How to Move Thunderbird to Outlook – Transfer Emails Along Platforms

Users want to learn how to move Thunderbird to Outlook because of the features that it provides to the users. With the new and enhanced features of Outlook, a lot of Thunderbird users prefer switching to the other desktop client.

It offers better security, easy sorting, management of inbox, and so much more. Even though both these clients are desktop-based and are great platforms, Outlook is a preference for business purposes.

Typically, users prefer switching to better email clients but the chaos of handling the migration makes them think twice before the transfer.

This is why most users look for smart solutions to export emails from Thunderbird to Outlook.

In this article, first, we will focus on the requirements of the users and then take a look at the solutions to resolve these queries.

The techniques for transferring the data are quite simple and easy to learn even if you don’t have any technical expertise.

Make sure you perform the right steps as described here for a successful procedure.

Let’s start!

User Requirements to Move Thunderbird to Outlook

Following are the queries that users ask for migration:

Let’s find out about the techniques for the same.

Method 1 – Enabling IMAP in Gmail to Transfer Data from Thunderbird to Outlook

These steps allow you to use your Gmail account to transfer the data files. There are various stages for this procedure:

Stage 1 – Enable IMAP

Step 1 – First, login to your Gmail account and go to the Settings option.

Step 2 – Click on the “Forwarding & POP/IMAP” option and hit “Enable IMAP” radio button.

Step 3 – Finally, hit Save.

Stage 2 – Sign in to Gmail Account via Thunderbird

Step 1 – Launch Thunderbird and hit Email under the Set up an account option.

Step 2 – Enter the credentials for the Gmail account and hit Continue.

Step 3 – Hit IMAP and choose the Done option.

Stage 3 – Copying Items to Gmail Account

Step 1 – After signing in, create a new folder after configuration.

Step 2 – Right-click on any folder and choose the New Subfolder option.

Step 3 – Enter the name for your folder and click on the Create Folder option.

Step 4 – Then, copy the folders from Thunderbird.

Step 5 – Wait for synchronization to complete.

Stage 4 – Migrate Thunderbird to Outlook via Signing in to Outlook Via Gmail

Step 1 – Now, launch Outlook and log in to it with valid credentials.

Step 2 – After that, sign in with the Gmail account used in Thunderbird.

Step 3 – Wait for Outlook to sync the Gmail folders along with the newly created folder consisting of Thunderbird emails.

Step 4 – After synchronization, copy and paste the folder items in Outlook.

Step 5 – Then, sign out of the Gmail account and the data will be migrated successfully.

Stage 5 – Export to PST, Only If Required

Step 1 – To move Thunderbird to Outlook PST file format, click on the File tab in Outlook application to open the menu.

Step 2 – Choose Open & Export and click on the Import/Export option.

Step 3 – Then, click on the Export to a file option and hit the Next button.

Step 4 – Select the Outlook Data File (.pst) option and press Next.

Step 5 – From the folders, choose the newly created folder from Gmail.

Step 6 – Press the Include Subfolders option to transfer the data and hit Next.

Step 7 – Save the data on a location in the Browse section.

Step 8 – Export emails from Thunderbird to Outlook by tapping the Finish button.

You can also enter a password to protect the emails and press OK to confirm.

Important Points:

1. The procedure will take time as at every step, the data should be synchronized.
2. It doesn’t maintain the folder structure during the procedure.
3. High risk of losing certain emails and attachments.
4. Becomes lengthy when there is a lot of data involved for migration.

Method 2 – Move Thunderbird to Outlook Using Drag & Drop Technique

Mozilla Thunderbird primarily uses MBOX to store emails. So, technically, one should look to open MBOX file in Outlook. However, you can also use EML format that Thunderbird supports to achieve an indirect migration. But keep in mind that this can be a time-sucking procedure since it works with selecting messages manually.

Follow these steps:

Step 1 – Launch Thunderbird and log in to your account.

Step 2 – Select the emails you want to transfer by pressing the Shift key and choosing the messages. Or press the Ctrl key and click on the messages for selective transfer.

Step 3 – At last, drag the messages and drop them in the desired folder on the desktop.

Doing so will save the messages in the .eml file extension.

After creating the .eml files, follow these steps to export emails from Thunderbird to Outlook:

Step 1 – Open Microsoft Outlook and login.

Step 2 – Then, create a folder to store the Thunderbird emails.

Step 3 – After that, drag the emails from the desktop and drop them in the new folder in Outlook.

Step 4 – At last, wait for the import to finish.

Step 5 – Now, repeat these steps for other folders.

Professional Way to Export Thunderbird Emails to Outlook

The best way to move Thunderbird folders to Outlook is by utilizing a proven solution like MBOX Data Extractor Software. It will auto-fetch the Thunderbird mailboxes from their default location. It has a simple GUI to help bother technical and non-technical users to achieve the conversion hassle-free.

This software has different variants to convert MBOX files to PST on Mac and Windows. So, you can choose as per your Operating system. Plus, it generates Unicode PST easily importable in Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007 & 2003 on Windows, Outlook 2019, 2016 on Mac.

Finishing Lines

There are several procedures that you can find on the internet to move Thunderbird to Outlook which is suitable for certain users only. Depending upon the requirements of a user, a suitable procedure can be applied.

You can make the procedure free with the manual methods if there are only a few emails for migration. Multiple email transfers can create a lot of trouble. use professional method for a hassle-free migration.