What is Office 365 migration?

Office 365 migration is the process of moving organizational data — mailboxes, public folders, archives, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams — into Microsoft 365, out to another platform, or between two tenants. EdbMails Office 365 Migration Software supports all of these scenarios.

How can I migrate to Office 365 using EdbMails?

The whole Office 365 migration process using the EdbMails Office 365 Migration Tool is one of the simplest there is – just connect to your source and target servers and let it do its work. Step 1: Download and install EdbMails. Step 2: Connect to the source using a global administrator account. Step 3: Choose which mailboxes and folders to migrate. Step 4: Connect to the destination server and map the mailboxes. Step 5: Begin the Office 365 migration process.

What are the reasons for migrating to Office 365?

Most teams move to Office 365 for some combination of these: Cost savings: Less spent on on-premise hardware, fewer painful upgrade cycles, and ongoing maintenance becomes someone else's problem. Scalability: Size your environment up or down as the business shifts. Accessibility: Mailboxes, documents, and apps reachable from anywhere, on whatever device the user happens to have. Collaboration: SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, and Yammer working together for actual teamwork instead of email tag. Security: Built-in threat protection, data loss prevention, and encryption — without needing to bolt on third-party tools. Maintenance: Microsoft handles updates and patches, which frees IT staff for work that actually moves the business. Compliance: Features that help with HIPAA, GDPR, and the rest of the alphabet soup.

What types of Microsoft 365 migration does EdbMails support?

EdbMails covers all the standard Office 365 mailbox migration types. Cutover migration moves every source mailbox into the Office 365 tenant in a single pass — straightforward when the org is small enough to switch over at once. Staged migration breaks the work into phases, useful when you'd rather not move everyone at the same time. Hybrid migration ties on-premise Exchange and Office 365 together for organizations running both. IMAP migration is also on the menu — Gmail to Office 365 being one of the more common examples.

What are the best practices for Office 365 email migration?

The best practices guide for Office 365 mailbox migration covers all the key steps and recommendations to ensure a smooth and successful migration.

What are the migration challenges with Microsoft 365?

There are several common challenges with Office 365 mailbox migration including data integrity, downtime, user access continuity, and large mailbox handling. Detailed breakdown of these challenges is available in EdbMails' migration challenges guide.

Can I use EdbMails to migrate Microsoft 365 to On-Premise Exchange server?

Yes. EdbMails moves Office 365 mailbox data back to on-premise Exchange, with all server versions supported — Exchange 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019. Step-by-step guidance for migrating from Office 365 to on-premise Exchange is available separately.

What are the steps to migrate Office 365 Public folder with EdbMails?

Public folder migration is straightforward with EdbMails — and there's no PowerShell scripting involved at any point. Step 1: Launch EdbMails and choose Office 365 migration. Step 2: Pick 'Connect to Public folder' as the migration operation. Step 3: Connect to the source Office 365 server and select the public folders. Step 4: Connect to the target Office 365 server and start the migration.

Can I migrate a Microsoft 365 Public folder to Shared mailbox with EdbMails?

Yes - Office 365 public folder to shared mailbox migration is one of the supported scenarios.

How to migrate a large Archive mailbox to Office 365 with EdbMails?

For migrating a large archive mailbox to Office 365: Step 1: Enable In-Place Archive in your Office 365 tenant. Step 2: Download and install EdbMails. Step 3: Connect to the source Office 365 server. Step 4: Pick the large archive mailbox you want to move. Step 5: Connect to the target Office 365 server. Step 6: Start the migration. Every piece of mailbox data — emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, attachments — comes across with full accuracy. No data loss, no corruption, nothing scrambled.

Which license do I need to buy to migrate Office 365 Mailboxes?

You'll need an Office 365 Migration license to move your mailboxes from Office 365.

Can I migrate only new emails using EdbMails without duplicates on the target server?

Yes. By default, the first run is a full migration. From the second run onward, incremental migration kicks in automatically, picking up only new or modified items — no duplicates land on the target. You can also filter by last migration date if you'd rather skip rescanning the whole mailbox each time.

Do I need to pay for Shared mailbox migration?

Yes — each shared mailbox uses up one license, same as a regular mailbox.

Is there a Free Trial version available to test Microsoft 365 migration features?

Yes — there's a Free Trial that opens up every Office 365 migration feature for testing. Up to 30 items per folder from every mailbox come across during the trial.

Is it possible to migrate specific data from source Office 365 to target Office 365?

Definitely. EdbMails handles selective Office 365 migration through filters that you can shape pretty granularly — message received date, sender address, recipients (CC and BCC included), subject line, attachment names, and read/unread status all work as filter criteria.

How do I choose the best Office 365 migration software?

Compare migration tools across capabilities like license type, concurrent mailbox migration, automatic throttling management, incremental migration, public folder licensing, and technical support. Tools that offer lifetime licenses, free upgrades, and 24/7 support typically deliver better long-term value than subscription-based options.

How does the licensing work?

The licensing model is per-mailbox: each migrated mailbox consumes one license, calculated against the source mailbox count. Nothing stops you from running multiple migration jobs in parallel across different machines, as long as you've got licenses left in the pool.

Do you have Office 365 Migration checklists?

Yes - Office 365 migration checklists are available to help you plan and execute your migration successfully.

How many licenses should I purchase for Public folder migration?

Public folder migration takes 20 mailbox licenses. Once those are allocated, you can migrate unlimited public folders from a domain — there's no per-folder cost beyond that.

Does EdbMails support migrating Shared mailboxes to Office 365?

Yes — shared mailbox migration to Office 365 tenants is fully supported. The full set of source items is covered: mailboxes, shared mailboxes, public folders, archive mailboxes, and more. EdbMails handles the shared-mailbox mapping automatically and brings across the contents — emails, attachments, contacts, calendars, tasks, and notes.

Is there any size limitation for Microsoft 365 mailbox migration?

There aren't any size limits on the EdbMails side. Microsoft does enforce its own restrictions, though — those are detailed in the EdbMails Knowledge Base article on Microsoft 365 mailbox size limitations.

Does EdbMails create the mailboxes automatically on the target O365 server?

Yes, EdbMails will automatically create the mailboxes for you on the target and allocate the licenses to be assigned.

Is it possible to map one source folder to the target folder of my choice on the server?

Yes, EdbMails allows customized folder mapping to route source folders to target folders of your choice.

How much time does it usually require to migrate Office 365 mailboxes?

The duration of Office 365 migration depends on a few moving parts. Detailed breakdown of Office 365 migration duration is available in EdbMails' tenant-to-tenant migration guide.

Does the software support all languages during migration?

Yes — EdbMails supports all languages during Office 365 migration.

Can I access the source and target mailbox during migration?

Yes — your mailbox data stays accessible the whole time the migration is running. No server downtime to plan around.

Can EdbMails remove deleted source items from the target Office 365 folders?

Yes — EdbMails can sync deletions from source to target. Tick the 'Remove deleted source items from target folders' option in the main migration window, then run a follow-up migration.

Can I migrate emails from Microsoft 365 to IMAP server using EdbMails?

Yes — Office 365 emails can move to any IMAP-enabled server. The supported list covers most of the popular ones: Outlook, Gmail, Zoho, Zimbra, IceWarp, cPanel, Plesk, GoDaddy, Rackspace, AWS WorkMail, Bluehost, and Dreamhost.

Does EdbMails support Office 365 to Hosted Exchange migration?

Yes — Office 365 to Hosted Exchange is supported. A common example is migrating from Office 365 to a Rackspace-hosted Exchange server.

Will I require a different license for Primary mailbox migration and Archive mailbox migration?

No, you only need one license if both the UPN (User Principal Name) are identical for the Primary and Archive mailboxes.

Does EdbMails manage mailbox mapping from source to target Microsoft 365 server automatically?

Yes, EdbMails automates the mailbox mapping between source and target tenants. For the case when there are hundreds or thousands of mailboxes to be migrated, manual mapping would be a terrible job and EdbMails saves a lot of time.

Does the software generate duplicates when running consecutive Microsoft 365 migrations?

No — incremental migration handles this. Subsequent runs only carry across new and modified items, which keep the target server clean of duplicates.

Does EdbMails handle mailbox mapping between source and target Microsoft 365 servers automatically?

EdbMails automates mailbox mapping between the source and target Tenants, which is useful for large-scale migrations, saving considerable time and effort compared to manual mapping.

Does EdbMails need scripting via PowerShell for Office 365 migration?

No. EdbMails Office 365 migration is an all-graphical-user-interface experience without need of using any PowerShell scripts, or any command-line instruments, or making any API calls. This is regardless of whether it is about migrating mailboxes across tenants, public folders or mailbox archives, hybrid configuration.

What must be prepared before migrating an archive mailbox to Office 365?

Enable and verify the destination archive mailbox, confirm the applicable license and available capacity, validate source and target access, and review the mailbox mapping. Run a representative pilot before processing a larger batch.

Can I migrate an archive mailbox without migrating the primary mailbox?

You can select the required archive mailbox content according to the available source-selection options. Confirm that the correct target archive is enabled and mapped, then validate that the migrated items appear in the archive rather than the primary mailbox.

What if the source archive is larger than the target archive capacity?

Check the target user’s Microsoft 365 license, current archive quota, and eligibility for auto-expanding archiving before migration. Do not begin a large transfer until the destination has sufficient provisioned capacity for the approved scope.

Does EdbMails support a subsequent pass for archive mailbox migration?

Yes. After the initial run, a subsequent pass can process supported items not migrated previously when the same source, target, mappings, project context, and migration computer are retained. Review and correct reported errors before rerunning the mailbox.

How should I validate an Office 365 archive mailbox migration?

Review the migration report, verify the source-to-target mapping, compare representative folders and item counts, and open selected messages and attachments in the destination archive. Resolve warnings or failures before accepting the migration.

How to Migrate Archive Mailboxes to Office 365

Secure Your Email History with EdbMails Office 365 Archive Migration

EdbMails supports migration of eligible archive mailbox data in Office 365. Ensure the destination archive is provisioned, select the archive content, and review migration results before closing the project.

Migrate Archive Mailbox to Office 365

Archive mailboxes hold older or less frequently accessed messages outside a user’s primary mailbox. During a tenant change, consolidation, or mailbox reorganization, that archive content must be mapped to the correct destination archive and validated separately from the primary mailbox.

EdbMails Office 365 Migration Tool lets IT teams connect to the source and target tenants, select archive mailbox data, verify mailbox mappings, apply filters where required, run the migration, and review the result through progress details and reports.

Office 365 mailbox migration with data integrity

Archive mailbox migration to Office 365

This feature is intended for migrating supported archive mailbox content to a provisioned Office 365 archive mailbox. It complements the detailed procedural guide while keeping the focus here on planning, mapping, migration controls, and result validation.

Plan the destination archive before migration

Check the destination configuration before loading a large archive. Archive availability, capacity, retention behavior, and auto-expanding archiving depend on the Microsoft 365 license and tenant configuration.

Condition	Correct route	Why
The destination user does not have an archive mailbox	Enable and verify the target archive before mapping	The migration requires a valid destination archive mailbox.
The source archive is close to or larger than the target archive capacity	Confirm licensing, current quota, and any required auto-expanding archive preparation	A migration cannot rely on capacity that has not been provisioned.
Primary and archive mailboxes both need to be migrated	Plan and validate each source-to-target mapping separately	Primary and archive destinations serve different storage locations.
Only a date range or selected folders are required	Configure filters and folder selection before starting the job	Selection settings should match the approved retention and migration scope.
The source is subject to retention, legal hold, or compliance requirements	Review the organization’s policy and destination configuration with the responsible compliance team	Mailbox migration does not replace retention, legal, or records-management controls.

Direct archive mailbox migration

Connect the source and destination Office 365 environments with the supported authentication method, load the required mailboxes, and select the archive mailbox content to migrate. The application transfers selected supported items to the mapped target while retaining the applicable folder hierarchy and item metadata.

Map source and target archive mailboxes

Review each proposed match before starting the migration. Automatic matching can reduce setup work when mailbox identities align, while user-defined mailbox and folder mapping provides explicit control when addresses, display names, or folder destinations differ.

Migrate individual or multiple archive mailboxes

Select a single archive mailbox for a pilot or process several mapped archive mailboxes as a batch. For larger projects, group mailboxes into manageable migration windows, monitor Microsoft service responses, and keep enough time for follow-up passes and validation.

Apply folder and item filters

Use the available migration filter settings when the project requires a defined date range, selected folders, or other supported criteria. Record the chosen settings so the migration report can be assessed against the approved scope.

Run subsequent incremental passes

The first run processes the selected source scope. A later pass can process supported items that were not migrated previously when the same source, target, mailbox mappings, project context, and migration computer are retained. Review the earlier report and correct connection, permission, mapping, or service issues before rerunning an affected mailbox.

Monitor progress and review reports

Track mailbox status during the migration and inspect the final report for completed, skipped, warning, and failed items. Reports support troubleshooting and acceptance checks; they should be reviewed before the source archive is retired or the project is closed.

Validate the destination archive mailbox

Confirm that every source archive is mapped to the intended target user and archive mailbox.
Compare representative folder and item counts with the migration report.
Open selected messages and attachments across different folders and date ranges.
Check that the migrated content appears in the archive rather than the primary mailbox.
Investigate warnings, skipped items, or failures and complete any required subsequent pass.
Retain source access and migration records until the business owner accepts the result.

Frequently Asked Questions

What must be prepared before migrating an archive mailbox to Office 365?
Enable and verify the destination archive mailbox, confirm the applicable license and available capacity, validate source and target access, and review the mailbox mapping. Run a representative pilot before processing a larger batch.
Can I migrate an archive mailbox without migrating the primary mailbox?
You can select the required archive mailbox content according to the available source-selection options. Confirm that the correct target archive is enabled and mapped, then validate that the migrated items appear in the archive rather than the primary mailbox.
What if the source archive is larger than the target archive capacity?
Check the target user’s Microsoft 365 license, current archive quota, and eligibility for auto-expanding archiving before migration. Do not begin a large transfer until the destination has sufficient provisioned capacity for the approved scope.
Does EdbMails support a subsequent pass for archive mailbox migration?
Yes. After the initial run, a subsequent pass can process supported items not migrated previously when the same source, target, mappings, project context, and migration computer are retained. Review and correct reported errors before rerunning the mailbox.
How should I validate an Office 365 archive mailbox migration?
Review the migration report, verify the source-to-target mapping, compare representative folders and item counts, and open selected messages and attachments in the destination archive. Resolve warnings or failures before accepting the migration.

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