How to Move Old IMAP Emails to New Server?

You are switching to a new email host and want to move important email messages. Don’t worry, this article will help you by providing methods to transfer IMAP email to new host. So, read the article to the end.

Changing your hosting provider can be a difficult task for the user, as they rely more on IMAP. Internet Message Access Protocol, or IMAP, is a popular email protocol that allows you to sync your emails across different devices. This protocol keeps your emails in your email server, which makes it easier for you to access your data in real-time across platforms.

When you switch your hosts, many of you have trouble transferring the IMAP emails. As there is a risk of losing your important conversations, attachments, and business emails. But don’t worry, I have found methods that can safely transfer IMAP emails to new server. But before that, let’s understand the reasons for migrating your IMAP emails.

Reasons to Move IMAP Emails to New Server

The decision to change from the old email host to a new one is different. One user has to do it because changing jobs, and others are doing it for their personal reasons. Below are the common factors that most users want to move their emails to a new server.

• You are experiencing frequent downtime or slow email delivery in your current host. Then, move it to a more reliable provider for smooth communication.
• Most hosting providers have a limited mailbox size. If you want a huge storage space, then you need to switch to a different host for more storage options.
• The current host has weak security features, or you need advanced security. Then, switch to the server that provides the best email security.
• You couldn’t unable to afford the current host because of its high pricing model. So, you are switching to an affordable email host.
• As the organization grows its productivity, you also need more features from email hosting providers, like support for multiple accounts, large storage, and easy integration with productivity tools.

Because of these reasons, you are switching your email hosting. Changing your hosting provider is easy. You have to just cancel the current subscription with the hosting provider and purchase a new one. But the problem arises when you want to move your IMAP emails to a new host. Before you migrate your data. You have to first prepare your procedure.

Preparations Before Migrating the IMAP Emails

There are some points that you must take into mind before you go through the process. These are.

• Backing up IMAP emails is crucial before migrating your data. Because anything could go wrong during the procedure, which can cost you data. So, to keep your data secure from deletion. Take a backup first.
• In advance, gather your IMAP server address, port numbers, and login credentials of your new hosting provider.
• Make sure the mailbox is healthy and clean, remove any duplicate, unwanted emails and attachments. So, there would be no problem in importing the IMAP emails into the new server.
• Ensure the domain’s DNS records are correctly set up with your new server.
• Notify all your team members about changing your email hosting. So, there would be no confusion and everything would work smoothly.

Properly follow the above prerequisites, then follow the steps below to transfer IMAP emails to new host.

How to Migrate IMAP Emails to New Server with Email Client?

If you have already installed Thunderbird or Outlook. Then, you can easily transfer your IMAP emails. For this, you must know about the login credentials of both old and new email hosting providers. Also, create an email address using the same one from the old server in your new hosting service. Then, follow the steps below.

1. Open the email client on your device and add the new IMAP account.
2. After syncing the old account. Configure the new account in the same application.
3. Once you have easily set up both IMAP accounts of the old server and the new server. Go to the folder where your emails are stored and that you want to move.
4. Select the emails from the old account, drag and drop them to the new account.
5. Repeat the above step to move all your emails. Wait as they sync your account.
6. After that, go to the domain registrar or DNS hosting provider.
7. Go to the DNS settings and find the MX records.
8. Update the MX records to the new email hosting service provider. So that all new incoming emails will be directed to the new server.

This method is used to transfer IMAP emails to new host using an email application. If you are switching from an old cPanel server to a new cPanel server. Then, follow this method to migrate your emails.

Move IMAP Emails from Old cPanel to New cPanel Service

1. Make sure you have created the necessary email accounts in the new host. The email addresses should be the same as the old host.
2. Log in to the old cPanel host. Go to the Files section and find File Manager.
3. Go up one level from the public_html directory to find the mail folder.
4. Right-click the mail and compress it. Select the Zip Archive and hit Compress Files.
5. Again, right-click the newly created mail.zip file and choose the Download button.
6. In the new cPanel, go to the File Manager.
7. Find the root folder and enter the existing mail folder.
8. Click on the Upload button. Select the Zip mail file from the old host.
9. After uploading it, extract the mail.zip file.
10. Verify the extraction directory and click the Extract Files button.

Lastly, update your DNS, and your IMAP emails are now in the new cPanel server. So, with these two methods, you can easily get your emails from the old server to the new server. But, you must be careful while doing so, because there is are chance that you might lose your data. For this, you should take this necessary step first.

How to Save IMAP Emails Before Transferring Process

It is very important to first take a backup of your IMAP emails. Because anything can happen during the process of migration. For this, try SysTools IMAP Backup Software to save your data from the old host. It is very easy to use, as you just need to provide the correct credentials of your IMAP account. Then, you can save the data to your desired file format to easily access. This step would be very beneficial. So, don’t forget to try them.

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To Be Conclude

There are some users who want to transfer IMAP emails to new host. That’s why I have provided you with two methods that you can use. Before that, I mentioned the prerequisites that you must fulfil before going to the two solutions. The first option helps you move your data from a different host. And the second method helps you migrate emails from the same cPanel host. Whichever option you choose, make sure you take a backup of your IMAP emails to protect the data from any issues.