Gmail, a widely-used web-based email client, serves both individuals and organizations of diverse scales. Nonetheless, recognizing the robustness of Office 365 for enterprise-level operations, numerous organizations are transitioning to this platform. If you are planning to migrate your mailboxes and their associated data from Gmail or G Suite to Office 365, you should follow these essential steps:

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Instant Solution

Try an automated tool Kernel IMAP to Office 365 to Migrate emails from Gmail to Office 365. The software also supports other IMAP email cliemts, like, Yahoo, AOL, Zimbra, iCloud etc.

To Migrate G Suite data including, Google Hangout Chats, Contacts, Calendar, & Mail, etc. one can download Kernel G Suite to Office 365 migration Tool.

Step-1: Domain Verification

To begin, it is essential to confirm ownership of your domain, which you've associated with your Gmail Account, with Office 365. However, if you are utilizing your Office 365 subscription in lieu of a custom domain, you can simply add users once you have created them within the Office 365 environment.

Step-2: Create Users and Add them to Office 365
  • Before creating users, a relevant license is required. Each user should be assigned to a mailbox to expedite the email migration process.
  • Now, from the Admin center, click on Users on the right panel > Active Users > Click on the More button, > Import Multiple Users option. Select Import Multiple Users option
  • For Single User Entry, click on Add a user from the above screen and enter the values manually. Using Import Multiple Users, you can download a sample excel sheet, and use it as a reference to add your users.
  • Some of the important fields of this CSV file include Username, First Name, Last Name, Display Name, Age, Mobile Number, etc.
  • The User Name column must contain the email address. For example, this will be anik@example.com
  • After compiling the excel sheet with the list of surnames, click on Browse from the Create and upload file screen. After this click on Verify. When you get the confirmation, File looks good, click on Next. Verify file
Step-3: Create a list of Gmail mailboxes to Migrate

To begin, create an Excel file that consolidates a comprehensive list of Gmail mailboxes for migration to Office 365. While generating the migration file, it's essential to possess the passwords for each Gmail mailbox slated for migration. It is possible to assign temporary passwords to these mailboxes during the migration process. It's crucial to note that you must have administrator privileges within G Suite to reset passwords. The migration process allows for mailboxes to be transferred in convenient batches, catering to user preferences.

  • Sign in to G Suite admin console using your administrator username and password.
  • Choose Users.
  • Select List of users in the Google admin center.
  • Select each user to identify each user’s email address. Write down the address.
  • Sign in to the Office 365 admin center and go to Users > Active users.
  • Start Excel. Enter credentials like email address, username, and password for each mailbox you want to migrate. Enter one mailbox per row.
    Enter credentials like email address, username, and password
  • Save it as a CSV file.
Step-4: Create Migration Endpoints with Gmail IMAP

To ensure the seamless migration of Gmail mailboxes to Office 365, a streamlined communication channel is established with Gmail through the utilization of a migration endpoint. This critical component, known as the migration endpoint, encompasses the configuration settings necessary to establish a connection, facilitating the smooth transition of mailboxes. The following steps will guide you through the process of creating the migration endpoint.

  • Go to the Exchange admin center.
  • In the Exchange Admin Center, go to Recipients > Migration and click ... > Migration endpoints. click Migration endpoints
  • Click New +.
  • On the new page, select IMAP.
  • On the IMAP migration configuration page, enter the details like:

    MAP server: imap.gmail.com
    Settings: default

    Click Next. The migration service uses the settings to establish the connection to Gmail system. If the connection works, the ‘Enter general information page’ opens.

  • Type a Migration endpoint name in the Enter general information page, for example, Testcase-endpoint.

Leave the other two boxes empty. Click New.

Step-5: Migrate Mailboxes by Creating Migration Batch

To migrate Gmail to Office 365, a migration batch with Gmail mailboxes are to be created.

  • In the Office 365 admin center, go to Admin centers > Exchange. Office 365 admin center
  • In the Exchange admin center, navigate to Recipients > Migration.
  • Click New (+) followed by ‘Migrate to Exchange Online.’
    Migrate to Exchange Online
  • Select IMAP migration > Next.
  • On Select the users screen, click on browse and select the previously created CSV file for migration. Click on Next.
  • After validation, Office 365 displays the Gmail mailboxes. Click Next.
  • On Set the migration endpoint screen, select the migration endpoint (the one you created in the previous step), and click Next.
  • On the IMAP migration configuration window, continue with the default values, and click Next.
  • On the Move configuration page, type the name (no spaces or special characters) of the migration batch in the box—for example, Test1234-migration. Also, provide the names of the folders to excluded. Click Add (+) icon to add them to the excluded list.
  • On the Start the batch page, provide the required options and start the migration.
Step-6: Update DNS Records for Migrating Directly to Office 365

Email systems utilize a crucial component known as an MX record within the Domain Name System (DNS) to precisely locate the destination for email delivery. As part of the email migration process, your MX record was previously configured to direct email traffic to your Gmail system. Now, it's imperative to reconfigure your MX record to point to Office 365. Once this adjustment is made, any emails sent to your Gmail account will seamlessly find their way to your Office 365 mailboxes.

  • To do this, from the Admin Center > click on Settings on the left panel
  • Click on Domains and then Select your domain name. It would normally display Setup in progress.
  • Another notification would be there which would suggest Setup completed.

For example, if your domain name is example.com

Update DNS Records for Migrating Directly to Office 365

example.com (Default) – Setup in progress

example.onmicrosoft.com – Setup completed

Click on the default example.com; this will display Setup your online services screen with the following two options:

  1. Add records for me – This option will connect to your DNS domain (For example, GoDaddy) and update the MX records automatically.
  2. I’ll manage my own DNS records – This option gives you the flexibility of inserting a list of DNS entries (MX record values) that follows the manual addition process from your domain registrar.

Click on the 2nd option, and now you need to add MX Records on your DNS. For every domain, the MX record value will be different.

Migrate Mailbox Data from Gmail to Office 365

If you're considering migrating your emails from a Gmail account to an Office 365 account, you may find it necessary to utilize third-party tools or utilities, such as Kernel IMAP to Office 365. This solution streamlines the process by enabling incremental mailbox migration. The IMAP to Office 365 software offers the following features and benefits:

  • Facility to migrate mailboxes from Gmail to Office 365 without any loss of data
  • It skips already migrated files and avoids redundancy in data migration from source to destination.
  • It ensures complete accuracy and security of entire dataset throughout the migration process.
  • Migrates Gmail data to both hosted and on-premises Exchange deployments.
  • Comes with smart filters option that permits you to migrate selected mailbox data using multiple attributes like date range and item-type filters (emails, contacts, etc.).

Summary

Given the error-prone and time-consuming nature of manually migrating Gmail to Office 365, it is advisable to explore third-party tools as a more efficient solution for transferring your Google data to Office 365.