Outlook.com to Microsoft 365, Simple Migration Process

Read time 7 minutes

In response to numerous user inquiries regarding the transition from Outlook.com to Microsoft 365 on our technical forum, we have taken the initiative to deliver comprehensive insights on this topic through our blog. This migration process is currently in high demand, and in this post, we offer a thorough explanation of the native migration method, along with a strong endorsement for the sophisticated and professional solution known as Kernel IMAP to Office 365.

Outlook.com, a Microsoft web-based email client, provides users with a comprehensive suite of services, including Mail, People (Contacts), To do (Tasks), and Calendar features. It seamlessly integrates with Skype for effective communication and also offers Office for the web integration, allowing users to effortlessly open, view, and edit attached documents such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, enhancing productivity and collaboration.

The Microsoft 365/Office 365 platform encompasses Exchange Online, a robust service that securely stores a wealth of essential information, including emails, contacts, calendars, and more, within user mailboxes. Moreover, it seamlessly integrates a suite of collaborative and sharing tools such as SharePoint, Yammer, OneDrive, and others. With its extensive array of advanced security features, Microsoft 365 stands as a comprehensive solution, making it no surprise that the migration from Outlook.com to Microsoft 365 is currently gaining significant traction.

Migration of Outlook.com to Microsoft 365 via Microsoft 365 Admin Center

This manual procedure includes the use of Microsoft 365 Admin Center and its features to migrate Outlook.com data to Microsoft 365 using IMAP Server migration.

Note: Users can perform IMAP to Office 365 migration using Powershell commands also though this method is more technical and complex to execute.

Have a look at the prerequisites of the Outlook.com to Microsoft 365 migration.

• Adding users in Microsoft 365 and assigning licenses to them
• Collecting admin account credentials, username, and passwords of each user mailboxes in the source account
• Source Outlook.com account preparing and collecting data for migration
• Create an app password for your Outlook.com account to use this as the password for migration. Visit this link for reference.

Once all the above prerequisites for the migration are met, users can perform the migration with the following steps.

1. Log in to your destination Office 365 account with administrator credentials and click on the Admin option.
2. On the left panel, search for the Setup section to expand it and click the Data migration option under it or follow Setup>Migrations.
3. Select the migration category as Emails to move emails from your IMAP server account to the Microsoft 365 destination.
4. Click Get Started on the next page to proceed.
5. Click Import my email messages on the Email sources page.
6. Select the data service Hotmail/Outlook.com.
7. Choose the email provider if it is listed and select the mailboxes for migration on the next page.
   If the email provider is not listed, click on the Other email sources option.Then on the Select your data service page, provide the information details like – IMAP server name, port number, user name, password, security, etc., and click the Save option.Next, select the user mailboxes you want to migrate, provide the email address and app password created for your Outlook.com account earlier. Then, click on the Start Migration option.
8. The migration process will initiate, providing a range of statuses, such as “Starting,” “Syncing,” and occasionally “Queued” when the migration is in a waiting state. Once the status changes to “Synced,” it indicates that both the migration and synchronization processes have concluded. To exit the migration, simply click on “Close Connection.”

The manual migration of Outlook.com to Microsoft 365 has certain drawbacks that users should know beforehand.

• A technical and long process
• Migrates only emails and not calendars, contacts, tasks, etc.
• Maximum allowed email size for migration is 35MB
• Maximum 500, 000 items are allowed to migrate from a user mailbox

For a seamless migration of your IMAP-based email clients, such as Outlook.com, with no constraints, it is recommended to employ a sophisticated, user-friendly, and resilient IMAP migration solution like the Kernel IMAP to Office 365 tool. This software offers an array of exceptional features and functionalities, setting it apart from other tools available in the market.

• Supports almost all IMAP email servers for migration to the cloud
• Provides server name and ports information on the interface itself
• Migrate single as well as multiple IMAP email server mailboxes to Microsoft 365 mailboxes
• Perform a quick, direct, and flexible migration with advanced filter options
• Facilitates free trial version of the tool available to download
• Facility to assign impersonation rights to Microsoft 365 user mailboxes directly
• Easy mapping between source and destination mailboxes
• Migrate IMAP mailboxes data to Archive, Shared, Public Folder, and Groups individually
• Saves migration records into the CSV file format

FAQs for Outlook.com to Microsoft 365 Migration