You will already have your domain name with 1st Domains. And wanting to move your email from your previous host to 1st domains too? Want to know how to do it? Well read on and we will give you the low down on email migration.
Before You Begin
Ensure you have:
- Your old email account credentials
- Your new email account credentials
- A stable internet connection
For any migration you will want to take a back up of your existing emails. You can do this through your email client, Outlook. Outlook provide the functionality to do that. We recommend using Thunderbird as it provides the ability to add two mailboxes with the same email address, one for the old and one for the new.
IMPORTANT: When you are ready to migrate you will need to purchase our email hosting. You can view the prices here. And read these instructions on how to purchase email hosting. Once purchased you should start the migration as soon as possible, as the purchase will update the MX record to 1st Domains and email will start to flow to us.
Tips prior to migration.
- Delete any old emails that are no longer required.
- Delete empty folders.
- Empty the trash, junk and spam folders.
- Take a copy of your existing MX record. You can revert back to your old email hosting if something interrupts your set up. See here for instructions on how to edit the current MX record.
Doing these simple house keeping steps will speed up the migration.
In the latest New Outlook for Windows, Microsoft has started rolling out PST export functionality. If your version supports it, you can export a mailbox or folder to a PST file via: Settings → Files → Export.
1. Export Mailbox to PST (New Outlook)
- Open Outlook (New).
- Click Settings (gear icon).
- Select Files.
- Select Export.
- Click Get Started.
- Choose either:
- Entire mailbox, or
- A specific folder.
- Select where to save the PST file.
- Wait for the export to complete. Large mailboxes can take a considerable amount of time.
If You Don't See "Files > Export"
Your Outlook version may not have received the PST export feature yet, or it may be disabled by your organisation. In that case you'll need to switch back to Classic Outlook and use:
File → Open & Export → Import/Export → Export to a file → Outlook Data File (.pst).
Important for Mail Migrations.
If you're migrating email@domain.nz from one provider to another with the same email address:
- Add the old mailbox to Outlook.
- Export it to a PST.
- Remove the old mailbox.
- Add the new mailbox.
- Import the PST or drag the PST folders into the new mailbox.
- Leave Outlook open until everything uploads.
2. Reconfigure Devices
Once you have confirmed all mail has been migrated:
- Update your email settings on phones, tablets, and computers.
- Remove the old account only after verifying all mail has been transferred.
As a general rule, PST export/import is generally best for mailboxes under about 20GB. For larger mailboxes, a server-to-server migration would be the better option.
Once completed you are all good to go. We would recommend do a test email by sending to the email from another email address, such as a gmail account to make sure it is now receiving email on the new service.
Disclaimer: Outlook and other email clients evolve over time. Screens, menu options, and processes may vary depending on the software version in use. This guide is intended as a general reference and may not exactly match your installation.