How to Migrate IMAP Email to Office 365 – Safe & Securely

As medium-to-large businesses have adopted work-from-home and Bring Your Own Device policies. As a consequence, smooth and secure access to business emails has become critical. A company that depends upon IMAP emails is now having a hard time. It is struggling to maintain effective communication for its remotely working people. What could be the solution to this problem? For this, opt to migrate IMAP email to Office 365. You can do it by using an in-built migration feature offered by Microsoft or by using an IMAP Backup Tool. Explore more to find the most reliable of the two. 

What Do You Understand by IMAP Emails & Office 365?

IMAP is an email protocol that lets you check your email from any device and location. If you are reading your email messages on one device, the change will appear on other devices as well.

Office 365 is a cloud-based service thereby supporting remote working. This tool is integrated with applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc. It is a safe, secure, and nowadays highly demanded platform for professionals and businesses. 

What is Need to Migrate Email From IMAP to Office 365?

To migrate IMAP to Office 365 is a smart choice for those who require security, scalability, and advanced email functionalities. Here are the reasons why one needs to do it: 

• Office 365 offers better collaboration. It integrates different applications such as Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, etc.
• One of the main reasons to migrate to Office 365 is security. Because of having multi-factor authentication and regulatory compliance, it is the number-one choice among users.
• Data storage is crucial when working with emails. Microsoft Office 365 offers up to 100GB of storage, while IMAP has much lower than this.
• IMAP servers often experience downtime issues. But, Office 365 ensures reliable uptime.
• Synchronizing emails in IMAP is a slow process while in Office 365, it is faster and more efficient. 

Therefore, due to these above-mentioned reasons, it is advised to migrate to Office 365 from IMAP.

Methods to Migrate IMAP Email To Office 365

There are two methods for migrating IMAP emails to Office 365. One is a manual method by using the built-in Exchange Admin Center. Another is, by using a professional and robust tool – IMAP Backup Tool. Users can choose either of them depending on the size, complexity, and specific needs.

Migrate IMAP to Office 365 Using Built-in Migration Tool

Microsoft provides a built-in feature for migrating IMAP Emails to Office 365 by using its New Exchange Admin Centre (EAC). Below is the step-by-step process to migrate email from IMAP to Office 365:

Phase 1: Link your Office 365 Account to your Email Client

1. Open Microsoft Outlook.
2. Now, go to File > Add Account. Then, enter your Office 365 email and log in.

Phase 2: Add your IMAP Account to MS Outlook

1. Again go to File > Add Account > Select Manual Setup > IMAP.
2. Now, enter your old email credentials:

• IMAP Server
• Port 
• Username and Password

Phase 3: Export Emails from IMAP

1. Again, open Outlook. 
2. Go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export.
3. Now, choose Export to a file > Outlook Data File (.pst).
4. Select the IMAP account and export it.

Phase 4: Import Emails to Office 365

1. Open Outlook. 
2. Go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export.
3. Now, choose import from another program or file  > Outlook Data File (.pst).
4. Select your exported .pst file and import it.

Phase 5: Configure DNS & Email Client

1. Update MX Records.
2. Remove your old IMAP account.
3. Now, see if your primary account is set to Office 365.

Limitations: This method only migrates emails, not contacts or calendars. This is suitable only when you are dealing with a small number of emails. Additionally, this method involves numerous steps which can be confusing sometimes to a non-technical user.

Migrate IMAP Email to Office 365 Using An Automated Tool

A dedicated IMAP Backup Tool will help you export IMAP email into Office 365 quickly and efficiently. Users can simply add all of their email accounts from different providers and then, backup data together. Not only this, users can backup their IMAP Emails into numerous different formats. It is widely compatible with software and is an extremely convenient solution for IMAP to O365 migration. 

These are the steps to migrate IMAP Mailbox to Office 365:

1. Install the IMAP Backup Tool and Run it.
2. Go to Import CSV. Select the required User’s ID. Then, click Next.
3. A screen opens up containing all the folders of your selected file. 
4. Now, choose the folder you want to migrate. Then, click Next.
5. Select Office 365 from the drop-down menu. Click Next.
6. Enter your Username and Password for your Office 365 account and login.
7. Then, map your source account mailbox to the destination account. Click Next.
8. Lastly, click Convert and migration begins.

Conclusion:

This blog has outlined the best ways to migrate IMAP Email to Office 365. The manual method is one option, but it comes with several limitations. Opting for the IMAP Backup Tool will ensure efficient and hassle-free migration without the risk of data loss. This tool also enables users to migrate bulk email messages with attachments. Not only this, it also detects duplicate emails and removes them.

Related Post: Import IMAP Email to Gmail Account.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q- How do I add an IMAP Email to Outlook 365?

Ans- You need to follow a few steps:

1. First, open Outlook.
2. Go to File > Info > Add Account.
3. After that, enter your IMAP Email Address and then, click Connect.
4. Make sure your account type is set to IMAP.
5. Now, enter incoming & outgoing mail server details.
6. Then, enter your email address and password.
7. Click Next > Done. 

Q- Will IMAP migration move my contacts and calendars?

Ans- No, only emails are migrated with IMAP. To transfer contacts and calendars, you’ll need to export and import them separately. You can use a professional IMAP Backup Tool that needs no technical expertise and can migrate all IMAP data including Contacts and Calendars.