IMAP to IMAP migration

IMAP to IMAP migration plan

Planning is one of the most important steps before you begin migrating your IMAP data to IMAP. Prepare the target environment and have a backup plan in place to avoid potential risks and data loss. Here is a brief checklist of points to consider before you migrate.

1. Take a complete backup of all the source mailboxes, folders, calendars, contacts.
2. Remove unused mailboxes and duplicate emails files from the source.
3. Make an inventory of items before you make the move. These should include but are not limited to the following items.
   • User accounts, email addresses and login credentials
   • The source and target details, browser and operating systems used
   • Network settings, DNS configurations, MX records, firewall settings
   • Outlook settings and version you are using in your organization.
   • Licensing plans on your current source IMAP server
   • List of data and permissions from the source server that you want to transfer.
4. Determine the size of the data and number of mailboxes you want to migrate.
5. Create appropriate user mailboxes on the target server
6. Ensure you have enough network capacity and bandwidth to migrate
7. Communicate the migration plan and changes to your end users and stakeholders.
8. Perform a test migration before you start the actual one.
9. Start the actual migration, verify the endpoints and update the MX records.
10. Check for correct mail flow and configure Outlook for all the users

I. IMAP to IMAP pre migration activities

On the source and target IMAP server:

1. Take a complete backup of all your users data, configuration and messages
2. If you plan to migrate multiple users without the administrator login, prepare a CSV file with the list of all user mailboxes.
3. Find your IMAP server name and related connection settings on both the source and target and keep them ready.

II. How to migrate emails from IMAP to IMAP?

• Step 1: Download and install EdbMails IMAP migration tool
  • Download EdbMails and install the application on any Windows computer. 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’.
  • Select the migration method as ‘IMAP migration’ (All IMAP clients, Gmail, G Suite & more…)

   See list of EdbMails system requirements for IMAP migration.

• Step 2: Connect to a single or multiple users on the IMAP server

  On the IMAP/POP3 Server Login page, select the Host Name from the list. You can also enter the host name of the IMAP server manually. Enter the Post Number: 993, and SSL/TLS as shown in the connection window.

  

  If you want to migrate multiple mailboxes, select ‘Multiple (bulk) Users/Accounts Migration’. Download the sample CSV file and add in the required details such as mailbox name, password, host name and port. Load the CSV file into EdbMails and verify the list mailboxes to continue.

  

   See steps to connect to single and multiple users in EdbMails IMAP migration

• Step 3: Select mailboxes and emails from the source IMAP server
  • Select the mailboxes and folders from EdbMails left panel.
  • Click ‘Migrate to IMAP Server’ to set up the connection with the target server.

    

   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.

  EdbMails provides the following additional options to help you perform selective email migration based on a Date and other conditions.

  • Additional Include and Exclude Filter Options and migration settings for mailboxes.
  • Filter emails by Date: Migrate to IMAP by applying the Date filter
  • Filter emails by Size: Exclude emails from migration larger than a specified size.
• Step 4: Connect to target IMAP server

  Connect to the target server by entering the IMAP credentials and following the steps similar to the source. Select Single User or Multiple Users for migration based on your requirement. For multiple users, load the mailboxes from a CSV file.

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

  The mapping activity in EdbMails can automatically match and map the mailboxes and folders between the Office 365 tenants. This activity saves time when you’re migrating a large number of mailboxes.

  

• Step 6: Perform the IMAP to IMAP migration

  After connecting to the target server, proceed to mailbox mapping and start the migration operation. Finally, verify the migration and the count of folders, mailboxes and items with the EdbMails text-based log report.

  

Benefits of EdbMails for IMAP to IMAP migration

1. The application makes it simple to connect to the source and target IMAP servers and perform the migration.
2. The include and exclude filters enable you to selectively migrate emails based on Date, Subject, Attachment, Sender.
3. The folder options enable you to exclude mail folders such as Junk, Inbox, Drafts, Conversation History.
4. EdbMails is a highly secure tool and maintains a perfect data consistency between the source and target.
5. It supports migrations from and to all IMAP enabled email servers.
6. The application is compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7 and all Windows server versions.
7. Free trial and free 24x7 customer support to help you with the migration.

If you require further assistance, contact EdbMails 24x7 support. Try the free trial version today to migrate emails from IMAP to IMAP.