IMAP Migration from Gmail to Zoho Mail

Configuration details needed before migration

For both POP/ IMAP Migration, the following details are required:

• Name of the Server - Hostname of the IMAP Server or the POP Server from which the migration needs to be initiated.
• Server Port - Zoho Mail supports standard ports for SSL and Non-SSL:
  • Supported ports for IMAP  - 143 (Non-SSL), 993 (SSL) 
  • Supported ports for POP - 110 (Non-SSL), 995 (SSL) 
• SSL Type - Only Trusted Certificates are supported. Self Signed SSL certificates are not supported due to security reasons. 
• Migration Protocol - Choose if your migration protocol is POP or IMAP.
• Maximum Connection Limit - The maximum connection limit is the number of maximum connections accepted by the server at a given time. For example, if you provide 5 as the maximum connection limit when the migration is started, the migration process will be started simultaneously for 5 users. The migration process will be faster when there are parallel migrations happening between the servers. 
• Path Prefix - Some IMAP servers expect the PATH Prefix details for connecting and retrieving emails via IMAP. 

Add a New POP/IMAP Migration:

Add server details for POP/IMAP migration:

1. Log in to Zoho Mail Admin Console.
2. Choose Data Migration from the left menu.
3. Under migration, Click on Start Migration for the first migration and Click + Create for subsequent migrations.
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4. Enter a name for the server configuration, for your reference.
5. In the Select saved server details drop-down, choose to Add new server details.
6. In the Select Protocol/Application dropdown menu, choose either POP or IMAP.
   
7. If you have chosen POP, skip to this step. If you have chosen IMAP, follow the below instructions:
   1. Select Gmail under the Source server type. The Source server address will be auto-populated.
   2. If your source server recommends Port Number 993, choose SSL under Security, if it is 143, choose None.
   3. Enter the Path Prefix, if your source server mandates it.
   4. If you wish to proceed without the SSL certificate check, select the Skip certificate check checkbox, and click Add.
      
8. If you have chosen POP, follow the below instructions:
   1. Enter the name for the configuration, for your reference.
   2. Enter the address of the server you are migrating from in your source server address field.
   3. If your source server recommends Port Number 995, choose SSL under Security, if it is 110, choose None.
   4. If you wish to proceed without the SSL certificate check, select the Skip certificate check checkbox, and click Add. 
      
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The server details you added will be saved on the Saved Server Details page, and you can use it for performing other migrations just by picking it from the dropdown.

Add server settings for POP/IMAP migration:

1. In the next step, you will have to customize the settings for this migration.
2. If you have chosen POP, skip to this step. If you have chosen IMAP, follow the below instructions:
   1. Enter a name for this setting, for your reference.
   2. Under Folders to migrate, choose the All folders option.​

      Note:

      The Specific folder option is not available for GSuite IMAP server configuration.

   3. You can choose to skip any folders during migration using the Exclude Folder List option.
   4. The skip folders option will be handy when the admin reruns migrations for the same set of users for some new emails or missed emails. Enter the names of the folders within double quotes ("Folder1"), in which case only that folder will be excluded. If you want all subfolders under a parent folder to be migrated enter the folder name followed by /* within double quotes ("Folder1/*"). For detailed information on the convention, refer here.
   5. Under Emails to migrate, select whether you want to migrate all the emails or the emails that you have received after a specific date.
   6. In Enable POP access for the migrated emails, select Yes if you want your users to view the migrated emails when the account is configured as POP in other email clients. Otherwise, select No.
   7. There are multiple customizations you can apply to your migration from the Other preferences section: 
      • Exclude Inbox Mails in case it has more than one label - If an email has multiple labels in the Inbox of your Gmail account, those emails will not be migrated to Zoho Mail.
      • Mark Important as Tag - Emails that have been marked as important in Gmail will be added under the ZMImportant tag in Zoho Mail.
      • Mark Starred as Tag -  Emails that have been marked as important in Gmail will be added under the  ZMStarred tag in Zoho Mail.
   8. Finally, click ​Add.
      
   9. If you have enabled multiple authentication methods, select one of the Preferred Authentication Type that suits your organization's needs:​
      • Enter user password manually
      • Each user supplies their password

      Note:

      • The Preferred Authentication Type options will be rolled out in a phased manner and be available only to the organizations who have availed of one of our paid plans.
      • If you want the option enabled for your organization, please reach out to us at support@zohomail.com.
3. If you have chosen POP, follow the below instructions:
   1. Enter a name for this setting, for your reference.
   2. In Enable POP access for the migrated emails, select Yes if you want your users to view the migrated emails when the account is configured as POP in other email clients. Otherwise, select No.
   3. Finally, click ​Add.
      

​Enter user password manually

This is the default authentication type that you were using before introducing the Preferred Authentication Type feature. If you want to migrate data using this method, click Add and proceed to the CREATE migration step.

At the time of user addition, admins must enter the user's Source email address, user's Source password and then select the Destination email address.

Each user supplies their password

The Each user supplies their password authentication does not require any action from the admin at the time of server settings configuration. If you want to migrate data using this method, simply click Add and proceed to the CREATE migration step.

When you add a user, an auto-generated email will be sent to the user's source account. The users must open the link from the email and enter their password. The password entered by the user entered password is encrypted and the admin will not be able to see the actual password.

The Password Supplied column on the Users page will indicate No till the time a user provides his/her password. Once the user provides the password, the Password Supplied field changes to Yes.

The settings you added will be saved on the Saved Settings page, and you can use it for performing other migrations just by picking it from the dropdown.

Create a new migration:

1. Enter a Maximum Connection Limit for your migration.
2. Select whether you would like to pause the migration when the storage reaches 80% or 95%, and finally click ​Create.
   

Add user details for POP/IMAP migration:

Zoho Mail provides two options to add user accounts for migration. They include

• Manual user addition
• Migration of multiple users accounts through the CSV option

Manual User Addition:

The user addition step differs based on the authentication type that you select. Follow one of the below procedures as per your requirement:

• Enter user password manually
• Each user supplies their password

Enter User Password Manually:

1. From the Migration list, select the migration to which you want to add users.
2. Navigate to the Users tab and click Add.
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3. Enter the Source user name, Source password and Select the destination email address.

   Note:

   Earlier you could configure your Google account in Zoho Mail using your Google account password by enabling a Less secure app or App-specific password. Now, the support for the Less secure apps has been deprecated by Google. In the Source Password field, use the 16-digit App Password generated from Google. To learn more about how to use App Password, click here.

4. Choose the priority for the migration and click Add. The user gets added successfully. Proceed to the Start Migration step.
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Each User Supply Password

1. From the Migration list, select the migration to which you want to add users.
2. Navigate to the Users tab and click Add.
   
3. Enter the Source user name and Select the destination email address. An auto-generated email is sent to the user's source account to request their password.

   Note:

   Earlier you could configure your Google account in Zoho Mail using your Google account password by enabling a Less secure app or App-specific password. Now, the support for the Less secure apps has been deprecated by Google. In the Source Password field, use the 16-digit App Password generated from Google. To learn more about how to use App Password, click here.

4. A Password Supplied column displays whether the user had provided their password or not.
5. Choose the priority for the migration and click Add. The user gets added successfully. Proceed to the Start Migration step.

This will add the users for the migration.

Steps to Import users from CSV file:

Instead of manually adding the users for migration, you can also add the user details to an excel sheet, save it as a CSV file and upload it. The user accounts mentioned in the CSV will be uploaded for migration.

1. From the Migration list, select the migration to which you want to add the source and destination user account details. 
2. Click Import to upload the user accounts using a CSV file.
   
3. The format for entering the User Details in the CSV file can be found in the sample file attached in the popup.
4. Once you have prepared your CSV file, click Browse Files, and choose the CSV file that you would like to import.
5. A preview of all the users in the CSV file, along with details about whether they were imported or not will be shown on screen.

Start Migration

Once you have added the user accounts for the migration, you can start the migration. Ensure that the source passwords are not changed after adding the users for migration. The password should be the same until the entire migration process is completed. 

1. Click the Start Migration button after adding the users. If you have navigated out of the page where you added the users, select the migration that you want to start from this page, and click Start Migration.

   Note:

   Below are a few exceptions for the Each user supplies their password authentication type:

   • The Password Supplied column must be Yes before you click Start Migration.
   • If the Password Supplied column displays No, it means that the user did not provide their password. Hover over the respective user and click the Resend button to send an email once again.
   • If the migration fails, one of the reasons could be password validation failure. In such cases, you must follow these steps and add a new migration. When you add the user, the Password Supplied column will display Yes. Hover over the user and click the Reconfirm button to send an email once again to the corresponding user.
2. You can view the progress and statistics regarding the migration on the same page.
3. Detailed statistics regarding each user's migration can be viewed by clicking on their email address on the migration progress page.​
4. For mail migration, detailed reports along with folder information will be available.
5. Click Mail Failures to view the detailed information about the folder-wise migration details.
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For more information on reasons for migration failure, follow this help page.