How to Download all emails from Gmail? – Best Methods

Gmail is the most popular free email service provider, and it has billions of active users currently. It also offers regular updates to keep users up to date with the modern features and also increase the security of its email platform. With Gmail you can also integrates seamlessly with Google Workspace features such as Google Drive, Google Photos, Google Meet, and more. With it, Gmail also offers 15 GB free storage to easily maintain user mailbox data.

Purpose to Download emails from Gmail in bulk

• It ensures you have a backup of your crucial communication to prevent from accidental deletion, hacking or account suspension.
• A downloaded copy of Gmail allows you to access emails offline without needing an internet connection and it’s too crucial for those users who travel frequently and also have limited connectivity.
• Some businesses follow retention policies due to this it keeps record of organization communication for legal purposes.
• It gives you the flexibility to switch between platforms without losing access to your communication history.
• It helps you to free up storage space on your Gmail account to easily access crucial information.

Method 1. How to Download all Emails from Gmail?

Google specifically created Google Takeout to download Google mailbox data. However, it has several limitations, so before proceeding, please review its drawbacks. We do not recommend using it due to various challenges. However, if you decide to proceed after considering its limitations, follow the procedure outlined below:

1. First, open “Google Takeout” url: takeout.google.com.
2. Enter your “Gmail email address and password” to log in to your Google account.
3. Now, click on “Mailbox data” as you are required to export.
4. After pressing on the next step, choose “file type, size and frequency”.
5. Thereafter, click on “Create Export” to download Google mailbox data.

Lacks of Google Takeout

• It only allows you to export a single Google account at a time.
• Google Takeout generally takes 3-4 days to complete the entire process.
• Users are required to use the MBOX Viewer to access their mailbox data.
• The mailbox folder selection feature is not available.
• Sometimes, it shows an error: We couldn’t create your Google data.

Method 2. How to Download emails from Gmail?

If you are looking to export a few emails from Gmail, then you can manually download each email individually. Now, follow the instructions provided below:

1. Open “Gmail”: mail.google.com on your web browser.
2. Enter your “Google Mail” email address and password to sign in to your account.
3. Open the “Email” you want to download.
4. Click on “Print/Download Message” to download each email individually.

Shortcoming of Gmail Native Feature

• It only allows you to download each email at a time.
• This manual approach is only reliable to download a few emails.
• Email folders and labels might not be properly maintained when downloading emails individually.

Method 3. How to Download all Emails from Gmail Using Microsoft Outlook?

If you have installed Microsoft Outlook on your machine and are familiar with its features, then you can follow the instructions as we have stated below:

Part1. Enable IMAP in Gmail

1. First, log in to your “Gmail account”.
2. Now, click on the “Settings” icon and tap on “See All Settings”.
3. Choose “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” and click on “Enable IMAP”.
4. Tap on the Profile icon and click on “Manage your Google account”.
5. Press “Security” and click on “Enable Two-Step Verification”.
6. Click on “App Password” and enter Mail.
7. Now, click on “Generate App Password”, copy it, and save it as it will be used to configure Gmail in Outlook.
   

Part2. Configure Gmail with Outlook

1. First, launch “Microsoft Outlook” and enter the email address.
2. Click on Connect, choose “IMAP or POP Server”, then press the Next button.
3. Now, check “Manually configure server settings” and tap Next to continue.
4. Here, enter the “Gmail” email address, username, app password, then fill in the IMAP configuration:
5. Incoming Mail Server(IMAP): imap.gmail.com
6. Port: 993
7. Encryption: SSL/TLS
8. Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): smtp.gmail.com
9. Port: 465 or 587
10. Encryption: SSL/TLS
11. Click on “Test Account” and wait for synchronization of your Gmail account with Outlook.
    

Part3. Download Emails from Gmail in Bulk using Outlook

1. Go to “File” and then click on “Open and Export”.
2. Press Import/Export, and the “Import/Export” pop-up appears on your display.
3. Here, choose “Export to a file” and click on the Next button.
4. Next, press “Outlook Data File (.PST)” and press Next to continue.
5. Browse the “Outlook mailbox data” as you want to export.
6. Now, provide a “Destination path” for the exported Gmail mailbox data.
7. Check “Do Not Export Duplicates” and press Finish, then wait for the export process to complete.

Hurdles to Download emails from Gmail using Outlook

• Enabling IMAP, generating app password, configuring IMAP will not be reliable to perform by some users.
• Outlook doesn’t preserve Gmail labels., which can affect email organization once transferred.
• It attributes such as read/unread status, time stamp and email threading may not be fully retained during the transfer.
• Sometimes, synchronization issues occur resulting in incomplete downloads or errors in updating the mailbox.
• Users must have advanced technical knowledge to operate this process and skipping any steps can corrupt your mailbox data and also major chances of data loss.

Steps to Download all Emails from Gmail

1. Download and run “automated software” on your system.
2. Provide your “Gmail email address” and select Continue with Google.
3. Preview “Google mailbox folder” and select as you want to export.
4. Choose “file formats” in the list of select saving options.
5. Browse location and click on “Backup” to start Downloading all emails from Gmail.

Remarkable Qualities of Automated Software

• It allows you to back up individual or multiple Gmail accounts at once.
• This application can also backup Gmail to PST, PDF, TXT, MBOX, HTML, and 30+ other saving options.
• With this wizard, you can use the filter feature to back up Gmail data using incremental backup, export only sent folders, exclude email content and attachments, or filter by date range, recipient, subject, etc.
• You can also migrate Gmail to Yahoo Mail, Thunderbird, Microsoft 365, and all IMAP-supported email platforms.
• This software has been specially designed with a simple, easy-to-navigate interface, making it suitable for any user.

Typical Questions about Download all emails from Gmail

Does Google have a bulk email service?

Yes, Google offers a bulk email service through Google Workspace(previously known as GSuite). Using Gmail professional accounts, businesses can send 2000 emails daily. For bulk email campaigns you can use Google Apps Script or migrate to Mailchimp is effective.

How to mass dump emails in Gmail?

To delete multiple emails in Gmail, search for the desired emails. Then, click on the checkbox at the top of the selected email as it is all visible. For bulk selection, click on Select All conversations matching this search and press the delete icon to remove them.

How do I list 100 emails in Gmail?

By default, Gmail displays 50 emails per page. To view 100 emails click on settings and press on See All Settings and then press on General tab and here choose Maximum size per page and change it to display 100 conversations.

Let’s Finish It

In this tutorial, we have outlined the top 4 techniques to download all emails from Gmail manually and using an automated approach. The manual approach comes with many limitations and the possibility of data corruption. Therefore, we recommend opting for automated software, as it can download emails effectively while maintaining their metadata and without affecting any attributes.