How to Import an Old Email Account into Gmail

With the ever-rising popularity of Gmail, why would you still hang on to a desktop email client? For one, Gmail doesn’t take up much of your hard drive space and regardless of where you access your mails, you’ll always be greeted with the same familiar Gmail interface.

Why switch to Gmail?

Undoubtedly, Gmail is a powerful web-based email service that’s loaded with cool features. Apart from the whopping 10GB of storage that Gmail offers, you also get two-step verification, spam filtering at the server level, and access to your Gmail account from any browser or smartphone. This makes Gmail one of the most convenient, secure and reliable webmail services.

So, if you’ve decided to switch to Gmail, you must be asking yourself, “How do I import email from another email account into the Gmail interface?” Luckily, there’s a feature that not only allows you to check emails from other accounts with Gmail but also makes importing old mail into Gmail easy. For this reason, you don’t have to worry about losing your old email messages.

How to transfer an old email address to Gmail

Migrating your old email account into Gmail only takes a few clicks, and the process is straightforward. So, if you have already created your free Gmail account, use one of the methods described below.

Method 1: Using the ‘Import mail and contacts’ feature

1. Use your favorite browser to search for Gmail and log into your account.
2. Click on the Gear icon in the top right corner, and select “Settings”.
3. Switch to the “Accounts and Imports” tab.
4. Open the “Import mail and contacts” link.
5. Enter the email address that you want to import from, and click “Continue”.
6. On the next window that opens, you’ll be asked to sign in to your other email account. Click “Continue”.
7. Another window will pop up. You will be allowed to enter the credentials of your other email account. Enter your email address and click “Next”.
8. Click “Allow” or “Yes” on the next window to grant Gmail ShutterCloud Migration permission to access your Google Account.
9. If you see the “Authentication successful” window, then it means that the app has been granted access to your email. Close that window to continue.
10. Now, select the import options and click “Start import”.
11. The tool starts to import your mails and contacts into your Gmail account. Depending on the size of data being imported, the process may take anywhere between a few hours to two days.
12. Once the importation process is complete, click “OK”.
13. To check the status of the importation process, go to your Gmail account and click on the settings cog (gear icon).
14. Open Settings > Accounts and Imports.

When the migration is complete, Gmail will designate your old email account its own label, which is viewable from your Gmail interface. If you select the option to import the contacts from your old email account into Gmail, they will be added to your other contacts, which can be found at contacts.google.com.

If for any reasons you want to stop the migration process, simply head on back to the “Settings” page, under the “Accounts and Imports” tab, and select Stop > OK. Remember to inform all your contacts that you’ve switched to Gmail so that they can send emails to your new account.

Method 2: How to check emails from other accounts with Gmail

If you have another email account that you still wish to use to send and receive emails but want to manage the account under your Gmail account, you can change a few settings in your Gmail account. Here’s the procedure:

1. Open your browser and sign in to the Gmail account that you want to migrate to.
2. Select the settings cog in the top right corner, and click “Settings”.
3. Go to the “Accounts and Import” tab.
4. Select the “Add a mail account” in the “Check mail from other accounts:” section.
5. Enter your other email address and click “Next”.
6. Select your preference and then click “Next”.
7. Enter your password. Make sure to check the boxes next to “Always use a secure connection (SSL) when retrieving mail” and “Label incoming messages”.
8. Select “Add Account”.

Stay vigilant for email-based attacks

Speaking of emails, did you know that email remains to be one of the most exploited platforms by cybercriminals to lure victims to malicious websites? Organizations and individuals need to watch out for email-based attacks that continue to pose significant security threats today.

Malware can be delivered in the form of email attachments and malicious links that appear to be from a friend. The phishing tactics used by attackers are highly effective as they dwell on deceiving their victims. That said, you can protect your online activity and prevent attackers from accessing sensitive information by checking the site’s digital certificate, only opening emails from trusted sources, and hovering your mouse over the link to see if it’s legitimate.

However, for complete peace of mind, we recommend installing Auslogics Anti-Malware on your Windows 10 PC. This is an equally powerful anti-malware tool that is capable of detecting suspicious links or attachments even before you open them. The program keeps an eye out for cookies that collect personal details, data leaks, and even malicious programs that could be running in the background without your knowledge.

Auslogics Anti-Malware works seamlessly alongside your antivirus software, providing an extra layer of security against cyberattacks. You can also set automatic scans for 24-hour protection.

That’s it! Now that you’ve learned how to transfer an old email address to Gmail, we hope you are enjoying having all your emails under one Gmail roof. For further technical assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with your queries.