AOL Mail is the oldest email service, which is still working, but many are moving to Microsoft email service. Whether you are switching to Office 365 (Now Microsoft 365) or MS Outlook, this blog will provide you with ways to migrate AOL to Office 365 and Outlook.

Table of Contents
  1. What are the Reasons to Move from AOL to Outlook/Office 365?
  2. Pre-Migration Planning for Safe AOL to Office 365/Outlook Migration
  3. How to Add AOL Mail to Outlook Desktop Manually?
  4. Manually Migrate AOL to Office 365
  5. Limitations of Manual Methods
  6. Migrate AOL to Office 365 or Outlook with a Technical Tool
  7. Steps to Use Technical Tool for AOL to Office 365/Outlook Migration
  8. Conclusion

But why transfer to Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft 365 services? Below, I have mentioned common reasons users move their emails.

What are the Reasons to Move from AOL to Outlook/Office 365?

  • One of the main reasons is that Microsoft 365 provides enterprise-level security. This protects you from phishing and malware, and it offers data encryption and robust compliance tools that outperform AOL’s basic filters.
  • You can access Office 365 with full access where you will work with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc., instead of AOL standalone email and basic web tools.
  • AOL Mail server frequently faces server issues, whereas Microsoft makes sure that you have maximum availability with reliable cloud infrastructure.
  • In the Outlook desktop client, you can read, compose, and manage your emails, contacts, and calendars offline. However, AOL heavily relies on active web access.
  • With MS Outlook, you can add and manage multiple email accounts, including AOL email addresses from a single interface.

Pre-Migration Planning for Safe AOL to Office 365/Outlook Migration

Here are the preliminary tasks to undertake before you follow the migration process:

  • For the precise migration, you must have correct email addresses, passwords, IMAP settings, and permissions.
  • Navigate to Microsoft Admin Center and add users and assign licenses for your Office 365 users. Make sure to assign Microsoft 365 licenses to the user accounts.
  • Ensure that the destination Microsoft 365 contains the same mailbox as the existing AOL mailboxes with appropriate licensing.
  • Before you transfer, check the storage availability of your Outlook mailbox. There must be enough space to save all the AOL emails.
  • Review your current AOL mailbox that you are migrating. Remove any duplicates and unnecessary items so you can only move important messages.
  • Make sure you take an AOL email backup to keep your messages safe during the procedure.

After following these steps, you can now start transferring your AOL emails.

How to Add AOL Mail to Outlook Desktop Manually?

First, let’s see how you can configure your AOL email account in Outlook and move your emails. For this, you must enable the IMAP protocol.

  1. First, create an AOL app password to securely configure to MS Outlook.
  2. Log in to the AOL Security Page in your web browser.
  3. Find and click Generate app password or Manage app password.
  4. Select Outlook desktop and click Generate. Copy the password and keep it safe.
  5. Now, you are ready to sync your AOL account. If you are using Classic Outlook, follow these steps.
  6. Click the File button, then select Add Account under the Info tab.
  7. For New Outlook for Windows, go to Settings (gear icon at the top right corner).
  8. Click Accounts and then Email accounts. Select the Add Account option.
  9. Add your full AOL email address, then click Connect or Continue.
  10. Paste your generated AOL app password, then click Connect or Done.
  11. After the AOL account successfully syncs with MS Outlook, you can move your emails by drag and drop from the AOL-configured folder to the Outlook main folder.

If Outlook asks for manual setup, provide AOL IMAP settings, then sync your account.

  • Incoming Mail Settings: imap.aol.com
  • Port: 993
  • Outgoing Mail Settings: smtp.aol.com
  • Port: 465 or 587

Manually Migrate AOL to Office 365

To move from AOL Mail to Microsoft 365, there is a native migration tool that you can use. But for this, you first need to prepare a migration mapping file and your AOL account. Then, follow the steps below.

  1. Go to Microsoft 365 and log in to Admin Center with administrator credentials.
  2. In the Admin Center, click Exchange to open the Exchange Admin Center.
  3. Go to Migration in the EAC menu and click Add migration batch.
  4. Provide a name and then select Migration to Exchange Online as the type.
  5. Choose IMAP migration as your migration type. Press Next.
  6. Click the Next button on the Prerequisites page. Select Create a new migration endpoint under Select a migration source.
  7. Provide AOL IMAP server settings. Hit the Next button and upload your migration mapping file.
  8. Follow the instructions and then start the batch automatically or manually later. Hit Save.

To create the migration mapping file, run Excel or Notepad and make three header columns: EmailAddress, UserName, and Password. Add the information and save the file in CSV format.

Limitations of Manual Methods

The manual ways that I have explained above are free and can transfer your emails. But some of you may face issues as well.

  • When you are migrating from AOL Mail to Outlook, you have to first configure your AOL account and then move the email messages. The complete process is time-consuming.
  • Several syncing problems arise if you provide incorrect details or you miss a step.
  • To migrate to Microsoft 365, you must have proper administrative permissions and credentials. So, this method is not for an employee who only wants to transfer their emails.
  • There is a risk of losing your emails during the syncing.

Therefore, the manual option is not a secure option for you to transfer your emails. That’s why many professionals use technical tools such as this.

Migrate AOL to Office 365 or Outlook with a Technical Tool

For a direct option, SysTools IMAP Migration Software is great for transferring AOL emails to both Microsoft 365 and Outlook. With this, the bulk migration is much easier and more secure. If you want to move specific emails, it provides you with a date filter option. Many professionals prefer this tool over the manual method due to the user-friendly interface and fewer steps than the manual method. The software comes with a free demo, which you can download in your Windows or macOS, and see how the software works.

Steps to Use Technical Tool for AOL to Office 365/Outlook Migration

  1. Start by selecting IMAP as the source and destination.
    select source and destination option
  2. Go to the Source tab, choose the AOL option from the list of source IMAP. Click Validate.
    choose aol as source
  3. Select Microsoft 365/Outlook in the destination IMAP server list. Click the Validate button.
    select office 365 or outlook destination
  4. Then, download the template. Enter source and destination email IDs and manually import it.
    add source and destination ids
  5. After that, click the Start Migration button.
    start migration

Conclusion

Here are the ways to migrate AOL to Office 365 and Outlook. From the blog, you can see the process is different, but the method is the same, which is IMAP migration. Apart from that, I also mentioned a pre-migration checklist, which is important for your migration. Don’t forget to read it first and then follow the steps of both the manual and professional methods properly.