Are you making the move from iCloud to Gmail? If so, you probably want to migrate your existing iCloud mailbox to Gmail as well. With this tried-and-tested approach, you can easily migrate to Gmail, no expert knowledge required. Just follow our simple 2-step tutorial and get everything set up in minutes!
Video Tutorial: Migrate iCloud to Gmail
Have a look at this video walktrough of an iCloud to Gmail migration – in case you prefer to watch a video instead of reading this article 😉
Advantages of this approach:
✅ Easy set up – done in minutes
✅ Automatically converts folders to Gmail labels
✅ No service interruption during and after the migration
✅ 100% risk free – no data loss possible
✅ Delta migration keeps account synced after the initial migration
✅ Migrates all email data: Folders, folder hierarchy, drafts, sent objects…
Summary: How to Migrate from iCloud to Gmail
Follow these steps to migrate your mailbox data from iCloud to Gmail:
1. Set up your iCloud account by creating an app password.
2. Set up the migration by connecting both accounts. Now start your migration.
After your migration has finished, your Gmail account will contain the same email data as your iCloud account. If you wish to keep your account synced, simply enable the automatic delta migration.
For a step-by-step walk through, scroll down below. And if you have any questions, check out the FAQs at the end of this page.
Need to Migrate from Gmail to iCloud?
Simply follow this tutorial: How to Migrate from Gmail to iCloud
Step 01:
Account Setup
Before we start to migrate your mailbox from iCloud to Gmail, you’ll need to create an app password for your iCloud account. This app password allows your emails to be securely transferred to Gmail in step 02.
Here’s how to create an app password for iCloud:
1. Open your Apple account by opening this link: https://appleid.apple.com/account/home
2. Click on “Sign In” and identify with your credentials.
3. Select “Sign-In and Security” in the sidebar on the left.
4. Now click on “App-Specific Passwords”.
5. In the overlay that opens, click on “Generate an app-specific password”.
6. Enter a name for the password. Any name will do, but best use something that helps you remember why you created the password. Since we create this password to migrate emails with MailJerry, we opted for “MailJerry” as password name. Click on “Create”.
7. Enter your iCloud account password and click on “Continue”.
8. You now see your app password. Copy this password and keep it safe!
After copying the password, click on “Done” and optionally sing out of your account.
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Step 02:
Migration from iCloud to Gmail
Now it’s time to actually migrate from iCloud to Gmail. Before we start, let’s make sure that we have everything at hand:
Checklist: What You’ll Need in This Step
- The app password for your iCloud account.
- The credentials of your Gmail account (username and password).
- MailJerry – your iCloud to Gmail email migration tool
Connect Your iCloud Account:
1. Download MailJerry or open our email migration tool directly in your browser.
2. Enter your email address or license key and click on “Migrations”.
3. In the section “Existing Address”, select “iCloud / Apple” as account type.
4. Enter your iCloud email address and your app password in the corresponding fields.
⚠️ Important: If the email address used for your Apple ID and your primary iCloud email address are not the same, make sure to enter your primary iCloud email address. Otherwise, you won’t be able to connect. To check your primay email address, log in at https://icloud.com/mail/, click on the settings wheel on the top left corner and click on “Settings”. Here, you see your primary email adress.
Connect Your Gmail Account:
1. Head over to the section “New Address”. Here, select “Gmail / Google Workspace” as account type.
2. Enter your Gmail username (usually your email address) and click on “Connect with Google Account”.
3. In the overlay that opens, identify with your account.
4. Click on “Continue” and grant access to your account by clicking on “Continue”.
Verify and Review the Migration:
1. Now it’s time to check your settings. To do so, click on “Check Settings”.
2. The software now connects to both accounts and gathers all required information. Depending on the size of your mailbox, this process might take some time, so please be patient.
3. As soon as the check has finished, you’ll see a preview of your migration. Here, you can verify if your new Gmail account provides enough storage and that all messages in your iCloud account can be migrated to Gmail.
Start the Migration from iCloud to Gmail:
1. If everything looks good, click on “Start Your Migration”.
2. The software will now migrate your mailbox from iCloud to Gmail. Simply wait until the process is done!
3. After the migration has finished, all emails have been copied from iCloud to Gmail and all folders have been converted into Gmail labels. So your mailbox data is now stored in two accounts: your old iCloud and your new Gmail account.
💡 You can use your old iCloud email address while the migration is running. And if you migrate a large mailbox, you can simply shut down MailJerry or even your computer – your migration continues to run in our migration cloud!
Delta Migration:
Keep Your Accounts Synced
After the initial migration, it’s very likely that you still receive emails in your old iCloud account. To move those messages over to Gmail as well, you can easily set up the auto sync that automatically performs a delta migration.
How to Set Up a Delta Migration:
1. After your migration has finished, click on “Overview” and select your migration.
2. On the details page, scroll down to “Options”.
3. Enable “Automatically synchronize emails for 10 days”.
➡️ Now, MailJerry checks your old account every three hours and migrates all newly received emails from iCloud to your Gmail.
How to permanently sync iCloud with Gmail:
To permanently sync your iCloud account with Gmail, click on “Backup Mode” and enable “Permanently Sync Emails to Target Mailbox”. You can configure the frequency of the sync by choosing between a daily, weekly or monthly interval.
iCloud to Gmail Migration:
Frequent Questions
Is it really risk free to migrate from iCloud to Gmail using MailJerry?
Yes! MailJerry is technically not able to touch any data in your source mailbox. This means that your existing iCloud mailbox remains intact, no emails are moved, altered or deleted in any way. The software simply creates a copy of your mailbox, leaving the source mailbox intact.
Can I use my mailboxes while the migration is running?
Yes. You can use both mailboxes to receive, read and sent emails while the migration is running. Please do not perform big structural changes in your mailboxes (e.g. clean up of one or both mailboxes) and disable any other tools that might interfere with your mailboxes (e.g. backup tools).
Can I delete the iCloud app password after the migration?
The app password is required as long as MailJerry needs to connect to your account. This is the case while the migration is running and every time a backup or delta migration is performed. So if the migration has finished and you don’t plan to enable the auto sync / backup mode, you can revoke the app password.
My mailbox is very large and progress is slow. What can I do?
Google applies bandwidth limits to your mailbox after a certain amount of data was migrated. So when migrating a large mailbox, progress might slow down after a certain point. Google resets these limits every 24h and if you’re not in a hurry, it’s best to simply wait until the migration has finished.
If you’re, however, in a hurry, you can stop the migration and start it again, this time enabling the option “Ignore Bandwidth Limits”. By doing so, MailJerry will ignore Google’s limits and try to migrate your data as fast as possible.
Of course, you won’t loose the progress you made so far, as MailJerry will skip all emails that were already migrated.
After enabling “ignore bandwidth limits”, my migration failed. What now?
When ignoring Google’s bandwidth limits, Google sometimes disconnects your account and your migration finishes with errors. If this happens, start the migration again, this time without enabling the “ignore bandwidth” option.
When restarting the migration, the mailbox check will run a little longer, since MailJerry has to identify which messages were already migrated. Please be patient and wait until the check has finished. As soon as it’s done, you can start your migration again.
I have further questions. Where can I get help?
On our blog, we offer lots of tutorials and informational articles. Furthermore, our FAQ page answers many frequent questions. And in case you don’t find an answer to your question, our support team is happy to help.
