Exchange administrators play a pivotal role in the migration from Exchange to Office 365, a critical step for organizations seeking consistent upgrades. Importantly, this migration process does not heavily rely on end users' involvement. Nevertheless, there are scenarios where end users may need to export their Exchange mailboxes to Office 365. Contrary to common belief, they can perform this export independently without requiring assistance from Exchange administrators. Once they have connected their accounts in MS Outlook, they can smoothly export their mailboxes. Below, you'll find a concise method for transferring Exchange emails to Office 365.

  1. Manual Method to Export Exchange mailbox to PST and Import to Office 365
  2. Automated Tool to Export Exchange mailbox to PST and Import to Office 365
Business man

Instant Solution

Download Kernel Exchange Backup & Restore tool to Export Exchange mailbox to PST and vice a versa in quick time.

How to export Exchange mailbox to PST from Outlook?

The ability to export data to PST (through Import/Export or Export) is accessible in the desktop versions of Outlook. Nevertheless, the steps may exhibit slight variations across different versions of Outlook.

Outlook 2019/2016/2013
  • Step - 1. In Outlook 2019/2016/2013, to export the data to a PST file, go to File menu and then click Open & Export and finally click the Import/Export option. Note: For Outlook 2010, go to File > Open > Import. For older versions, select File and click Import and Export option. Import/Export
  • Step - 2. Select the second option of Export to a file and click Next. Export to a file
  • Step - 3. Select Outlook Data File (.pst) and click Next. Select pst file
  • Step - 4. Select the Exchange mailbox folder, which is to be exported to a new PST file. Select the checkbox, Include subfolders, and use the Filter option if required. Click Next. Select the folder
  • Step - 5. Browse the saving location and choose the required option among the three for managing Outlook duplicate items. Browse the location
    • Replace duplicates with items exported
    • Allow duplicate items to be created
    • Do not export duplicate items
      Click the Finish option finally
    That's how you export Exchange mailbox data to a PST file.
How to import mailbox to Office 365 using Outlook?

After exporting your Exchange mailbox folder to a PST file, you can easily import it to an Outlook account associated with Office 365. To import PST to Office 365, follow the upcoming Steps

  • Step - 1. Select the File menu from the ribbon, and then click Open & Export > Import/Export. open export/import
  • Step - 2. in Import and Export wizard, select the option Import from another program or file. Then click Next. Import from another program or file
  • Step - 3. Select Outlook Data File (.pst) and click Next select pst file
  • Step - 4. Browse and select the PST file exported earlier and choose the desired option
    • Replace duplicates with items imported
    • Allow duplicate items to be created
    • Do not import duplicate items
    • Click Next.

    Browse and select the PST file
  • Step - 5. Select the folder to which the PST file is to be imported, by providing the Office 365 account email address. Click Finish. select the folder to import pst
Limitations of manual export & import jobs in Outlook
  • Only a single user can export or import mailboxes.
  • We cannot consider it a professional backup solution.
  • It is not suitable for public folder backup.
  • It is totally dependent on MS Outlook application.
  • There is no incremental backup option in such process.
Advantages of Professional Export and Import tool

A more straightforward approach involves employing specialized tools such as the Kernel Exchange Backup & Restore tool. This tool efficiently handles both tasks of saving Exchange mailbox data to a PST file and subsequently restoring the PST file to Office 365, all within a unified platform. It executes the migration securely and swiftly, even generating a migration report in CSV format for your convenience.

Export Exchange Mailbox to PST
  1. Run the software and select the option of Backup. select the option of Backup
  2. Click the Add button to add the source Exchange account. add the source Exchange account
  3. Input Exchange credentials like Exchange Server name or IP address, Exchange Account, its password. Choose the first option if you want to take a backup of a single account only. Then click the Add button. Exchange credentials
  4. After adding the account, click the ‘Set Filter and Migrate’ button. Set Filter and Migrate
  5. Here, you can choose among mailbox, archive mailbox, and public folder as the source folder. Make your selection and click Migrate. choose Migrate
  6. In the filter selection page, use different filters such as folder filter, date filter, item filter, and other options to the mailbox data and choose only the required data to migrate. Finally, click I am OK, start Migration. start Migration
  7. Provide the destination folder to the PST file. Click OK. Provide the destination
  8. The migration begins. Check the live progress of files. migration begins
  9. The tool gives a success message after migration completion. Click OK. migration completion
  10. In the last, click OK. Also, you can choose to save the report in a CSV file. Save the report

Import PST file to Office 365 Mailbox

The import procedure is utterly similar to saving the Exchange data. Just follow the Steps:

  1. Start the software and click the Restore button. Start the software
  2. Click the Add button and browse the PST file from its location. You can add multiple PST files if you want. browse the PST file
  3. After selecting the PST file, click the Add button in the destination area. Add button in the destination
  4. Input Office 365 account details choose Single/Archive Mailbox option and click the Add button. Input Office 365 account
  5. Map the source PST and destination mailbox using the drop-down menu. Map the source PST
  6. Click the Set Filter and Migrate button. Set Filter and Migrate
  7. Select the folder among mailbox, archive mailbox, or public folder where you need to save the PST file content. Then click the Migrate button. Select the folder
  8. Select the most useful filters as per your need and click the I am OK, Start Migration. Start Migration
  9. After migration, the tool provides a success message. Click OK. success message
  10. Finally, save the report to a CSV file and click the OK button. save the report to a CSV file

Final words

With the help of this tool, you can quickly export your Exchange mailbox data to a PST file and later restore it to Exchange/Office 365 as required. This method is simple and straightforward and works with each version of Exchange Server.