Thunderbird 145: Native Microsoft Exchange Support Makes Outlook Migration Easy!

Thunderbird has released version 145.0, introducing full, native support for Microsoft Exchange email through the Exchange Web Services (EWS) protocol. The Microsoft Exchange protocol is widely used in enterprise environments, including Microsoft 365 and Office 365, and with native support users can enjoy seamless email synchronization and folder management across both local and server environments.

Migration from Outlook to Thunderbird has become far more effortless, as the new version can automatically detect and configure accounts using Microsoft’s OAuth2 authentication protocol. According to The Mozilla Foundation’s open-source email client Thunderbird, the update aims to simplify life for users who depend on Exchange for email but prefer Thunderbird as their client.

The Thunderbird team plans to add future capabilities such as calendar synchronization, address book and contact integration, and additional authentication and integration features, though the timeline for these remains uncertain. The announcement notes that Exchange Web Services remains widely used and that Microsoft has committed to supporting it for the foreseeable future, even as Graph becomes the primary interface for connecting with Microsoft 365.