Best Way to Migrate Gmail to Microsoft Office 365 In 2024

Companies and organizations always look for better ways to work together. But nowadays, they want to migrate Gmail to Office 365 because of its advanced features. As a result, it offers productivity applications and 1TB of storage to its users. However, transferring data from one email client to another requires a proper process. This guide is here to help make this whole process easier.

Gmail is a famous email client and helps you reply to emails quickly using advanced suggestions. Users can easily find previous emails by using the search feature. On the other hand, Office 365 includes different programs, such as Word for writing, Excel for numbers, PowerPoint for presentations, OneDrive for storing files, Teams for talking and working together, and SharePoint for teamwork. 

Benefits of Migrating to Office 365

We will discuss why users want to migrate Gmail to Office 365 here. After that, we will elaborate on the possible ways to get you an answer on transferring your Gmail to Office 365. 

• Office 365 owns MS Outlook as an email management. It stores all the emails in it. 
• There is no need to have internet to run Microsoft’s application on your screen. 
• Microsoft 365 works smoothly with another application of Microsoft.  Additionally, it makes it better for businesses using Windows.
• You can also purchase a subscription to enjoy the advanced features of it. Moreover, you get updates and the newest features with this.

The below section will discuss how you can transfer Gmail to Office 365. 

How to Migrate Gmail to Office 365?

Now, we will discuss two solutions for the migration process. But first, we would like to highlight the automated solution. If you have technical knowledge, go with the other approach. 

#1. Migrate Mail From Gmail to Office 365 Like a Pro

With the help of the Cigati Gmail Backup Tool, users can effortlessly perform the migration process without data loss. In short, you can migrate emails from Gmail to Office 365 directly. Moreover, users are not required to have technical knowledge to accomplish the process. They just need to add the email ID and authenticate the following process.  Now, we will discuss the working of the software to clear all your doubts. 

Steps to Perform The Gmail to O365 Migration:

• First, Download and Launch the Gmail to Office 365 Migration Tool. 
• Then, run this wizard as an administrator on your local system.
• After that, log in with your Gmail ID and App password to log in to move further. 
• Here, preview all the folders of your Gmail account and mark the desired folders in a preview panel you want to migrate to Office 365. 
• Click the Next button with the Office 365 email client in the Save As option from the drop-down list.
• Afterwards, Enter the login credentials of your Office 365 account. 
• At last, click the Convert button to initiate the process. 

Here, we have completed the migration process.  It doesn’t consume enough time to complete the migration process. If you have a technical or manual skill, use the manual approach. 

Also Read: Export Gmail Emails to PST

#2. Migrate From Gmail to O365 Manually 

Migrating Gmail emails to Office 365 involves various steps. The following section will discuss that. However, it’s a detailed process, but these steps guide you through transferring your Gmail data to Office 365. 

Step 1: Verify Your Domain:

First, with Microsoft 365 or Office 365, you need to prove that you own the website name you use for your Google Workspace accounts.

Note: You can also use a company name that comes with your Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription instead of your website name. If you choose this, you can add users as explained in another step and skip this part. However many prefer to use their website name.

To show Microsoft 365 or Office 365 that you own your website name, you’ll follow the steps while setting up. They’ll give you a TXT record to add to your website host provider. If you bought your website name from Google and they control your website settings, follow the instructions they give. If you bought your website name from somewhere else, we have instructions for different popular website host providers.

Step 2: Add Users to Office 365:

You can add your users one by one or all together. When you add users, you’re also permitting them to use different tools. Each person needs their own space on Microsoft 365 or Office 365 before you can move their emails. In fact, they need a special license that lets them use their own email space.

Note: By now, you’ve made sure you own the website name and set up your Google Workspace users on Microsoft 365 or Office 365 with your website name. Stop here and don’t move to the next step called ‘Set up domain’ until you’ve moved all your emails from Gmail to Microsoft 365 or Office 365.

Step 3: Create a list of Gmail Mailboxes:

To move your Gmail emails to Microsoft 365 or Office 365, you’ll make a list with the help of Excel. This list helps organize the Gmail accounts you want to move. You’ll use Excel 2013, Excel 2010, or Excel 2007.

While making this list, you’ll need a unique password for each Gmail account you’re moving. We assume you might not know these passwords, so you might have to create new temporary passwords (by resetting them) for all the accounts during the move. You should have admin rights in Google Workspace to reset passwords.

You don’t have to move all Gmail accounts together. You can do it in groups when it suits you. Your list can have up to 50,000 Gmail accounts (each account is one row) and can be as big as 10 MB.

• First, log in to your Google Workspace admin console using your admin username and password.
• In the Google admin center under ‘Users,’ check each user to find and write down their email addresses.
• Go to ‘Users’ > ‘Active users’ in the Microsoft 365 admin center. Pay attention to the ‘Username’ column for each user.
• Open Excel and set it up as shown in the provided screenshot. Use ‘EmailAddress’ in cell A1, ‘UserName’ in cell B1, and ‘Password’ in cell C1 as column headings.
• Enter the Microsoft 365 mailbox email addresses, Gmail mailbox sign-in names, and app passwords for each user you want to move.

• Column A: Microsoft 365 mailbox email addresses.
• Column B: Gmail mailbox sign-in names (like aaronharper@lemonteatest.com).
• Column C: App passwords for Gmail mailboxes.
• Save the Excel file as a CSV file type, and then close Excel.

Step 4: Configure O365 to Gmail:

To help move Gmail mailboxes smoothly, Microsoft 365 or Office 365 needs to talk with Gmail using the migration endpoint. It is a tech term that sets up the link between the services to move mailboxes. Here’s what you do in the Classic Exchange admin center:

• First, go to the Classic Exchange admin center.
• In the admin center, go to ‘Recipients’ > ‘Migration’ > ‘More’ (look for the icon with three dots) > ‘Migration endpoints.’
• After that, Choose ‘Migration endpoint.’
• Then, click the ‘New’ icon to make a new migration endpoint.
• On the page that says ‘Select the migration endpoint type,’ pick ‘IMAP.’
• On the next page about IMAP migration setup, set ‘IMAP server’ to imap.gmail.com and keep the rest as it is.
• Here, click ‘Next.’ This tests if the connection to Gmail works. If it does, you’ll see a page called ‘Enter general information.’
• On this page, give your migration endpoint a name, like ‘Test5-endpoint.’ Leave the other boxes empty to use default values.
• Lastly, click ‘New’ to create this migration endpoint.

Step 5: Create a Migration Batch and start Migrating mailboxes in Classic EAC

Important: IMAP migration isn’t available in the new EAC.

Helpful Tip: The best way to test is by migrating a small number of mailboxes first. Use similar migration files and run the batches at similar times during the day. Compare their total running time to estimate how long it might take for all mailboxes. As a result, it helps to figure out the right batch size and connection numbers for a good balance of speed and internet use.

• First, go to Microsoft 365 admin center > Admin centers > Exchange.
• Click on ‘Exchange admin center.’
• In the Exchange admin center, go to ‘Recipients’ > ‘Migration.’
• Click on ‘New’ > ‘Migrate to Exchange Online.’
• Choose ‘IMAP migration’ > ‘Next.’
• On the ‘Select the users’ page, browse and pick the migration file you made. Microsoft 365 or Office 365 checks the file to make sure it’s okay and has the needed information. If there’s an error, fix it in the file and try again.
• Once validated, Microsoft 365 or Office 365 shows the number of Gmail mailboxes in your file. Click ‘Next.’
• Choose the migration endpoint you made before and click ‘Next.’
• Keep the default settings on the IMAP migration configuration page and click ‘Next.’
• Name your migration batch (like ‘Test5-migration’), and exclude specific folders if needed. Click ‘Next.’
• On the ‘Start the batch’ page:
• Choose if you want migration reports sent to other users.
• Select ‘Automatically start the batch’ > ‘New’ to begin the migration.
• Check the progress. If the status shows ‘Syncing’ for a long time, you might be hitting Gmail’s limits. You might need to unlock Gmail users or try another migration method.

In the new Exchange admin center, go to ‘Migration’ > ‘Batch.’ Look for your batch, and if the status is ‘Synced,’ it’s completed successfully. In the Classic Exchange admin center, go to ‘Recipients’ > ‘Migration.’ If the status shows ‘Synced,’ the migration was successful.

Step 6: Update DNS and Complete Migration:

To make sure your emails go to Microsoft 365 or Office 365 after the migration, you need to update your MX record. This record tells email systems where to deliver emails. Here’s what to do:

• First, sign in to Microsoft 365 or Office 365 using your work or school account.
• After that, go to ‘Setup’ > ‘Domains.’
• Then, choose your domain and click on ‘Fix issues.’
• It might show ‘Fix issues’ because you stopped partway through the setup to migrate Gmail emails. Don’t worry; it’s normal.
• For each type of DNS record you need to add, follow the instructions under ‘What do I fix?’ to add the records for Microsoft 365 or Office 365 services.
• After adding all records, you’ll see a message saying your domain is set up correctly, like ‘Contoso.com is set up correctly. No action is required.’

Remember, it might take up to 72 hours for everyone’s email systems to notice the change in your MX record. Wait for at least 72 hours before stopping synchronization with Gmail.

Final Words 

Moving from Gmail to Office 365 is the best choice to boost teamwork together and handle information. This complete guide helps you to migrate Gmail to Office 365. Planning carefully, taking things step by step, and supporting your team through the change is important. Moreover, you can also take advantage of Office 365 by shifting your Gmail email