readily access downloads and release note for each release (present and past)?

Thanks,
– Dave

Monica Ayhens-Madon wrote on

We’re working on making it easier to get to system requirements and release notes when you change the channel options for the Downloads page (https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/all/), which seems similar to part of what you’re asking here. And at the bottom of the current release notes, we have a link to release notes for all previous versions: https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/releases/

Peter Beurle wrote on

I tried this on a Windows MSI installation and it appeared to install it in parallel. The installer prompted me to put all the account details in etc. I was expecting it to do an in-place upgrade.

Monica Ayhens-Madon wrote on

Thanks for reporting this here. We’ll let our release team know about this, but you can also report this at https://bugzilla.mozilla.org

Michele Barbi wrote on

Hi guys, I don’t know if this is the right place to comment but I’ll try.
I recently passed to release channel and so I am running version 136. Nevertheless, when a new message arrives, system notification is still labeled as Mozilla Thunderbird ESR. Quite strange, isn’t it?
Bye!
Barbuz

Monica Ayhens-Madon wrote on

Thanks for commenting here. We’ll let our release team know about this – and you can also report things like this at https://bugzilla.mozilla.org

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Mick Krippendorf wrote on

Since the update to 136.0 I have a new tray icon that I don’t want. In my case the icon is a black blob on a dark gray background. I wasn’t able to find a way to disable this. If anybody knows how, your help would be much appreciated.

I’m using Solus Linux Budgie, BTW.

Monica Ayhens-Madon wrote on

Thank you for bringing this up. The best place to report this would be on Bugzilla but we will also bring this up to the team.

Monica Ayhens-Madon wrote on

We’re sorry for any frustrations with the Linux tray icon as we work to improve it. We have a meta bug on Bugzilla where you can follow the progress on fixing your issues and others related to it: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1942125

Tobias Ausländer wrote on

Hi, now my TB got upgraded to 136. And as a result many of my essential add-ons stopped functioning, like TbSync, Quicktext, Provider für Exchange Active Sync, ImportExportTools NG and some more…

Any suggestions how I can get them back working?

regards,
Tobias

Monica Ayhens-Madon wrote on

We just updated the blog with instructions on how to safely downgrade from 136.0 back to 128. Unfortunately many legacy add-ons, such as the ones you use, don’t work in the Release channel. We’ve also provided a link to an Add-on database that shows what versions of Thunderbird each active Add-on is compatible with. Sorry for the frustration, and we hope the instructions make switching back as easy as possible.

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