Top Ways to Backup IMAP Emails from IMAP Account

Written By Kiran Sharma
Updated on December 4th, 2024

Summary: IMAP is an incoming mail server that enables you to receive emails from a shared email server. Both organizations and individuals use IMAP accounts to manage custom domain email accounts. Like any other account, it is crucial to backup IMAP emails from IMAP accounts to protect your valuable data. In this article, we will share the manual solutions to back up your IMAP emails locally. Moreover, we will also discuss the professional IMAP Backup Tool. So, read till the end.

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Any email account that supports IMAP protocol is an IMAP email account like Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL, etc. But when we say IMAP email accounts in this article, it means custom email domains that you can access and manage via Roundcube or Horde mailing solutions.

An IMAP account is sometimes better than other email accounts as it provides you with a custom email domain. It not only allows you to send/receive emails but also offers personalization and helps to promote your brand. Now, let us check what are the prominent reasons for saving mailbox data from an IMAP account.

Table of Contents

Why Backup IMAP Emails from IMAP Account?

Creating a backup of your valuable items available online is a smart way to protect your data. It also helps you restore your emails in case of accidental data loss. Below we will discuss some advantages of backing up IMAP emails that are common reasons for most users to download IMAP accounts.

Backing up IMAP emails enables you to access your emails offline. You do not need an active Internet connection to check your IMAP mailbox.
It helps you to protect your valuable items in case of unintentional file deletion or data loss.
Another advantage of backing up IMAP mailboxes is that you can prevent your data from malicious programs or intrusion.
Also, backing up your backup helps you to share your mailbox data and move to another hard drive.

Because of these prominent reasons, most users want to back up IMAP emails locally or migrate to another drive. Now, it is time to check how to backup IMAP emails from IMAP accounts.

Manual Methods to Download IMAP Emails to Hard Drive

The manual technique is a free and effective approach that requires minimal technical expertise. The best part is that you can migrate any IMAP-enabled email account through this approach. Whether you have Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or any other account, you can easily back up your emails in PST file format. In the manual approach, you need to configure your IMAP email account in the MS Outlook application. After that, perform the below steps to backup IMAP emails to a hard drive.

Open the MS Outlook application in your system.
After that, click on the File button from the menu bar.
Select the Open & Export tab and click on the Import/Export button.

In the Import/Export wizard, select the Export to a File option and press Next.
Select Outlook Data File (.pst) option from the list and hit the Next button.

After that, select the IMAP mailbox folder that you want to download and press Next.
Click Browse and choose a particular destination for IMAP backup.
At last, select the remaining options and press the Finish button.

After performing the above-mentioned steps, you can easily back up your IMAP emails into a local drive. But what if you want to backup multiple IMAP user mailboxes or want to backup an IMAP account in a file type other than PST? In such a situation, we recommend the professional ME IMAP Backup Tool.

Advanced IMAP Backup Tool Backup IMAP Mailboxes

MigrateEmails IMAP Mail Backup Tool is the most proficient tool to backup IMAP emails from IMAP accounts. You can export multiple IMAP emails or user accounts simultaneously. Moreover, it enables you to archive emails from IMAP to IMAP, G Suite, Gmail, and Office 365 accounts. You can export IMAP to PST, MBOX, EML, MSG, PDF, etc. Along with that, this application offers numerous advanced features and is widely compatible with all versions of Windows OS.

Steps to Backup IMAP Emails to Hard Drive

Follow the below steps to backup IMAP emails via the IMAP backup tool.

Download and launch the MigrateEmails IMAP Backup Tool.
Provide the required login details of your IMAP account and hit Login.
After that, check the mailbox preview and choose desired items. Press Next.
Choose the destination file format/email client and location. Click Next.
Select the remaining migration options and press Convert to start IMAP backup.

Bottom Line

After reading this article, it can be concluded that you can back up IMAP emails from an IMAP account via MS Outlook. It allows you to download your mailbox data into PST file format. This manual technique is effective but it has some restrictions. Therefore, if you are looking for an advanced solution and quick IMAP migration, we suggest the professional IMAP Backup Tool.

Also Read: How to Fix IMAP Sync issues with Office 365/Outlook 2013?

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I back up my IMAP emails in Outlook?

Configure your IMAP email account to MS Outlook and then follow the below procedure.
•In the Outlook application, click on the File button.
•Choose the Open & Export option and press the Import/Export icon.
•After that, select the Export to a File option and click Next.
•Choose Outlook Data File(.pst) option and hit the Next button.
•Select the desired IMAP mailbox folder you want to backup and click Next.
•At last, define the destination mailbox folder and press the Finish button.

Can I back up the IMAP email?

Yes, you can back up your IMAP emails into the local drive via manual and professional techniques. With the manual method, you can download your IMAP mailbox into PST file format via MS Outlook. Alternatively, you can use the automated IMAP backup tool for fast and efficient backup.

About The Author:

Kiran Sharma

I am Kiran Sharma, a Technical Expert in Content writing. I have technical expertise in the field of Email Backup, Data Recovery, and Email Migration, and resolve technical queries related to Cloud Backup or Email Migration for individuals and businesses.