How to migrate emails from one mail provider to another
Transitioning from your current email service to a new provider can seem daunting, as it involves meticulous planning and precise execution.
Email bridge is designed to simplify the process of switching email providers or servers, ensuring a smooth and hassle-free transition to your new business email solution.
Steps to migrate email services:
- Prepare for migration
- Migrate email accounts
- DNS records update
Do I need technical knowledge to migrate my emails?
No, you don’t. In fact, we're here to assist you with the migration process at no additional cost, provided you purchase a valid license.
What issues might I encounter during email migration?
Email migration, using Email bridge, is generally straightforward, still, a few potential issues might arise. Typically, all you need are the mail server details, email addresses and passwords. The migration process is flexible and you can pause and resume it without worrying about data loss or duplicate emails.
1. Prepare for migration
Actually, no extensive preparation is required. The process is straightforward, which was a key consideration during the development of Email Bridge.
Set up email accounts on your new mail server. If you prefer, you can create them with temporary passwords that can be changed later.
There are numerous email providers you can choose from, or you can opt to host your own mail server in the cloud, for example, on a dedicated server.
In such a case, your mail server would have no limitations regarding the number of accounts, mailbox size, or traffic volume.
The cost for such a server can be as low as a few dozen dollars per month.
If you are interested in having your own dedicated mail server, our company offers installation services with maintenance options.
Feel free to
contact us and together we can find the best solution for you.
2. Migrate email account
This is the easiest step when migration is performed using Email bridge. Log in, click "Start migrating,"
choose between single or bulk migration (the latter requires a Pro license), add your source and destination email accounts
and then click the "Start" button. Yes, it's that simple.
Single migration
After selecting this option, you will find yourself on the migration preparation page, which has three sections. At the top of the screen are the source and destination sections.
Once you add the source and destination email data, click "Add to List," and that’s it. Add more source-destination emails in the same way.
Please note, the single license limit is 3 migrations per day.
Bulk migration
What if you have tens or hundreds of emails to migrate?
No problem! Use the bulk migration tool. The first step is to
download Excel template file and fill it with data. Depending on your email server, you could export the email list and add it to the template.
Whether you opt for a single or bulk migration, all the emails you've prepared will be displayed in the next section.
You can easy edit or remove previously added email accounts or clear the entire list.
Once your migration list is prepared, just click the "Start the Process" button. The migration status will be displayed below this section, at the bottom of the screen.
A detailed log will be available once the migration is complete.
Every time you start the migration process, the running process will restart. Don’t worry, it will not create any duplicates in your email; it will simply pick up where it left off. So, while the process is running in the background, you can continue working on the list and restart the migration process at any time. You may also leave the application, log off, or close the browser.
Once started, migration process will run on our server until all emails are migrated.
Our servers are exceptionally fast, but the speed of the migration also depends on the performance of your source and destination servers. So, please be patient if one of the servers isn't performing optimally. However, in most cases, mail servers are very fast, and you should not encounter any issues.
3. DNS records update
For your email services to function properly, it is crucial to configure DNS records right way. DNS records connect your custom domain with the email hosting provider, ensuring that all emails sent to and from your domain are routed through the correct servers. This step is not necessarily part of the migration process.
The most common DNS records include:
- MX record: Mail Exchange Records determine which server is responsible for receiving email messages on behalf of your domain. When someone sends you an email, the MX record directs it to the correct server for delivery.
- SPF record: The Sender Policy Framework should be entered as a TXT record. This specifies which mail servers are authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain.
- DKIM record: To ensure your emails reach the intended recipients and avoid being marked as spam, you must add a DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) record using a CNAME record.
For successful email communication, all three of these records are essential. Many email servers will not accept emails if these records are not properly configured on your DNS server.
Safety concern
Our servers are exceptionally secure, as is the migration process. Each process is executed in a separate container that is deleted upon completion.
During the migration, emails are transferred directly from the source server to the destination server. Our servers do not download or store your emails.
Email bridge does not store logs nor credentials.
In case you need additional support,
click here to contact us. We'll reply right away.