Exchange 2010 to Office 365 migration

Migrating to Office 365 allows you to move your mailboxes to the cloud, providing an alternative to on-premise environments. It's important to compare Microsoft 365 plans and consider your specific needs to make the right choice. Evaluate the benefits and drawbacks to maximize the advantages of migrating to Office 365.

When you subscribe to Microsoft 365 for your business or enterprise, you gain access to Exchange Online. Additionally, you have the option to choose a dedicated or standalone Exchange Online plan. It's important to note that Exchange Online primarily focuses on email exchange, while Office 365 offers a comprehensive suite of collaboration and productivity tools. By understanding this distinction, you can select the solution that best meets your specific needs.

Office 365 has cloud based services such as SharePoint, OneDrive for Business and Teams. Microsoft 365 enterprise plans E3 and E5 include the Microsoft 365 Apps which is an Office suite that is regularly updated with features from Microsoft cloud. In this guide, we describe the pre-migration activities, the different migration paths from Exchange 2010 to o365 and the post migration activities.

What is the best way to migrate Exchange 2010 mailbox to 365?

EdbMails Exchange migration software is the ideal solution to migrate mailboxes from Exchange 2010 to Office 365, with no need for extensive IT administrator involvement. This advanced software streamlines the migration process, ensuring a smooth transition from legacy Exchange servers to Microsoft 365.

With EdbMails, you can effortlessly migrate contacts, calendars, appointments, folders, mail items, and permissions from the source to the target, maintaining data consistency and integrity throughout the process. The software also supports secure modern authentication for Office 365 login, providing enhanced security. Additionally, its incremental migration feature helps prevent duplicates during subsequent migrations to the target. Experience the ease and convenience of EdbMails for your Office 365 upgrade. With its user-friendly application, you can seamlessly migrate to Office 365 without any data loss or downtime. Unlock the benefits of a smooth transition with EdbMails.

1. Exchange 2010 to Office 365 Migration Planning

   Before starting the Exchange 2010 to o365 migration, you must carefully plan the approach based on your current environment and migration requirements. The following is a general checklist of items to identify and prepare your environments.

   1. Take a comprehensive backup of your Exchange 2010 mailboxes and mail data.
   2. Communicate the upcoming changes to your end users and inform the stakeholders.
   3. Determine the amount of data and the number of mailboxes you intend to migrate.
   4. Identify the type of migration environment you currently have (Hybrid or non-Hybrid).
   5. Create a list of items in the source environment, including the operating system, hardware, user count, Active Directory association, network configuration, firewall setup, and installed programs.
   6. Decide whether you prefer to migrate everything at once or in stages.
   7. Consider if you plan to migrate mailboxes to on-premises servers or Office 365.
   8. Verify your internet connection speed and review your network configuration.
   9. Determine if you want to migrate and convert Public folders to Shared mailboxes on the target platform.
   10. Select a suitable Office 365 license and create mailboxes on the target platform.
   11. Conduct a test migration with a few mailboxes to ensure readiness for a full migration.
   12. Initiate the actual migration and verify the successful transfer of all data.
   13. Add the necessary DNS records on the target platform and decommission the Exchange 2010 server once everything is running smoothly.

2. Exchange 2010 to Office 365 Migration Prerequisites

   • Step 1: Consider the Exchange 2010 to Office 365 migration approach

     To ensure a successful migration to Office 365, the first step is to carefully plan your migration approach. Depending on your source and target environment, the following migration paths are available for you to consider.

     Current environment and migration requirement	Ideal migration approach	How does the migration take place?
     Complete Exchange 2010 to Office 365 migration in a single event and in a limited time frame.	Cutover migration for Exchange	Set up your target Office 365 tenant and migrate everything to the cloud in a single sitting. Suited for large mailbox migration
     Perform the migration in phases or migrate mailboxes over weekends	Staged migration to O365	Migrate your mailboxes and mail data in stages and transfer the required or the most recent data first, followed by the others.
     Migrate from Exchange 2010 to Office 365 Hybrid environment	Hybrid Exchange 2010 to Office 365	Migrate from the source to the target server in a Hybrid environment
     Retain on-premises Exchange due to regulatory requirements	Exchange migration	Migrate Exchange 2010 to 2019 Migrate 2010 to 2016 Exchange

      Use the Microsoft 365 mail migration advisor to determine which migration method is best suited to your environment.

   • Step 2: Check the bandwidth and network requirements

     Ensure that you meet the network and bandwidth requirements for the migration. See network and migration planning, performance factors and best practices for Microsoft 365 migration.

   • Step 3: Determine the Microsoft 365 license plan suited to your needs

     Office 365 has business and enterprise plans, each suited to different user requirements. Compare Office 365 business plans and compare Office 365 enterprise plans from these links. You can purchase an Office 365 licensing plan specific to your needs or sign up for a 30 day free trial and decide to go with a suitable one later.

   • Step 4: Set up your target Office 365 tenant for the migration

     Plan for your tenant implementation and deploy your tenant. See tenant roadmap for Microsoft 365. If you plan to install Office apps on your computer, see system requirements for Microsoft 365 and Office configuration support matrix. Because Office 365 is a cloud based solution, it is important to learn where your Microsoft 365 customer data is stored.

   • Step 5: Add and verify the custom domain on Office 365

     If you have a custom email domain from your hosting provider to which you want to migrate and receive emails, you must verify and add the domain on Office 365. Next, you must add DNS records to correctly receive emails to your new domain.

   • Step 6: Create mailboxes and mail-enabled Public folders

     Before you migrate to Office 365, ensure that you create mailboxes for your users in your organization and assign suitable licenses to them.

     1. Add users and assign licenses to Office 365 users
     2. Add several users at the same time to Office 365
     3. Assign Microsoft 365 licenses to user accounts

        If you are planning for the Exchange 2010 to Office 365 Public folder migration, ensure that you create the Public folder mailboxes and make them mail enabled on the target server.

     4. Create Office 365 Public folder and assign mailbox user

        If you are planning to migrate to Exchange 2010 to Office 365 Archive mailboxes, ensure that you create the Public folder mailboxes

     5. Enable In-Place Archive mailboxes in Office 365
   • Step 7: Set the impersonation role on the source to the admin user

     Ensure that you set the following permissions to the admin account on the source and target server and that the mailboxes you migrate are not hidden from the address lists.

     1. On the source
        1. ApplicationImpersonation
        2. View-Only Configuration - Run the cmdlet New-ManagementRoleAssignment using the Exchange Management Shell to assign the View-Only Configuration role to the admin.

         Click here to set the impersonation rights in Exchange server using powershell for Exchange 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010

         Click here to set the impersonation rights in Exchange server using powershell for Exchange 2007

     2. On the target
        1. ApplicationImpersonation

     Granting impersonation rights in Office 365 is a straightforward procedure that can be accomplished efficiently through the Admin Center. It involves assigning the Organization Management role group to the admin user in Exchange Online, granting elevated permissions necessary for public folder migration. However, EdbMails simplifies this process by automating the configuration of impersonation rights. With this tool, the required settings are automatically applied, streamlining the migration process and eliminating the need for manual intervention. This saves you valuable time and effort, ensuring a smoother transition to Office 365.

      Click here to set the impersonation rights in Office 365 using powershell

   • Step 8: Verify the mailbox of the admin account

     Check to see if the admin account that has been assigned management roles has a valid and non-hidden mailbox on the Exchange 2010 server. This property also applies to all the other user mailboxes.

   • Step 9: Configure Office 365 to send and receive large messages

      Follow the steps to increase the message size on Office 365 to 150MB.

3. Exchange 2010 to Office 365 Migration using EdbMails

   After you complete the pre-migration activities, use EdbMails Exchange server migration to migrate the Exchange 2010 mailboxes to Office 365.

    Tip: One of the benefits of using EdbMails is that it supports Exchange 2010 cutover, staged, IMAP, hybrid migration and enables you to migrate in a single hop. The application is user-friendly and does not require technical knowledge of PowerShell scripts. This saves a significant amount of time and effort when you want to quickly move your mailbox data.

   There are various effective methods available for migrating from Exchange 2010 to Office 365 using EdbMails. Consider the following options:

   1. Cutover migration from Exchange 2010 to Office 365
   2. Exchange 2010 Hybrid migration to Office 365
   3. Migrate to Office 365 from Exchange 2010 with an EDB file
   4. Import mailboxes to O365 using the PST migration method

   • Method 1: Migrate Exchange 2010 to 365 using the cutover method

     • Step 1: Download and install EdbMails Exchange server migration software setup
       • Download EdbMails and install the application on any computer that is connected to the source Exchange server environment. You can also perform the migration operation by installing EdbMails on a non-Exchange server computer.
       • Launch the application and click 'Login' or 'Start Your Free Trial'.

          See a detailed list of EdbMails system requirements for Exchange migration.

         

       • Select the migration method as 'Live Exchange migration'

         

       Note: If the Standard folders (such as Inbox, Calendar, Contacts) on your source Exchange server mailboxes are initialized with a different language, follow the below details to migrate these folders to the respective system folders on the target (destination) server.

       For Instance: If your source Inbox folder is named 'Boîte de réception', which is in French language and you migrate this folder directly to the destination server, then by default it will not be mapped to the 'Inbox' folder on the target server. In order to map the folder with the french name to the respective folder, change the regional settings on the target server to match that of your source mailbox folder language (in this case, it is French).

        Know how to change the language and regional settings on Exchange server

     • Step 2: Define the connection to Exchange 2010 server

       In the Connect to Exchange server (Source) window, select an option among the ‘Connect using Global Admin User', 'Connect to Specific User',, or 'Connect to Hosted Exchange Server' options. Refer to the link for instructions on how to use the different Exchange server connection methods supported by EdbMails.

        With EdbMails, you can migrate mailboxes, perform Exchange 2010 Public folder migration to Office 365 and also migrate In-Place Archives.

       

        Tip: You can migrate Exchange 2010 to 365 using the autodiscover settings in EdbMails. This enables you to directly specify the username and password and connect to your Exchange server account.

       Once you have successfully logged into the source Exchange server, you are provided with the convenient option to load the mailboxes. EdbMails simplifies this process by automatically loading your source On-Premises mailboxes, eliminating the need for manual intervention and streamlining your migration experience. Alternatively, if you prefer, you can also choose to load the mailboxes using a CSV file, granting you the flexibility to customize your migration approach according to your specific requirements.

     • Step 3: Select the source mailboxes and connect to Office 365

       Select the mailboxes and folders from Exchange 2010 that you want to migrate to Office 365.

        Tip: If this is the first time you’re migrating with EdbMails, the migration is a full migration. On subsequent migrations from the same source to the target, the migration is incremental. If you have duplicate items in your Exchange 2010 mailboxes, you can remove duplicate emails, contacts and calendars in Exchange with EdbMails Duplicate email remover.

       Click 'Migrate to Office 365' to setup the connection with the target server

       

        Tip: EdbMails provides the following additional options to help you customize the migration task. With the Date filter option, you perform staged Exchange migration.

       1. Additional Include and Exclude Filter Options
       2. Filter emails by Date: Migrate to Office 365 by applying the Date filter
       3. Filter emails by Size: Exclude emails from migration larger than a specified size.

       

     • Step 4: Connect to the target Office 365 as Global Admin

       Connect to your target Office 365 server using modern authentication methods with a global admin account. Simply select either 'Auto' or 'Manual' registration and select the suitable connection methods among the Mailboxes, Public Folders, or Archive Mailboxes.

        Connect to Office 365 server using secure OAuth 2.0 modern authentication

       

     • Step 5: Match the mailboxes between the source and the target

       EdbMails automatically maps the mailboxes and folders between the source Exchange server and the target Office 365. This activity saves time when you’re migrating a large number of mailboxes.

       

     • Step 6: Start the migration to Office 365 from Exchange 2010

       Start and monitor the migration operation after you complete the mailbox mapping. Finally, verify the count of migrated emails, folders and mailbox items with EdbMails text-based log report.

       

   • Method 2: Hybrid migration Exchange 2010 to Office 365

     Hybrid migration is a migration method in which Exchange and Office 365 mailboxes coexist in the same Active Directory (AD) environment. You can migrate the Exchange users to Office 365 and your domain works on both the Exchange and Office 365. This migration method is an ideal option if you are planning to retain an on-premises environment, before you finally decide to move to Exchange online.

      See the Hybrid migration prerequisites and ensure that you meet the following requirements.

     1. Install the latest cumulative updates (CU) on the source Exchange
     2. Set up and install Exchange 2016 or 2019 in the target environment.
     3. Install at least one instance of Mailbox, Hub Transport, and Client Access server roles installed on Exchange 2010.
     4. Update any Edge Transport servers to the latest CU.
     5. Register any custom domains you want to use in the Hybrid with Office 365
     6. Deploy the Azure Active Directory Connect to enable Azure AD synchronization.

     After you have followed the proceeding prerequisites, run the Hybrid Configuration Wizard (HCW) to configure the Hybrid deployment.

      Tip: By using EdbMails, you can completely migrate mailboxes from on-premise Exchange 2010 to the target Hybrid Exchange and Office 365 environment.

     The following steps briefly describe the hybrid migration operation.

     • Step 1: Disable the attribute msExchMailboxGuid on Azure AD connect
     • Step 2: Download & install EdbMails and select ‘Live Exchange migration’
     • Step 3: Select the mailboxes and folders to migrate to the target
     • Step 4: Start the Hybrid migration from Exchange 2010 to Office 365

      See Hybrid migration planning strategy and steps to migrate Exchange to Office 365 in the Hybrid environment with EdbMails.

     Note: For migrating Public folders within a Hybrid environment, direct migration to Office 365 is not feasible. However, there is a workaround solution available for Exchange hybrid Public folder migration. Explore this solution to learn how to effectively migrate your Public folders.

   • Method 3: Migrate Exchange 2010 to Exchange online with EDB file

     If you have an EDB file from Exchange Server 2010, EdbMails offers a seamless solution to import the EDB to Office 365. This method is particularly useful when your Exchange server is inaccessible or if you have a corrupted EDB file that needs to be migrated without relying on PowerShell cmdlets. Follow the simple steps below to successfully migrate your mailboxes using the Offline Exchange database file.

     • Step 1: Download and install EdbMails

       Download and Install EdbMails on your computer and start the application. On the main screen, select the migration option as ‘EDB to Office 365, EDB to Exchange, EDB Public folder’.

       

     • Step 2: Select the Exchange server 2010 EDB file

       Browse the EDB file from your computer that contains the Exchange 2010 mailboxes. EdbMails can fully repair a corrupted Exchange database file and restore the contents. It can also recover deleted emails, mail items and enables you to preview emails, notes, tasks, calendar items, contacts and so forth.

       

     • Step 3: Preview and select the mailboxes to migrate to Office 365

       Easily expand and select any folder to preview its contents and ensure you're selecting the right items for migration. Once you've made your selections, simply click on ‘Migrate to Office 365’ to establish a connection with the target server.

       

       Connect to your Office 365 server with a global admin account and select the migration method that suits your needs. After selecting the mailbox loading option, the mailboxes get mapped between your source and target server.

       

     • Step 4: Start the Exchange 2010 to Office 365 mailbox migration

       Finally, start the migration and verify the count of migrated items, folders, emails with the EdbMails comprehensive log report. The application also enables you to pause and resume the migration anytime.

   • Method 4: Exchange 2010 to Office 365 using the PST migration method

     If you have mailboxes exported as PST files from Exchange server 2010, EdbMails can also assist you in migrating to Office 365. Download and run EdbMails if it hasn't already been installed on your system. The following steps outline how to migrate PST files from Exchange to Office 365.

     • Step 1: Select the migration method as Office 365 migration

       On the EdbMails migration selection popup, select the migration method as Office 365 migration.

       

     • Step 2: Add PST files in bulk to migrate to Office 365

       To add the PST files, close the Connect to Office 365 (Source) connection window and click 'Migrate PST to Office 365' at the bottom.

       

     • Step 3: Connect to target Office 365 as Global Admin User

       EdbMails supports modern authentication for connecting to your Office 365 environment. You can connect to the target server by selecting either 'Auto' or 'Manual' registration and choosing the appropriate connection method, such as Mailboxes, Public folder, or Archive Mailbox.

        Connect to Office 365 server using secure modern authentication

     • Step 4: Map and migrate mailboxes from Exchange 2010 to Office 365

       The mapping activity in EdbMails can automatically match and map the mailboxes and folders from the PST file to Office 365. This activity saves time when you’re migrating a large number of mailboxes. After you complete the migration, verify the count of the migrated items, folders and mailboxes with the help of EdbMails log report.

4. Post Migration Tasks

   The following post-migration activities help you with the proper mail flow so that your users correctly receive emails.

   • Step 1: Update the MX records to point to Office 365

     To receive messages on Office 365, change the DNS records known as MX records to enable email to work with the new server you have migrated to. In addition, configure the Autodiscover record to allow Outlook to connect to the migrated mailboxes.

   • Step 2: Create a new Outlook profile for users in the new domain

     Outlook 2010 has reached the end of support. As a result, ensure you have the latest version of MS Office to avoid compatibility issues. Configure the Outlook profile for each user in your domain if Outlook has problems connecting to Office 365 mailboxes.

   • Step 3: Decommission and uninstall Exchange server 2010

     Wait a few days and check to see if you are receiving emails correctly and that everything is working as expected. Follow the instructions provided on Microsoft's website to learn how to uninstall Exchange Server 2010.

      See the list of post migration tasks after you finish the Office 365 migration.

Exchange migration troubleshooting

 See Exchange migration troubleshooting guide for possible solutions related to common migration errors. For more information on EdbMails Exchange migration refer to the frequently asked questions (FAQs)