How to Transfer CenturyLink Email to Gmail? Free and Fast

If you are here with a query on how to transfer CenturyLink email to Gmail? Then stop worrying. I have helped countless users in making the switch and will help you as well.

CenturyLink is an ISP-led email service, and that’s why it has many limitations. Let us see what they are.

Why CenturyLink Mail is Inferior to Gmail?

Many people want to transfer their CenturyLink email to Gmail because of the lack of storage. By default, you are restricted to just 700 MB of space. Although you can expand the storage, you must pay for it.
On the other hand, Gmail, even in its free tier, has 15 GB capacity.

Storage is the only parameter where Gmail outshines. With Gmail, you have state-of-the-art spam filters so your inbox remains pristine. CenturyLink has a lacklustre filtering system, allowing many spammy emails to enter and pollute your inbox.

Also Read: Gmail vs Zoho Comparison Chart

The secondary feature you get with a Gmail account, like 60-plus Google apps and features, is far superior to anything you find on CenturyLink.

This is just a tiny glimpse of what Gmail offers you. So, change the service providers, follow the procedures explained below.

Forward CenturyLink Email to Gmail

Step 1. Sign in to your CenturyLink webmail profile.

Step 2. Open any email.

Step 3. Click on the Forward arrow icon.

Step 4. Inside the new email draft, mention your @gmail.com address in the “To” field.

Step 5. Press Send.

Repeat for every other email you also want in your Gmail account.

There is a way to automate this forwarding for every new email that arrives in your CenturyLink address from here on now. However, to enable this, you must have a premium-tier CenturyLink account. The basic tier doesn’t have it. The change was made a few years back.

Gmail’s Email Import Setting Method

If you wish to learn about a direct way of how to transfer CenturyLink email to Gmail, then you should see the steps below.

Step 1. Log in to your Gmail account

Step 2. Tap on the settings cog at the top right and select See all settings.

Step 3. On the Settings page, switch to the Accounts and Import tab.

Step 4. Click on Import mail and contacts, and from here, follow the on-screen instructions.

Check Out: How to Transfer Mail.ru Emails to Gmail for Free?

Use any Desktop Client and Move CenturyLink to Gmail

You can choose your favorite email client, Outlook, Thunderbird, or any other that you use. The steps are as follows:
Step 1. First, set up both your CenturyLink and Gmail accounts on the same email client.

Step 2. Then open another instance of the same client and arrange both of them in such a manner that they appear side by side on your screen.

Step 3. Now select all of the emails from your CenturyLink email, hold your cursor, move them across to the second instance where the Gmail account is present, and release the emails.

Step 4. Do this as many times as required to complete the transfer of CenturyLink email to Gmail.

The methods I have described up until now each have some major limitations, which is why people don’t use them. If you wish to know the reasons for yourself, check out the section below.

Problems With Manual Migration Methods

You only get to transfer data between two accounts at a time. If you possess multiple accounts (which CenturyLink allows for its subscribers), you have to repeat the entire process.

If you forward emails, the metadata present in the emails is altered permanently. If that’s something important for you, dont use forwarding as your email transfer route.

Gmail’s internal account pull mechanism only works if you switch your CenturyLink email to POP3. Although it is possible to change the sheer time and effort involved to first switch a protocol, and perform a manual migration is too much for regular users. So this method is also not ideal for the vast majority.

The email client method has a major issue that it is difficult to track what data has been moved and what remains. So you may end up missing important emails or bringing in unwanted data.

Don’t worry, we have a foolproof method that not only addresses these issues but also provides a boatload of features. So let’s see what it is.

How to Transfer CenturyLink Email to Gmail Professionally?

Use SysTools IMAP to IMAP Migration Software and push all CenturyLink mail to Gmail. This tool is incredibly user-friendly and does not require any special training whatsoever. Moreover, with the demo, you can migrate up to 100 emails for free.

 

You get lots of useful features like the ability to set the exact time span from where to move the emails and multi-account migration. Not only that, but this tool has a special Delta Migration feature, which can detect all the newly arrived data and just move those emails after you complete an initial migration run.

It supports all 16 variations of a CenturyLink email address domain. Next up, I will tell you how to use the tool.

Steps to Use The Tool For CenturyLink to Gmail Migration

Step 1. Load the tool on your PC. The IMAP endpoints are preset, and so is the email workload; there’s no need to change anything. Just apply the date filter if you feel the need for it and press Next.

Step 2. On the Source Screen, toggle the dropdown and select Others. Then, in the IMAP server URL field, put mail.centurylink.net, and next to it, add 993 as the port number. Validate and hit Next.

Step 3. Likewise, on the destination screen, you also need to select an IMAP. Here, pick Gmail (it should be the first option in the list). The tool will fill in the IMAP Server URL and port number on its own. Validate and Hit Next.

Step 4. On the User Mapping Screen, you need to download the CSV template, add the user account credentials to it, and reupload it back on the tool.

Step 5. View the user list in the tool’s UI, mark the check box, and prioritize. Then, Validate and Start Migration.

Conclusion

Here I told you how to transfer CenturyLink email to Gmail in a variety of ways. You can forward your emails, take help of email clients, or use Gmail’s in built import facility to conduct the switch. However, each of these methods brings some drawbacks that I have already told you in this text. To avoid all those problems, I suggest you use the automated utility I have provided. It will help you transition with the least amount of effort.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Do I get to keep my CenturyLink email when I ditch the ISP?

No, CenturyLink revokes account accessibility as soon as you end the service. Moreover, after a set amount of time (depending on the local compliance laws), all of your emails will be purged.

Q. Why can’t I see the emails I forward from my CenturyLink account to Gmail?

It happens when Gmail treats your CenturyLink account as possible spam and puts its data in the spam folder. To make sure it doesn’t happen again, add the CenturyLink address to your Google contacts, and also add it to the trusted sender list.

Q. Can I move multiple CenturyLink accounts to a single Gmail ID?

Yes, you can, considering that the total storage capacity of a free Gmail account is 20 times the storage that you get with a CenturyLink account. If you use the tool, you can do so pretty easily by running it multiple times.