Outlook is the popular email service from Microsoft widely used by corporate companies. You can also use Outlook for personal purposes by purchasing Microsoft 365 subscription. With the purchase, you can get 1TB of OneDrive storage space and other popular Office apps like Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Though popular, Outlook can create problems and work slowly especially when you have large size of archives. If you are fed up with Outlook, Gmail is the next best option you consider. In this article, we will explain how to migrate Outlook email account to Gmail without losing your data.
Why to Choose Gmail?
Most people consider switching from Outlook to Gmail because of the following features.
- Gmail offers better hosting, especially using website is much easier compared to Outlook online.
- You will have a more reliable filter & sorting capability.
- Intuitive & faster search features.
- Support for integrations & addons.
Though you can use Gmail as a complete free service, it comes with 15GB limit on storage space. This is sufficient for personal use and if you are looking for more or want to have a custom Gmail account for your own domain, then you can purchase premium plans from Google Workspace.
Migrate Outlook to Gmail
There are two ways to achieve the process of Outlook to Gmail migration – one is through Outlook desktop app (manual method) and other is using online transfer (automatic). Once you are ready with your Outlook and Gmail accounts, you can follow through with this guide.
1. Migrating Outlook to Gmail with Desktop App
Unlike online migration, this process is lengthy needs lot of time and sufficient storage space on your computer. First, locate and open the Outlook app and follow the below instructions.
1.1. Export Your Outlook Emails as PST Archive File
On the dashboard that appears, click the “file” menu at the top-left of the account display screen and select the “Open & Export” side menu.
Choose the “Import/Export” icon, and a dialogue box appears for you to specify the action to perform. Select the “Export to a file” option and click on the “Next” button.
Then choose “Outlook Data File (.pst)” option from the list for creating your email archive file and click the “Next” button.
Have the particular Outlook email account selected and remember to mark the “Include subfolders” checkbox and apply “Filters” if you want. Hence, click the “Next” button.
Further, use the “Browse” button to specify the folder the account file would be, and by default, ours is the “Outlook Files” subfolder in “Documents”.
Finally, click the “Finish” button, and you are required to create an optional password for the file, but it is advisable to ignore this to avoid complications during import to Gmail.
Enable IMAP Protocol in your Gmail Account
To be possible for email migration, activating the IMAP is paramount, so launch into your Gmail account through a web browser. Click on the “gear (settings)” icon at the screen top-right and select the “See all settings” bar menu from the sidebar dialogue that appears.
Click on the “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” top menu, and locate the “IMAP Access:” title, then select the “Enable IMAP” radio button. Scroll down and tap the “Save Changes” button.
Add Gmail Account to Outlook Email App
Back to your Outlook account dashboard, click the “File” menu and with the “Info” side menu bar selected, click the “Add Account” button.
From the dialogue box that appears, enter your Gmail email address and click the “Connect” button.
As this redirect you to your Gmail login page, click the “Next” button.
Enter your account password and click the “Sign in” button.
You will be required to agree to Microsoft apps & services to access your account by clicking the “allow” button below the agreement dialogue box.
A dashboard appears having the message that the account is successfully added, then click the “Done” button. Hence, the Gmail account now appears on your Outlook app dashboard.
1.2. Import the Outlook Email PST File to the Gmail Account
From your Outlook dashboard, select that added Gmail account, and click the “File” menu. Choose the “Open & Export” sidebar option and click the “Import/Export” box icon as explained above. With the display of a dialogue box, select the “Import from another program or file” option and click the “Next” button.
Select the “Outlook Data File (.pst)” as the file type option and click the “Next” button.
Use the “Browse…” icon to select the downloaded PST file on your local computer and click the “Next Button”.
With the “Outlook Data File” as the selection, click the “Finish” button to import successfully. Now, you can check your Gmail account and see all those contents in your former Outlook in the new email dashboard.
2. Migrating Outlook.com Email Account to Gmail with Browser (Online)
This process deals with doing it through the online Gmail Account. Hence from your Gmail dashboard, click the “gear (settings)” icon and then the “See all settings” menu bar. On the settings page that appears, click the “Accounts and Import” top menu, and from the “Import mail and contacts:” title section, click the “Import mail and contacts” text link.
Another window dashboard appears, & you now have to enter the Outlook email address and click on the “Continue” button.
Furthermore, click the “Allow” button to accept the Gmail to open email links through App and click the “Continue” button. Microsoft sign in dashboard comes up when you aren’t signed in, and in such a scenario, enter your Outlook email and password.
Then, click the “Yes” button after the redirection to allow Gmail access to your Outlook information.
A dashboard displays the request for options on what you wish to import. The options include contacts, mails and new emails for next 30 days. Select the necessary checkboxes and click the “Start import” button.
Finally, a message dashboard appears with the notification that your importation is done and might take some time to reflect. Just click the “Ok” button and wait for the results in your Gmail, and that’s all.
Wrap Up
Before you go ahead with exploring in a real scenario with our guide, here are some of the things worth noting about Outlook to Gmail migration:
- Your computer should be ON, and the internet connection stable throughout the entire process or the migration won’t be successful.
- The process of import and export might take several steps to reflect, and you have to exercise patience after completing the process.
- Using the desktop app requires you to have space to keep the size of the PST file, and you might likely experience a slowdown in system performance during import.
- Make final changes and setup up your Gmail account after the migration, especially to forward all future incoming mail messages from Outlook to Gmail.
- Lastly, remember to work with the desktop method if your account isn’t robust or use the online option to be more efficient.
