# Self-migration of e-mails... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 11, 2019, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-migration-of-e-mails/843283 "2019-11-11T12:47:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-migration-of-e-mails/843283/1 "2019-11-11T12:47:01Z")
We are looking to change our Workspace e-mail over to Office 365, but we want to do our own migration rather than pay the $99 to have it done. We were hoping to just be able to copy & send over eml files using Mozilla Thunderbird, but the more we read, it looks like we’d be having to copy over all the e-mails individually. Are we misunderstanding? Is this something we can/should do ourselves? > **[GoDaddy - Save and export Workspace Email using Thunderbird](https://www.godaddy.com/help/save-and-export-workspace-email-using-thunderbird-1439)** > > Save and export email as .eml files using Thunderbird on Mac or Windows. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-migration-of-e-mails/843283/2 "2019-11-11T17:25:13Z")
GoDaddy requires a login to access your link. I happen to have a GoDaddy account so I viewed the page. It is simply directions on how to use Thunderbird to save all your emails to a Windows folder, then use Outlook to import them all to a mail folder. It’s easy but each user would have to do this. I am an admin on our company’s Exchange account and I do not know of any back-end way to stuff emails into a user’s account. How many users do you have? Is the $99 per user, or for all your users? Mods: This is pretty much open information, not a creative work or proprietary to GoDaddy, so I assume it’s OK to post this: > [@](#): > > Save and export emails using Thunderbird > There’s a free way to export emails using Thunderbird on Mac or Windows. Then you can add your email account and save the emails from your inbox and outbox as .eml files. After your emails are save as .eml files, you can upload them to most email clients, including Outlook. > > Before you can save your emails as .emls, you’ll need to: > > Install Thunderbird. > Add my email using Thunderbird > Create a folders on your computer for your email inbox and sent emails. > Export emails as .eml files > Saving your emails as .eml files works for any email folders within your inbox and sent emails. > > Open the Inbox folder that contains the emails you want to save and export. > Select all the emails you want to save. > Right click, click Save selected emails and select EML format. > The last folder you created displays, you may need to search for it if it doesn’t open as the default folder. > Click Open. Your emails save as .eml files in the folder, depending on the number of emails this can take a few minutes. > Repeat the process for all the emails within folders you want to save and export. > > Import .eml files to Outlook or other email clients > Open Outlook, create new folders where you can store your old emails. (Right click in section of your choice \> New Folder \> Enter folder name \> Tap Enter. > From your computer, open the folder(s) where you saved your emails as files. > Drag and drop the .eml files into your new Outlook folder. Your .eml files add to Outlook as new emails that you can access any time. > You can use the same type of process to move email files to other email clients. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-migration-of-e-mails/843283/3 "2019-11-12T16:00:24Z")
Where are the emails stored at present? Are they on an exchange server, or on some other mail server? If they’re on an IMAP server, it should be possible just to connect Outlook (the O365 version) to the IMAP server and see the emails directly inside Outlook - where you should also then have the option just to drag them into the native Outlook inbox or other folders. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-migration-of-e-mails/843283/4 "2019-11-12T18:26:03Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > If they’re on an IMAP server, it should be possible just to connect Outlook (the O365 version) to the IMAP server and see the emails directly inside Outlook - where you should also then have the option just to drag them into the native Outlook inbox or other folders. This is a good point. I’m not sure why the OP specifically mentioned Thunderbird. Using Outlook on both ends would be easiest. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-migration-of-e-mails/843283/5 "2019-11-12T20:24:22Z")
If you can avoid it, do NOT use GoDaddy for O365. They are running a bastardized version and you can’t migrate to the “regular” O365 version and keep your O365 Tenant. [https://ca.godaddy.com/community/Managing-Email/How-easy-is-it-to-migrate-from-GoDaddy-O365-to-Microsoft-O365/m-p/45072#M377](https://ca.godaddy.com/community/Managing-Email/How-easy-is-it-to-migrate-from-GoDaddy-O365-to-Microsoft-O365/m-p/45072#M377) ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-migration-of-e-mails/843283/6 "2019-11-25T15:19:20Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > If you can avoid it, do NOT use GoDaddy for O365. They are running a bastardized version and you can’t migrate to the “regular” O365 version and keep your O365 Tenant. > > [GoDaddy Help Center | Customer Knowledge Base – GoDaddy Help Center](https://ca.godaddy.com/community/Managing-Email/How-easy-is-it-to-migrate-from-GoDaddy-O365-to-Microsoft-O365/m-p/45072#M377) OK, can you create Microsoft O365 e-mail accounts with your domains which are registered/hosted at GoDaddy? ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-migration-of-e-mails/843283/7 "2019-11-25T15:22:41Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > OK, can you create Microsoft O365 e-mail accounts with your domains which are registered/hosted at GoDaddy? Yes, in fact when you go to add the domain to O365, you need to prove ownership of the domain before you can complete the process. It will prompt you for your GoDaddy credentials and the process is completely automated. If your DNS was hosted with another provider (I use EasyDNS) you need to manually add a TXT or MX record to complete the process. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-migration-of-e-mails/843283/8 "2019-11-25T15:48:30Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > Yes, in fact when you go to add the domain to O365, you need to prove ownership of the domain before you can complete the process. It will prompt you for your GoDaddy credentials and the process is completely automated. If your DNS was hosted with another provider (I use EasyDNS) you need to manually add a TXT or MX record to complete the process. And what becomes of your Workspace e-mail accounts that use the domain? Do you need to do the migration on that or what? ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-migration-of-e-mails/843283/9 "2019-11-25T15:49:57Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > And what becomes of your Workspace e-mail accounts that use the domain? > Do you need to do the migration on that or what? Do you mean the GoDaddy non-O365 email service? I assume you would need to migrate. I’ve personally never used it. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2020, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-migration-of-e-mails/843283/10 "2020-01-19T19:05:05Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > If you can avoid it, do NOT use GoDaddy for O365. They are running a bastardized version and you can’t migrate to the “regular” O365 version and keep your O365 Tenant. > > [https://ca.godaddy.com/community/Managing-Email/How-easy-is-it-to-migrate-from-GoDaddy-O365-to-Microsoft-O365/m-p/45072#M377](https://ca.godaddy.com/community/Managing-Email/How-easy-is-it-to-migrate-from-GoDaddy-O365-to-Microsoft-O365/m-p/45072#M377) Well, we tried to go with the GoDaddy O365 (I know, against your advice & you were right) but they ran into a snag during migration, so we just told them to cancel the switch. I’ve talked to Microsoft directly with good results when talking to the Office 365 sales people, but getting transferred around to CSR’s with questionable English skills & CSR knowledge when it comes to details on migration. Any hints as to what I should ask to get the best results? ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-migration-of-e-mails/843283/11 "2020-01-19T21:38:04Z")
There are opensource tools that use IMAP/POP to migrate emails from one server to another. I used [imapsync](https://imapsync.lamiral.info/) when I stopped hosting my own email server and moved everything to Google mail services. YMMV Edit: I see that ImapSync is a paid-for product - my mistake. I must have used something else - it was a long time ago. But the cost for ImapSync seems pretty reasonable for an organization. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-migration-of-e-mails/843283/12 "2020-01-19T21:44:07Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Well, we tried to go with the GoDaddy O365 (I know, against your advice & you were right) but they ran into a snag during migration, so we just told them to cancel the switch. > > I’ve talked to Microsoft directly with good results when talking to the Office 365 sales people, but getting transferred around to CSR’s with questionable English skills & CSR knowledge when it comes to details on migration. Any hints as to what I should ask to get the best results? I’m not sure about this. We’re a Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) and have a support contract, so I skip 1st level techs. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-migration-of-e-mails/843283/13 "2020-01-23T04:42:26Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > I’m not sure about this. We’re a Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) and have a support contract, so I skip 1st level techs. Well, we tried going through Microsoft for the Office 365. Basically, I have to change my domain name registration to them out of GoDaddy, but if I do that, as far as I can tell, that negates my Workspace e-mail account which is tied to my domain name being registered in GoDaddy. So my friend I am helping with this just wants to leave GoDaddy, get a new hosting site with good e-mail, and start over. Is ever quality hosting site tied to Office 365, or is there a good quality alternative for professional e-mail? ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-migration-of-e-mails/843283/14 "2020-01-23T11:11:16Z")
I haven’t tried anything else in years. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-migration-of-e-mails/843283/15 "2020-01-23T16:21:18Z")
To the larger Board members- Is every quality hosting site tied to Office 365, or is there another good quality alternative for professional e-mail? It looks like Bluehost is also partnered with Office 365? What better hosting sites are there which might have quality professional e-mail services?