How to Migrate Emails from Google Workspace to IMAP?

Migrating your Google Workspace to any IMAP-enabled account is not a difficult job. There are several manual and professional methods that can move your mailbox. In this blog, I am going to explain all the ways to migrate Google Workspace to IMAP accounts, including manual and technical tools. I will also discuss tips to make the process easier.

Google Workspace is a cloud productivity suite that provides various tools like Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, etc. These products help the business enhance productivity, communication, and collaboration. So, why are users switching to other email accounts?

Why Are Users Moving from Google Workspace to IMAP Accounts?

The reasons for switching accounts can be a person’s preferences or business scenarios. Some of the common factors are.

• Those who are using Google Workspace now find it costly to use, and they will find a dedicated IMAP mail server much cheaper. So, to cut costs, they are switching to another server.
• For data privacy and control over infrastructure, a self-hosted server is great for them. There are several private servers that support IMAP and can migrate their mailbox from Google Workspace.
• Google eliminated less secure apps and basic password configuration. Some older and proprietary corporate software does not support modern OAuth. Also, Google has strict daily data sync limitations. To avoid all these security issues, they move to a different IMAP server.
• It is the person’s preference that they no longer want to use Google or use its alternative productivity apps like Microsoft 365, Zoho, etc.
• Employees who are switching jobs may need to move their emails from their organization’s Google Workspace to any IMAP mail server for future reference.

Whatever the reason you have to move your emails, you must make sure that you properly follow the pre-migration steps first for a smooth process.

Pre-Migration Steps Before Migration from Google Workspace to IMAP

• First of all, backup your Google Workspace mailbox. Whether you are moving the complete Google Workspace domain or specific user accounts. Make sure you save the important emails properly.
• Review your mailbox. If you find any outdated, unnecessary, or duplicate emails, remove them. So that you do not transfer any unimportant data to your destination.
• If you are transferring full Google Workspace to your IMAP server, make sure the destination has the active and proper target accounts.
• Enable Two-Factor Authentication and create an app password to securely configure your account.
• Properly turn on your IMAP access in your Google account. Also, note down the server settings.
• Clean up the Google nested labels and remove special characters to prevent any new folder creation errors.
• Lastly, don’t forget to update your DNS settings when you have completely shifted from Google Workspace to IMAP.

Manually Migrate Google Workspace to IMAP (Server-Side Migration)

There are many IMAP servers – Zoho, Rackspace, etc. that allow users to manually pull the mailbox from Google Workspace. They have a built-in server-side migration tool inside the control panel and are free to use. But each of them has a different interface and procedure to pull the data out of Google Workspace. I am going to provide the steps for all of them.

Zoho Native Admin Console for Google Workspace to IMAP

1. Sign in to the Zoho Mail Admin Console and select Data Migration from the navigation pane.
2. Click the Start Data Migration button or + Create. Provide a custom migration name.
3. Select Add new server details from Select saved server details.
4. Choose IMAP as the protocol or application. Set the source server address to imap.gmail.com, the port number to 993, and security to SSL. Click the Add button.
5. Choose the folder to sync with; if needed, also set folder exclusion rules. Press the Create button.
6. Map your users by going to the Users tab. Click the Add button.
7. Provide the Google Workspace source email address and app password. Then, destination Zoho email address.
8. Press Start Migration to begin the process.

Rackspace Self Service Migration Tool for Google Workspace to IMAP

1. Sign in to Rackspace Cloud Office Control Panel. Find the Domains section.
2. Click Email Migrations, then the Start Migration Now button.
3. Choose Google Workspace as your source system and provide the host server address: imap.gmail.com.
4. Select Rackspace Email, then enter the destination server address: secure.emailsrvr.com.
5. Manually provide the source email, Google app password, and the target Rackspace email and password.
6. Hit the Next button to validate the credentials, then Next again to start the synchronization.

If you are moving to an IMAP email client like Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail, etc., then you can simply add your Google Workspace account to the mail client and move your emails.

Transfer Google Workspace to IMAP Email Client or Webmail

Instead of a server, you are switching to the desktop mail client or webmail. To move the emails, you have to configure your Google Workspace account. In an email client, you can simply sync your Google account, but in webmail you have to configure both Google and the destination email account in the desktop client.

1. Log in to your email client that is already installed. Go to the Account Settings.
2. Click Create new account, provide the Google Workspace email address and password.
3. Also, add the Google Workspace server details when asked.
4. Follow the instructions to completely sync your account.
5. If you are moving to another webmail, use the same steps as above to link your destination account.
6. After that, you can go to the configured Google Workspace folder. Select an email, drag and drop it to the destination account folder.

As you can see, the manual methods depend on which platform you are moving your Google Workspace to. Also, using them can create issues like being time-consuming, missing some emails, or syncing errors. So, instead of the manual methods, professional software is the best choice.

Migrate Google Workspace to IMAP with Professional Software

SysTools IMAP Migration Tool is an all-in-one solution that can transfer your Google Workspace to any IMAP server, email client, or webmail. With its user-friendly interface, anyone can work with the tool. Also, provides a date filter to move specific emails with attachments. You can migrate your emails for free by downloading the demo version.

Steps to Use the Software

1. Install the tool on your Windows and macOS desktop.
   
2. Select IMAP as the source and destination, then apply the date filter.
   
3. In the source dashboard, choose G Suite from the server list. Click the Validate button.
   
4. Set your destination server with the server URL and port number. Validate it.
   
5. Provide source and destination email IDs and passwords. Then, click the Start Migration button.
   

Concluding Words

It is simple to migrate Google Workspace to IMAP if you properly follow the pre-migration steps. If you are thinking of manual solutions, the process depends on which IMAP server or accounts you are moving. For servers, you can use the built-in server-side migration; for email clients or webmail, you need to configure your Google Workspace client desktop. The professional tool is a better option, as it moves your mailbox to any destination from an independent utility.