This appears to be a known issue, where some servers don't support the minimum TLS version requested by this new version of Thunderbird. See https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1295861 for details. TLDR: in the configuration editor, change "security.tls.version.min" to "2".
** Changed in: thunderbird (Ubuntu) Status: New => Invalid -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to thunderbird in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1917341 Title: Thunderbird 78.1 cannot send mail Status in thunderbird package in Ubuntu: Invalid Bug description: I ran update-manager on28 Feb 2020 and rebooted my laptop. Since then I am unable to send mail. Another machine that is still running Thunderbird 68.10 has no problems with exactly the same server settings. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 20.04 Package: thunderbird 1:78.7.1+build1-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 5.4.0-66.74-generic 5.4.86 Uname: Linux 5.4.0-66-generic x86_64 ApportVersion: 2.20.11-0ubuntu27.16 Architecture: amd64 BuildID: 20210203182138 CasperMD5CheckResult: skip CurrentDesktop: XFCE Date: Mon Mar 1 17:40:31 2021 DefaultProfileExtensions: extensions.sqlite corrupt or missing DefaultProfileIncompatibleExtensions: Unavailable (corrupt or non-existant compatibility.ini or extensions.sqlite) DefaultProfileLocales: extensions.sqlite corrupt or missing DefaultProfilePrefErrors: Unexpected character ',' before close parenthesis @ /usr/lib/thunderbird/omni.ja:greprefs.js:732 DefaultProfileThemes: extensions.sqlite corrupt or missing InstallationDate: Installed on 2018-02-09 (1116 days ago) InstallationMedia: Xubuntu 16.04.1 LTS "Xenial Xerus" - Release amd64 (20160719) Profiles: Profile1 (Default) - LastVersion=None/None (Out of date) Profile0 - LastVersion=78.7.1/20210203182138 (In use) SourcePackage: thunderbird UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to focal on 2020-10-09 (143 days ago) To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/thunderbird/+bug/1917341/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages Post to : desktop-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp