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How to transfer emails to a Private Email account using eM Client
In this guide, we’re going to look at how to migrate emails from your existing provider to Private Email via eM Client.
eM Client is a desktop email client for Windows and macOS. A Free eM Client license allows you to add up to two email addresses, which is just enough to use it for migration.
The idea is straightforward: We’re going to add both your existing email address and your new Private Email address to eM Client, and then simply copy and paste your current emails from one account to the other.
For this to work, you need to ensure:
Both mail services are active.
Your previous provider supports IMAP/SMTP.
You’ve downloaded and installed the eM Client email client (it supports IMAP/SMTP protocols) on your device.
Let’s go through step-by-step instructions for eM Client.
1. Set up the email account hosted on the old server.
If you already have an account added in eM Client, go to Menu > Accounts > Add Account.
For manual setup, open the Mail section and choose Other:
NOTE: Don’t choose Automatic Setup.
eM Client uses the DNS record that is set up for autoconfig.yourdomain.tld subdomain to find the settings. It is necessary to input all the hostnames of IMAP and SMTP servers manually to ensure adding the right account.
Step 1: Fill in your email address.
Steps 2 and 3: Fill in the hostnames of IMAP and SMTP servers for your previous provider. You can usually find these in the Settings menu.
NOTE: We recommend using the official IMAP/SMTP hostnames provided by your previous email provider, rather than domain-based hostnames like mail.yourdomain.com. This ensures a stable connection even if you later update your domain’s DNS records, which could otherwise make the old mailbox inaccessible.
In this example, the hostname is server126.web-hosting.com.
We recommend adding a colon after the subdomain and specifying a port number to ensure a secure connection. For SSL encryption, use port 993 for IMAP and port 465 for SMTP:
Step 4: eM Client will test the configuration of your account. Make sure that the configuration is successful.
In case of errors, we recommend checking the configuration details with your previous email provider.
Step 5: Enter your Account details (Your name and Account name):
Step 6:
Select the Continue without encryption option, as it is not needed for migration.
Step 7:
Click Finish. The setup of your old email account in eM Client is complete.
2. Set up your Private Email account in the email client.
Now you need to add your new Private Email account hosted with us. It’s an easier process because you can use the automatic setup option. Follow this guide for full directions on how to set up Private Email in eM Client.
NOTE: Choose the IMAP protocol when adding your Private Email account.
Once both accounts are set, you should see them in your email client window. Your old email account should have downloaded all of your existing emails. Your Private Email inbox should be empty.
You are now ready for the actual email transfer:
3. Transfer emails between mailboxes.
You can transfer your emails folder by folder.
Right-click on a folder and select Copy folder:
The “Copy Folder” option copies all data in the folder, including its subfolders.
A new pop-up window will appear. From here, select your Private Email account:
In this example, eM Client will move emails from the Inbox in the first email account to the corresponding folder in the Private Email account.
A pop-up letting you know you’re transferring emails may appear for a few seconds.
All that’s left to do is wait for your emails to transfer. If your mailbox is big, the process may take some time.
When the spinning wait wheel near both email accounts disappears, the transfer is complete.
It’s worth checking that all your emails have transferred correctly. A good way to do this is by right-clicking a folder and choosing Properties to see the number of messages matches the original.
