How to Import OST to Thunderbird?

Read time 6 minutes

MS Outlook, being an advanced email client, has a lot of features and functionalities; many professionals and individual users all over the globe are now using Outlook as their personal information manager. Organizations also prefer Outlook for the sake of security and confidentiality. But still, many users prefer Thunderbird over Outlook mostly because of its open-source nature. Mozilla Thunderbird comes as a free email client application, whereas Outlook users have to pay a certain amount in order to buy it.

Data migration from Outlook to Thunderbird is nearly impossible without the help of external/third-party tools because neither Outlook nor Thunderbird provides a direct means to import the mailbox data. Moreover, the default data files of Outlook, i.e., PST and OST, are only meant to serve as the source database for Outlook. Thunderbird, on the other hand, uses MBOX as its default data file. Therefore, in order to achieve the migration, you have to convert the file formats of either PST or OST to the Thunderbird supported format.

In this write-up, we will see the solutions for the conversion of OST files to Thunderbird MBOX format. OST, as we know, facilitates users to access the mailbox in Outlook while being not connected to the server. The changes are synchronized once the platform gets back online. Before stepping to the actual process of conversion, let us have a look at some of the prominent causes behind migration from Outlook to Thunderbird.

Reasons behind Migration from Outlook to Thunderbird

The primary reason, as we discussed earlier, is the cost-effectiveness of Thunderbird. It provides a free platform for users to manage their emails, contacts, calendar, and other utilities. Here are the other common factors that lead users to move to Thunderbird from Outlook.

1. Simple and sober user interface
2. Integrated Channel chat feature
3. Capable of holding large mailbox data without any performance issue
4. Mail Account Setup

There are many features that make Thunderbird stand out from other email clients. However, as per security concerns, Outlook is still recommended by organizations.

We have already discussed that you have to take help from third-party tools in order to convert data from OST to MBOX format. Now, there are many converters available online that can do the task for you, but it is very hard to find a reliable one. Therefore, we recommend the use of Kernel Import OST to Thunderbird to import OST files without any error or loss of data integrity.

Kernel Import OST to Thunderbird is a simple tool that can convert your OST files to formats like MBOX. There is no file size limitation for conversions with this software. Moreover, it recovers permanently deleted emails and other mailbox data from your OST data files. All you have to do is follow the given instructions while performing conversion via Kernel Import OST to Thunderbird.

1. Launch Kernel Import OST to Thunderbird and click Browse to navigate to the folder containing the required OST files.



2. Select the required files and click OK. Then, click Next.



3. Preview the mailbox data of the selected OST file and click on the Save button.



4. Select MBOX as the output format and click Next.



5. Apply Filters to save specific data for your converted MBOX file and click Next.



6. Now select Thunderbird as the email client and provide the saving location. You can also choose to exclude deleted items while saving. Click Finish.



7. Wait for the saving process to complete.



8. Click OK when the conversion is over. You can follow the link and go directly to the saving location.



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Wrapping Up

This article provides users with an effective solution for importing OST data files to Thunderbird. In order to achieve the migration, you have to use a reliable third-party solution like Kernel Import OST to Thunderbird.