Thunderbird’s Android app, which is actually the reincarnation of the K-9 Mail project, is coming soon. You can check out a slightly early beta version that seems to be very robust for most users.
Thunderbird, maintained by MZLA, a subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation, acquired the source code and naming rights to K-9 Mail, as announced in June 2022. The group also brought K-9 maintainer Christian Ketterer (or “cketti”) to the project. Before being fully rebranded to Thunderbird, the original goals included importing Thunderbird’s automatic account settings, message filters, and mobile/desktop Thunderbird sync.
However, in late 2023, Ketterer wrote on the K-9 blog that the formal pre-Thunderbird Dam punch list of items was taking longer than expected. However, once fully released, Thunderbird for Android will also have these features. As such, beta testers are asked to check a specific list to see if it works, including automatic setup, folder management, and K-9 to Thunderbird transfer. Thunderbird’s blog post notes that the beta version does not “address long-standing issues.”
Starting Thunderbird for Android from the base of K-9 Mail makes a lot of sense. Thunderbird’s desktop client has lived a strange and disjointed life, but it’s only just beginning to regain a coherent vision of what it wants to offer. For a long time, K-9 Mail has been the Android mail of choice for people who don’t need Gmail or Outlook, don’t tolerate the default “Mail” app on Android systems that doesn’t benefit from Google, and just want to use email. It has been. Look at their messages.
