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Office 365 and MS Outlook are two of the most extensively utilized email clients globally. With the increasing trend towards cloud-based platforms, many users are migrating their data to Office 365 in the cloud. However, in the unfortunate event of users losing their entire email mailbox from their Office 365 account without a backup, this guide will provide comprehensive instructions on how to manually export emails from Office 365 to Outlook PST. Additionally, it will cover the usage of a PST export tool for this purpose.

Primary reasons to export emails from Office 365 to Outlook PST?

Though there can be many possible reasons to export emails to Outlook PST from Office 365. But the primary reasons are:

  1. Backup
  2. Archiving
Let’s discuss each one in detail
  1. Backup: Many users take backup of their emails to save them in their local system. In dire situations involving severe corruption, threats, or data loss, this method serves as the sole lifeline. Cloud platforms are more susceptible to data loss due to account tampering, hacking, network packet analysis, and other threats, compared to secure desktop email clients like Outlook. Hence, to keep your data safe, taking backup Office 365 is a best practice.
  2. Archiving: It is safe to say that it is a wise habit to keep a copy of all the important emails for any future urgencies.
  3. Save space: PST is a format with a compact file size which allows users to save up cloud space and can be stored without any complexities. If you’re running out of storage, either you need to upgrade your cloud subscription for more storage or to delete mailbox data to get more free space.
Instant Solution

Download automated tool Kernel Export Office 365 to PST to quickly export Office 365 mailbox data to MS Outlook without any error.

The manual approach to export emails from Office 365 to Outlook

Before proceeding, make sure your system meets the following system requirements:

  • Should have 32/64 bit versions of Windows 7 and later versions.
  • Microsoft .Net Framework 4.5
  • Web browsers should be any of these: Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) and later versions or Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox along with ClickOnce add-in installed.
Follow these Steps to export emails from Office 365 to Outlook using this manual method-
  1. Sign-in to Office 365 with valid admin credentials.
  2. Then, go to Admin center, and click on Exchange.
  3. Now in the Exchange Admin center, navigate to Permissions > admin roles and select Discovery Management.
  4. Under Discovery Management, add Mailbox Import Export role, add yourself by using the plus button and click on Save.
  5. Now back in admin center, go to Compliance Management and opt for in-place eDiscovery & hold.
  6. Here you will see a + sign. Just click on it to create a new search query by providing the name and description of the search query and click on Next to proceed.
  7. Now under Mailboxes, opt for any of the following options as per your requirements and then click Next.
  8. Under Search query, give the details for searching items and click on Next.
  9. Now in the In-Place Hold settings, you can perform in-place hold of Search items.
  10. Finally, click on the Compliance management and hit the arrow button to export the Office 365 emails to Outlook PST. It will download a PST Export Tool to export the PST tool.
  11. To save the exported PST file, one can browse the location in eDiscovery PST Export Tool. And click start to begin the process.
  12. It will ask you to provide the Office 365 credential to complete the process. And click close once the process gets done.
  13. Here you can access your PST file by adding it to an existing Outlook profile in MS Outlook.
Drawbacks of manual approach

Manual methods are not suitable for every user. There are some drawbacks of manual approach which are listed below:

  1. The manual method is a much-complicated task.
  2. It has a very lengthy and tedious process to export emails from Office 365 to Outlook.
  3. It is not convenient to non-technical users.
  4. It requires proper and in-depth technical knowledge to perform the migration task.
An Alternative and Better Approach to Export Emails from Office 365 to Outlook

Considering the complexities outlined in the manual method above, it becomes daunting for non-technical users to execute such a lengthy and intricate task. Hence, it is recommended to opt for a third-party tool like Kernel Export Office 365 to PST for swift export of entire Office 365 mailboxes to Outlook. This tool demands minimal technical expertise, making it accessible to users of all levels. With the Export Office 365 to PST tool, users can efficiently operate it without requiring any external technical assistance.

The process of exporting the emails from Office 365 using the Export Office 365 to PST is following –

  1. Start the software and click the Add button to add the Office 365 account.
    Start the software
  2. Input the valid credentials of Office 365 account. Then choose the options to migrate single mailbox or multiple mailboxes (es) using the Administrator credentials. Click Add.
    Add valid credentials
  3. After selecting the account, click the Set Filter and Migrate button.
    Set Filter and Clink on Migrate button
  4. A drop-down menu will let you select among Mailbox, Archive Mailbox, and Public Folder. After selecting the folder, click the Migrate button.
    select Mailbox, Archive Mailbox, and Public Folder
  5. The Filter Selection wizard will provide a set of useful filters to select the data to migrate –
    • Date Filter – Only the data present in this date filter will migrate.
    • Item type filter – Only the selected item type (Email, Journal, Task, Contacts, Calendar/Appointment) will migrate.
    • Exclude Deleted folder – The deleted folder will not migrate.
    • Exclude Empty folder – The empty folder will not migrate.
    • Save Data into a new folder – Entire data will migrate in the mentioned folder.
    • Skip previously migrated items – Already migrated items will not migrate.

    Finally, click the button I am OK, Start Migration.
    Browse the destination folder for the new PST file

  6. From the Save As pop-up window, select the PST option and click OK.
    Select the PST option and click OK
  7. Browse the destination folder for the new PST file. Click OK after selecting the folder.
    Browse the destination folder for the new PST
  8. The migration will start. After completing a successful migration, the tool will provide a message. Click OK.
    Migration will start
  9. You can get a complete migration report by clicking the Save report to CSV option.
    Save report to CSV

The migration report will brief you about the status of each item and its saving location.

Conclusion

In this blog post, we’ve explored methods for exporting Office 365 mailboxes to Outlook, both through manual techniques and a professional approach. Users frequently export their mailboxes for backup purposes, to conserve cloud space, and to organize their emails. However, the manual method can be challenging for non-technical users, requiring substantial technical expertise and attention to detail. That’s why we’ve recommended a professional solution that is fast, dependable, and user-friendly.