What transferring emails actually means

Transferring emails from one account to another means moving or copying your messages, contacts, and folders from your old email address to a new one. The method depends on which email services you're using — Gmail to Gmail works differently than Gmail to Outlook, for example. Most transfers happen in one of two ways: you either read your emails as a file and import them into the new account, or you set up forwarding and let the new account pull messages automatically.

The key difference is that forwarding sends new incoming mail to your new address going forward, while migration moves your entire message history. You may need to do both: migrate old emails first, then set up forwarding so nothing gets lost after the switch.

Key Takeaways

  • Forwarding sends new emails to your new account but does not move old messages — you need migration for that.
  • Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo each have their own export tools; downloading your emails as a file works across any service combination.
  • The easiest path for most people is to set up forwarding first, then use the email provider's built-in import tool to move old messages.
  • Contacts, calendar events, and files stored in your email account usually require separate steps and are not included in a standard email transfer.
  • After you move your emails, keep your old account open for at least a few weeks to catch any messages that arrive late or from services you forgot to update.

Forwarding new emails to your new address

Forwarding is the fastest way to make sure nothing gets lost after you switch accounts. It tells your old email provider to automatically send every new incoming message to your new address. This happens in real time, so you will not miss anything.

In Gmail: Open your old Gmail account, click the gear icon in the top right, select "See all settings," then go to the "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" tab. Click "Add a forwarding address," enter your new email, and confirm the verification email that arrives in your new inbox. Once confirmed, return to that same tab, select your new address from the dropdown, and click "Forward a copy of incoming mail to [new address]." Choose whether to keep or delete the original from your old inbox, then save changes.

In Outlook: Sign in to your old Outlook account, select the gear icon, then "View all Outlook settings." Go to "Mail" > "Forwarding" and toggle it on. Enter your new email address and choose whether to keep a copy in your old inbox. Click "Save."

In Yahoo Mail: Click the gear icon, select "More Settings," go to "Forwarding," enter your new address, and click "Add." Confirm the verification email, then return and set up forwarding.

Exporting and importing your message history

Forwarding only catches new mail. To move emails you already have, you need to export them from your old account and import them into your new one. Most email services let you read your messages as a file, which you can then upload to your new account.

Exporting from Gmail: Go to takeout.google.com, sign in with your old Gmail account, and click "Deselect all." Scroll down and check only "Mail." Click "Next step," choose your file format (the default works fine), select how often you want the read link to expire, and click "Create export." Google will prepare a file and email you a read link. This can take hours if you have thousands of emails.

Exporting from Outlook: Open your old Outlook account, select the folder you want to export (or your entire inbox), click the three dots menu, and select "Export." Choose the file format and location on your computer where you want to save it.

Exporting from Yahoo Mail: Click the gear icon, select "More Settings," go to "Mailboxes," find "read your data," and follow the prompts. Yahoo will email you a read link.

Importing emails into your new account

Once you have downloaded your emails, you need to upload them to your new account. The process varies by service, but most have an import tool built in.

Importing into Gmail: Sign in to your new Gmail account, click the gear icon, select "See all settings," go to the "Accounts and Import" tab, and click "Import mail and contacts." Paste the email address of your old account (or upload the file you exported), choose which labels to import to, and click "Start import." Gmail will begin pulling your old messages. This can take several days if you have a large mailbox.

Importing into Outlook: Open your new Outlook account, click the gear icon, select "View all Outlook settings," go to "Mail" > "Accounts," and click "Import email." Upload the file you exported and follow the prompts.

Importing into Yahoo Mail: Click the gear icon, select "More Settings," go to "Mailboxes," find "Import," and upload your exported file.

Moving contacts and calendar events

Email transfers usually move only your messages and folders. Contacts and calendar events stored in your email account often need separate steps. Check whether your contacts are stored in your email account or in a separate contacts app — this changes how you move them.

Contacts in Gmail: Go to contacts.google.com, select the contacts you want to move (or select all), click the three dots menu, and choose "Export." Select the format and read the file. Then sign in to your new Gmail account, go to contacts, click the menu, select "Import," and upload the file.

Contacts in Outlook: Click "People" in the left sidebar, select the contacts you want, click the three dots menu, and choose "Export." read the file, then sign in to your new account, click "People," click the menu, select "Import contacts," and upload the file.

Calendar events: Most email providers let you export your calendar as an .ics file. In Gmail, go to calendar.google.com, click the three dots next to your calendar name, select "Settings," go to the "Import & Export" tab, and click "Export calendar." In Outlook, right-click your calendar, select "Export calendar," and save the file. Then import it into your new account using the same import process.

Updating your email address with banks and services

After you move your emails, you need to update your email address with every service that uses it. This includes your bank, credit card companies, social media accounts, subscription services, and any other site where you created an account. Services will continue sending statements, password resets, and notifications to your old address if you do not update them.

Go through your old inbox and look for emails from services you use regularly. For each one, log in to that service's website or app, find the account settings or profile section, and change your email address to your new one. Most services will send a confirmation email to your new address — click the link to verify the change.

This is also a good time to unsubscribe from mailing lists you no longer want. Search your old inbox for newsletters and promotional emails, click "unsubscribe" at the bottom of a few, and note which senders you want to keep.

Keeping your old account open temporarily

Do not delete your old email account right away, even after forwarding is set up and your emails are moved. Some services send messages weeks or months after you stop actively using them — password resets, shipping notifications, or account confirmations from services you forgot to update. Forwarding will catch most of these, but keeping your old account open for at least four to eight weeks gives you a safety net.

During this time, check your old inbox once a week to see if anything important arrived. If you find messages that did not forward, you can manually move them to your new account or forward them individually. After a few weeks with no new important messages, you can safely delete the old account or leave it dormant.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will forwarding send me duplicate emails if I keep both accounts open?

No. Forwarding sends a copy of each new message to your new address, but you will only receive it once in each account. If you read it in your new account, it will not appear as unread in your old account. However, you will see the message in both inboxes unless you delete it from your old one.

What if I have thousands of emails and the export takes too long?

Gmail and Outlook exports can take hours or days for large mailboxes. You can export emails in batches by date range instead of all at once. Search for emails from a specific year or month, export those, and repeat for other time periods. This spreads the work across multiple smaller files.

Can I transfer emails from a work email account to a personal one?

It depends on your company's policies. Many employers restrict exporting or forwarding work emails for security reasons. Check with your IT department or HR before attempting to transfer work emails. If your company allows it, the technical steps are the same as transferring between personal accounts.

Do I need to move my emails, or can I just use forwarding?

Forwarding alone is enough if you only care about new messages going forward. But if you want to search your old emails from your new account or keep everything in one place, you need to migrate your message history. Most people do both for a complete transition.

What happens to emails that arrive while I'm in the middle of transferring?

If forwarding is already set up, new emails will go to your new account automatically. If you have not set up forwarding yet, emails will stay in your old account until you do. This is why it is best to set up forwarding before you start the migration process.