Email - POP to IMAP transition in Outlook
At this point, you should have already determined that your email is set up as a POP account in Outlook.
If not, please go to this page to determine which protocol you are using.
This page will show you how to migrate from POP to IMAP.
Of the two email protocols, IMAP is the recommended option - especially when you need to check your emails from multiple devices, such as a work laptop, a home computer, tablet, or smartphone, or other mobile device. IMAP keeps all your devices synchronized.
POP downloads email from a server to a single computer, then deletes it from the server. We strongly advise against setting up mailboxes as POP, as it is an outdated protocol. POP also does not sync emails back to the server (read/unread states, sent emails, deleted emails), and if your hard drive crashes, we won't have a copy of the emails on the server; as the only file is stored locally on your computer.
From the Account Settings screen, select your POP account name (1) and then click Remove (2):
Click Yes in the following box. The warning message sounds scary, but it won't delete the email on your computer. It only disconnects Outlook from the old server.
Now you can add your IMAP account for the new server.
- in the Account Settings window, click New
- add your email address
- select Advanced Options
- check the box for 'Let me set up my account manually'
- Connect
- Select IMAP
- enter your password
- Connect
If Outlook does not connect automatically and asks for server settings, here's what you'll need:
On the IMAP account settings screen...
- add your full email address in the User name box
- add your password (use the new one, if you were notified it had changed)
- check Remember password
- change the server to secure.emailsrvr.com
- change the Port to 993
- set the Encryption method as SSL/TLS
- DO NOT check Require logon
- click Outgoing mail
- change the server to secure.emailsrvr.com
- change the Port to 465
- change the Encryption method to SSL/TLS
- check the box for "My outgoing (SMTP) server requires authentication"
- make sure the button is clicked for "use same settings as my incoming server"
- click Repair
After entering the settings, or if Outlook connects automatically, you should get a message that the setup has completed.
To consolidate your old email with the new, you can drag & drop both files & folders from your old POP account to the new IMAP account. This will sync all your existing files & folders on the new server, making them available to all devices connected to your account.
Note: depending on the number of files you have, this can take considerable time. You might want to start this process just before you leave the office for the day and let it 'catch up' overnight.
