In this tutorial, we’ll sum up the advantages and disavantages of choosing Microsoft 365 as your email provider and quickly walk you through the steps necessary to make the move to Microsfot 365. And good news: It’s easier than you might think! 🥳
Advantages of this tutorial:
✅ Migrate all your email data to Office 365 without any data loss
✅ No service interruption, write & send emails during the migration
✅ Sync all mailboxes after the email migration
✅ No IT knowledge required – easy to follow tutorial for everyone!
Microsoft Office 365: Better than your IMAP provider?
Microsoft 365 – More than Email
Office 365, now known as Microsoft 365, is a cloud-based suite of productivity tools and software applications. It’s more than just email; it’s a comprehensive solution that includes a variety of applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, Teams, and many more.
Microsoft 365 also includes email hosting, allowing you to receive, send and manage emails, with seamless integration into the software tools you might already be using, like Excel or Word. As an Microsoft 365 user, you benefit from reliable and secure email storage, real-time collaboration features, automatic software updates, and the ability to access your emails and files from anywhere, on any device.
Advantages:
Why to Choose Office 365 as your new Email Provider!
Migrating from your current IMAP email provider to Office 365 comes with lots of benefits that can supercharge your productivity:
- Seamless Integration:
Office 365 easily integrates with other Microsoft apps, providing a cohesive and efficient workspace to boost your productivity. - Professional Email Address:
Create a professional image with a custom email address that matches your domain (e.g., yourname@yourbusiness.com). - Reliable and Secure:
Your emails are stored securely in Microsoft’s data centers and protected from spam, viruses, and phishing attacks, keeping your communication safe. - Generous Storage:
Benefit from ample email storage, reducing the need to constantly manage mailbox size or worry about running out of space. - Efficient Search:
A powerful search function makes it easy to find specific emails, even in large inboxes, saving time and effort. - Shared Mailboxes:
Collaborate effectively by sharing mailboxes and calendar access with colleagues, so you can streamline the communication with your team! - Automatic Backups:
Your emails are automatically backed up in Microsoft’s data centers, protecting you against data loss. - Regular Updates: Enjoy automatic updates and improvements, so you’re always using the latest version of the email service with enhanced features and security.
➡️ These advantages make Office 365 seem like a compelling choice if you want to move from your current IMAP email provider to another solution. But what are the downsides?
Disadvantages of Office 365
Better stay with your IMAP provider?
While Office 365 is a robust platform that offers a vast amount of functionality, it’s important to be aware of its limitations:
- Subscription Costs:
Office 365 isn’t free; it comes with a subscription fee that may not fit every budget. - Learning Curve:
Some users might find the wide range of applications and features a bit overwhelming, especially if they’re new to the Microsoft ecosystem. - Data & Privacy Concerns:
Storing data in the cloud can raise concerns about your privacy and data security, especially for sensitive or confidential information. - Limited Customization:
While Office 365 offers a lot of functionality, it might not cater to your unique requirements, and extensive customization may be limited. - Complex Configuration:
If you need more than the regular setup, you can get easily stuck in the Microsoft Admin panel which changes regularly and does not provide a great user experience.
👉 Remember, the choice of email provider ultimately depends on your specific needs and preferences. Office 365 can be an incredible asset for businesses and individuals alike, but it’s essential to weight its pros and cons to ensure it aligns with your objectives!
Tutorial: How to Migrate from Office 365 in 4 Simple Steps
So, you’ve decided to move from your current IMAP provider to Microsoft 365?
Then it’s time to follow these 4 simple steps to migrate from IMAP to Office 365:
Step 01: Create an Microsoft 365 Account
If you haven’t done so already, the first step to migrate from an IMAP based email provider to Microsoft 365 is to create an account:
1. Open your web browser and go to the Microsoft 365 Portal by visiting https://account.microsoft.com
2. Click on “Sign In”
3. Below the input field for your email, phone or Skype number, click on “Create Account”
4. Follow the steps necessary to create your Microsoft 365 account (enter your details and complete the verification process).
🎉 Setup Complete: Congratulations, you’ve successfully created an Microsoft 365 email account. You can now access your new email account by logging in to the Microsoft 365 Portal with your credentials.
Step 02: Setup MailJerry
With your brand-new Microsoft 365 account, you now might want to move your existing email data from your old provider to the Microsoft email servers. In order to do so, you need MailJerry, an email migration tool that helps you to move your emails to their new home.
Here’s how to set up your email migration:
1. Download and install MailJerry or open the MailJerry WebApp.
2. Enter your current email address and click on proceed.
3. Click on Start your Migration!
4. In the section “Existing Address”, enter the username (usually your email address) and password for your old IMAP email account.
➡️ In most cases, you don’t need to enter a mailserver, as MailJerry suggests the mailserver based on your email address. In case the suggestion does not align with the settings from your IMAP provider, enter the mailserver address as stated by your provider.
5. In the section “New Address”, select Microsoft / Office 365 as Account Type.
6. Enter the Username for your Microsoft account and click on Connect with Microsoft.
7. Now the Microsoft sign in popup opens. In the popup, enter your password and click on Sign in.
8. After you were successfully logged in to your Microsoft account, click on Check Settings.
✅ MailJerry will now connect your accounts with each other and check if everything is ready for the migration to Office 365. If everything is set up correctly, you’ll be redirected to the summary page, where you can start your email migration!
Step 03: Start the Migration from IMAP to Office 365
Now it’s time to get things going and start your email migration:
1. On the summary page, you’ll see how many emails and folders where found in your old IMAP account. Additionally, you get a summary of your Office 365 account, informing you if your account is ready to receive your data.
2. Once everything is fine, click on Start Your Migration.
3. Your Email Migration from IMAP to Office 365 is now on it’s way! Wait until your migration finished (you can close MailJerry in the meantime) and you’re done!
💪 See how easy it is to migrate from IMAP to Office 365? In case you have any questions, have a look at the FAQ section of this tutorial. Otherwise, proceed to the final step: Sync your accounts!
Step 04: Sync your Email Accounts
Now that you’ve successfully migrated your emails & folders to Microsoft 365, you might wonder: What happens with emails that are still received in your old account? For this scenario, there is a very handy trick:
1. In the MailJerry app, click on Overview and select your migration.
2. On the details page, scroll down to Options.
3. Here, click on Automatically Synchronize Emails for 10 Days
✅ Now, your old account will be synced with your new account every three hours. This means that emails receive in your old account will automatically be migrated to your Office 365 account.
Do you want to sync your data permanently?
In this case, activate the backup mode:
1. On the details page, click on Backup Mode.
2. Activate the option “Permanently Sync Emails to Target Mailbox”.
3. Optionally, you can change the backup interval from monthly backup to weekly or daily
✅ Through activating the backup mode, your emails will permanently be synced to your Office 365 mailbox, without any time limitation!
Conclusion:Migrating from IMAP to Office 365 is easy!
As you’ve seen in this tutorial, transitioning from your current IMAP provider to Microsoft 365 (formerly known as Office 365) is a breeze with this simple four-step guide. After creating your Microsoft 365 account, you need to enter the credentials for your IMAP mailbox, connect with your Microsoft 365 account and start your email migration.
After the migration from IMAP to Office 365, simply activate the mailbox sync to ensure that new emails are automatically forwarded to Microsoft 365. And in case you do not plan to delete your IMAP email account any time soon, activate the backup mode and make sure to never miss an email received in your old account!
IMAP to Office 365:Frequent Questions
My Microsoft 365 account already contains emails. Is this a problem?
No, not at all! Simply proceed with your email migration as described in this tutorial. MailJerry will add the emails contained in your IMAP account, without changing or deleting any data already existing in your Office 365 account.
I don’t have the username / password for my Office 365 account!
Don’t worry! As with Gmail, Microsoft offers a wide range of tools to help you recover your data:
If you can’t remember your username, use the Microsoft Username Recovery Tool.
Forgot your Office 365 password? Have a look at this help page to find out how to reset the password for your account.
Need further instructions? You can find a detailed description on what to do in case you forgot your username and / or password here.
How long does the migration to Office 365 take?
This depends on two parameters: The size of your IMAP mailbox and the transfer speed provided by your IMAP provider. In general, the migration speed from IMAP to Office 365 is very high, however, there are a few IMAP providers that throttle the speed in general or after a certain data volume was migrated.
If this is the case, don’t worry! It doesn’t matter if your migration takes a few hours (or even days for really large mailboxes), as MailJerry will handle all required processes automatically.
Can I use my IMAP mailbox during the migration?
Of course! You can use your current IMAP email account as usual during the email migration. Simply make sure that you activate the mailbox sync after the email migration, so changes to your IMAP account that happened during the migration are also reflected in you Office 365 account.
What’s the difference between the mailbox sync and the backup mode?
The mailbox sync syncronizes your old account with your new account every three hours for a limited amount of time. Therefore, it’s the perfect choice if you plan to delete your old account or perform changes to the DNS / MX settings of your custom domain.
The backup mode is best suited if you plan to keep your old IMAP mailbox, but don’t want to check it for new emails in the future. By activating the backup mode, all emails receive in your old account will automatically be migrated to your Microsoft account – without any time limit!
Can I activate the mailbox sync and the backup mode at the same time?
Yes! For the first 10 days, the mailbox sync will synchronize your accounts every three hours. Afterwards, the backup mode sync your data in the selected interval.
Still have further questions?
Have a look at the following pages:
