How to Transfer Emails from Old to New Gmail Account?

Gmail offers several ways to import old emails, whether from another Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, AOL or any other email platform. This guide will show the correct procedure to transfer or forward old emails to a new Gmail account.

Purpose to Import Old Emails to Gmail

• Managing multiple email account can be challenging. To transfer old emails to Gmail you can easily manage all data at one place.
• Gmail comes with powerful search functionality and advanced management that makes it easier to navigate and categorize emails.
• It offers cloud store to secure your mailbox data and also prevent the changes of data leakage or file corruption.
• With Gmail, Cloud-based access, you can retrieve and manage your old emails from any device including desktops, smartphones and tablets.
• If you are switching from discontinued or outdated email platform then Gmail is reliable choice as it offers seamless service without any downtime.

1. Download and open automated software on your system.
2. Select “Email source” and enter email credentials.
3. Choose the “Old mailbox folder” as you want to transfer.
4. Select “Gmail” in the list of Saving options and Enter “Gmail email address” and click on Backup.
5. Accept permissions to verify Google account to begin “transfer old emails to new Gmail account”.

Useful features of Automated Approach

• This software can also migrate cPanel to Google Workspace with maintained attributes.
• You can easily operate this software as it is optimized with special algorithms to make it reliable for all types of users.
• It can also migrate Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 without facing any data leakage.
• With this software, you can use date ranges, from, to, subject, exclude folders, has the words, exclude attachments and many more.
• This software also offers 30+ Saving options such as PDF, MSG, MBOX, and many more.

How to Transfer Emails from Old to New Gmail Account Using Import Feature?

If you want to transfer emails from old to New Gmail account then you can use Google inbuilt Import feature as it allows importing mail and contacts from Yahoo, Outlook, Gmail, Microsoft 365 and all non-Gmail accounts. Now, perform the instructions as we have explained below:

1. First, open “Gmail” and enter credentials to login.
2. Now, Navigate to the “Gear icon” and click on “See All Settings”.
3. Press on “Account and Import” and select “Import Mail and Contacts”.
4. Enter “Old email address” and click on continue.
5. Press on “Continue” and enter the old email account password.
6. Fill POP Username and “Server details”.
7. Select “Import mail, contacts and import new mail for next 30 days”.
8. Press on “Start Import” to start transferring emails from old to new Gmail accounts.

Drawbacks of Google Import Feature

• The import feature  depends on POP3 protocols as it doesn’t support folder structure. This means all imported emails will appear in the inbox without original formatting.
• Email imported doesn’t maintain Gmail labels or custom folders, requiring users to organize emails in specific order.
• The import process can take several hours or even days, depending on the volume of emails being transferred.

How to Import Old Emails to Gmail Account Using Outlook?

If you have old emails stored in Outlook and want to transfer them to your Gmail account. You can configure Gmail account and manually move emails. Follow the procedure as we have stated below:

Part1. Enable IMAP in Gmail Account

1. First, Open “Gmail” and login Gmail account.
2. Click on “Gear icon” and click on See All Settings.
3. Navigate to “forwarding POP and IMAP” and click on “Enable IMAP”.

Part2. Import PST to Outlook

1. First, run “Outlook” and navigate to the file.
2. Click on open and export and next click on “Import/Export”.
3. Choose “Import from another program or file”.
4. After clicking on the next button choose “Outlook data file”.
5. Choose the “PST file” as you wish to import.
6. Browse the “Destination folder” and click on finish.

Part3. Import Old Emails to Gmail Account

1. Open “Outlook” and click on the file.
2. Press on “Add Account” and fill Gmail email address.
3. Now, Click on “Connect” and verify with Oauth.
4. Choose “IMAP Server” and click on done to successfully configure.
5. Open the folder and select “Emails” as you want to transfer.
6. Drag and Drop Outlook emails to Gmail account.

Challenges of Using Microsoft Outlook

• Setting up in Outlook requires manual configuration of IMAP/SMTP settings, authentication and security adjustments which can be difficult for non-technical users.
• Moving a large volume of emails can take lots of hours or even days, especially if the Outlook PST file is large or if there are connections during IMAP synchronization.
• Sometimes, email may not sync properly, it create duplicate emails in Gmail or lose email. This can happen due to sync failures, internet disruptions or improper folder mapping.
• If Outlook PST file is damaged or oversized, then Outlook not allows to import.
• When old emails contain large size attachments, then attachment may not preserve original formatting.

How to Transfer Emails from Old to New Gmail Account Using Thunderbird?

If you have old emails stored in Thunderbird or have MBOX file required to transfer into new Gmail account then you can use Mozilla Thunderbird to transfer them to new Gmail account:

Part1. Add Old Email Accounts in Thunderbird

1. Open “Mozilla Thunderbird” on your computer.
2. Click on the “Thunderbird menu” and navigate to “Account Settings”.
3. Click on “Add Mail Account” and enter old email account credentials.
4. Thunderbird will auto-detect server settings, choose “IMAP Server”.
5. Repeat process to “Add new Gmail account”.

Part2. Transfer Old Thunderbird Emails to New Gmail Account

1. Navigate to the “Folder” as you want to transfer.
2. Select “Emails” as you want to transfer.
3. Right-click on the “Chosen email” and press on Copy to.
4. Set “New Gmail Account” and select Inbox and choose mailbox folders.
5. Wait for “Thunderbird sync” to successfully import old emails to Gmail account.

Part3. Import Old Emails to New Gmail Account Using MBOX File

1. Open “Thunderbird” and press on Menu.
2. Click on “Add-ons and Themes” and search Import/ExportNG Tools.
3. Press on “Add to Thunderbird” and click on Add on pop up.
4. Navigate to the “Thunderbird local folder” and click on Import MBOX File.
5. Choose “Individual MBOX file” and browse the MBOX file as it contains old emails.
6. Click on “Save” and wait for Thunderbird sync to transfer old emails to Gmail.
7. Drag and Drop Local folder to Server.

Challenges of Using Thunderbird

• Users must be needed to configure both new and old accounts in Thunderbird and its not reliable for individual users.
• Email transfer via IMAP depends on connectivity as it can take several hours or even days to transfer.
• IMAP Configuration is not reliable as sometimes email fail to sync, resulting in missing emails or duplicate emails in Gmail accounts.
• Gmail uses labels while Thunderbird supports folder structure due to these formatting may not retained.
• Emails may lose their labels after being transferred, requiring manual reorganization.
• Handling large size email can affect Thunderbird performance or crashes if the MBOX file is too large.

Resolution

In this guide, we have shared effective methods to Transfer Emails from Old to New Gmail Account by both manual and automated approaches. The manual method comes with several limitations and may not be suitable for all users. Therefore, we recommend you to opt automated software as it completely reliable for all and it also offers fully maintained accuracy.