Lycos Mail has been a chief email platform for both personal and professional communication for decades. However, the recent and ongoing transition to Exact Hosting has triggered a serious discussion: Lycos Mail Backup.
Many Lycos Mail users have claimed they can’t access their webmail and want to rescue their data to ensure their years of emails don’t get lost. Considering this query, we have created an all-encompassing guide.
It outlines everything you need to know about Lycos email migration. Including how you can save Lycos mail to PC, perform a PST file export, and transfer Lycos to Gmail securely.
Is Lycos Mail shutting down or moving to Exact Hosting?
Yes, Lycos Mail is undergoing a massive infrastructure change and is transitioning to Exact Hosting to provide a continuity path for its mailboxes. In simple words, you can still access your webmail but cannot use @lycos.com email addresses. Server outages, login issues, and connectivity issues are said to be primary reasons behind the shutdown.
Since Lycos Mail is being discontinued, issues like “Why is my Lycos webmail not working, and how do I rescue my data?” have gained traction. Hence, performing a Lycos Mail backup or migrating to a new email service has become non-negotiable.
For more information in detail, check out: Does Lycos Email Still Exist? Find Out the Reasons
Correct IMAP or POP3 Configuration: Essential Prerequisite
Knowing updated or correct IMAP settings is an essential prerequisite when planning to export Lycos emails or using an Email migration tool. Because the standard imap.lycos.com may fail during the Lycos Mail backup.
So, what are the correct IMAP settings to connect my Lycos account?
| Setting | Value |
| IMAP Server configuration (Incoming) | mail.exacthosting.com (or imap.lycos.com for non- migrated accounts) |
| IMAP Port | 993 |
| Encryption | SSL/TLS |
POP3 and SMTP Settings
| Setting | Value |
| SMTP Server (Outgoing) | smtp.lycos.com (or mail.exacthosting.com ) |
| SMTP Port | 465 |
| POP3 Server (incoming) | pop.lycos.com |
| POP3 Port | 995 |
How to backup Lycos Emails? 4 Best Email Backup Methods
Here are the best Lycos Mail backup methods to save the complete mailbox locally or on cloud storage:
Method #1: Move Lycos account to Outlook (Desktop Backup)
Moving the Lycos account to Outlook is the standard manual approach to backup Lycos email offline. It converts the entire Lycos mailbox (emails, contacts, and calendar events) into a .pst file (universally recognized format) and allows you to execute a full PST file export.
The headlining feature of this Lycos Mail backup method is that you can open your archive on any Windows computer running Outlook, independently of Lycos Servers. It is an ideal solution for users who want to save Lycos messages offline.
And, if you wish to centralize your mailbox data in the future or access old backups on any device, you can use an enterprise-grade SysTools OST Converter tool. It will help in importing the PST file and uploading the archived or localized offline emails straight to an Exchange Server, Office 365, or Outlook.com account.
So, if you are in the same queue and searching for “How can I export my Lycos inbox to an Outlook PST file?”, follow the given steps:
- Open Outlook and click File >> Add Account.
- Right-click Manual setup or additional server types.
- Select POP or IMAP >> enter your Lycos credentials next to the mail.exacthosting.com IMAP settings.
- Once your inbox starts reflecting and synchronizing, navigate to File >> Open & Export >> Import/Export.
- Right-click Export to a file >> choose Outlook Data File (.pst).
- Select your entire mailbox to download securely. Make sure “include subfolders” is checked.
- Lastly, save the file to your hard drive.
Note: Older mail servers often trigger bandwidth throttling, affecting the message downloading speed. So, if your sync fails halfway, avoid restarting from scratch—simply resume the sync.
Limitations:
❌ Limited conversion formats.
❌ Doesn’t support large mailboxes and multiple accounts.
❌ Breaks original folder structure with backup.
❌ No incremental backups.
❌ Fewer filtering options
Related Reads: How to Transfer Lycos to Gmail/Google Workspace Account?
Method #2: Professional Email Backup Tool
When backing up a massive Lycos mailbox or dealing with multiple accounts, experts suggest choosing an enterprise-grade email backup tool. The reason is quite obvious: manual Lycos Mail backup methods are incapable of performing large Lycos mailbox backups and multi-account downloads. Attempting to use them otherwise will always result in delayed backups or, worse, permanent data loss.
Therefore, seasoned IT administrators advocate for B2B email downloader such as SysTools Email Backup Wizard. A trusted, corporate-ready email backup wizard that automates the entire complex export job and tops the entire backup & archiving genre!
Key Features:
✅ Backs up Microsoft 365, Gmail, and IMAP emails.
✅ Downloads emails from cloud mailboxes directly to your system, external drive, or network location.
✅ Saves emails in different mail formats: PST, MBOX, EML, EMLX, MSG.
✅ Allows you to store email in document formats: PDF, TXT, CSV, HTML, MHT
✅ Preserves the original folder structure and hierarchy.
✅ Supports large mailboxes and multiple accounts across the same or different IMAP servers.
✅ Features a real-time dashboard to monitor and control multiple mailboxes backups from a single screen.
✅ Offers Delta backup (incremental backups) to save only newly received emails.
✅ Provides a date filter to export emails for selective backups.
✅ Consolidates all downloaded emails into a single Outlook PST File.
✅ Supports OAuth 2.0 sign-in for Microsoft 365 and Gmail accounts.
✅ Compatible with all versions of Windows and macOS
Check out the simple tutorials given below and execute LycosMail backup hands-free!
Method #3: Cloud-to-Cloud Migration (Migrate to Gmail)
The cloud-to-cloud migration method allows you to transfer your old Lycos emails to a new cloud-based email service such as Gmail. Which brings us to the question: Can I transfer my old Lycos emails to a new Gmail Account?
The answer is absolutely yes! Using Gmail’s built-in email fetcher, you can easily migrate from Lycos to Gmail. Typically, users choose to migrate Lycos to Gmail for the following “hero” features:
- Better Spam Filtering
- Fewer Advertisements
- And seamless integration with Google Workspace.
So, if you are planning to switch from Lycos Mail to Gmail and are comfortable keeping your data in the cloud, this is the appropriate approach.
Steps to migrate Lycos Mail to Gmail:
- Open Gmail and log into the new Gmail account.
- Right-click the Gear icon (Settings) >> See all settings >> Accounts and Import.
- Click Import mail and contacts or Check mail from other accounts.
- Enter the Lycos email address >> Input the POP3 settings (pop.lycos.com or mail.exacthosting.com, Port 995, SSL checked).
- Lastly, click Add Account. Executing this will prompt Gmail to execute a Batch email download from Lycos in the background.
Limitations:
❌ Migrate one account at a time
❌ Bulk IMAP accounts transfer is not supported.
❌ Folder hierarchy requires manual correction.
❌ Read/unread status often lost during transfer.
❌ Requires an external mail client to be installed and configured.
❌ No-real-time tracking available.
Method #4: Third-Party IMAP Migration Software
A professional, third-party IMAP migration software is a highly effective solution for migrating large Lycos mailbox data or multiple accounts from one IMAP provider to another (e.g, Lycos to Gmail). It automates the complete IMAP server mailbox data migration while maintaining data integrity.
So, which is the best migration tool?
IT admins and MSPs globally prefer SysTools IMAP Migration Tool to move messages, folders, and metadata from one IMAP provider to another without any data loss. A robust, cutting-edge solution that is built specifically for every IMAP transfer scenario.
Key Features:
✅ Handles any-to-any IMAP transfer for 1 to 1000+ users.
✅ Offers universal IMAP server support for Gmail, iCloud, Outlook, and more.
✅ Capable of migrating multiple user IMAP accounts concurrently for bulk IMAP transfers.
✅ Features a central control panel to track migration in real-time.
✅ Provides template-driven CSV import for smooth and error-free bulk user mapping.
✅ Integrates the “Star” feature to prioritize specific mailboxes during the migration.
✅ Smart delta migration feature to sync only the newly arrived emails.
✅ Selective data filtering feature for precise item migration.
✅ Provides a summary report and a detailed report of migration.
✅ Highly compatible with all Windows and macOS versions.
So, whether you want to perform a quick personal migration or are looking for a reliable solution to execute a large enterprise deployment, the above-shared software is a staple!
The Takeaway
Since Lycos Mail has discontinued its mail service, issues like “Why is my Lycos webmail not working, and how do I rescue my data?” become prevalent. Therefore, experts suggest performing a Lycos Mail backup or migrating to a new cloud-based email service provider like Gmail to secure your collaboration assets. Use the given methods in this practical guide to back up your emails effortlessly! For any queries, contact us at [email protected].
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Q.1 Will my email attachments be saved when I back up my Lycos account?
Yes, use an external email client or a third-party email downloader to save email attachments when backing up your Lycos account.
Q.2 How do I save all my Lycos email to my computer?
To do so, follow the given steps:
- Open Outlook and click File >> Add Account.
- Click Manual setup or additional server types.
- Select POP or IMAP >> type the Lycos credentials next to the mail.exacthosting.com IMAP settings.
- Go to File >> Open & Export >> Import/Export.
- Click Export to a file >> choose Outlook Data File (.pst).
- Choose your entire mailbox to download Lycos mailbox securely. Make sure “include subfolders” is checked.
- Lastly, save the file to your hard drive.
Q.3 Is there a free way to download my Lycos mailbox?
Yes, you can use a free email client or a limited free-tier backup tool to download your Lycos mailbox.
