Setting Up Google Workspace Email – Migration of Emails

Migrating Emails to Google Workspace Before Changing MX Records

To ensure a smooth transition to Google Workspace (Business Starter), you should migrate your existing emails before updating your domain’s MX records. This allows you to keep access to all historical emails and avoid any loss of incoming or stored messages.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Prepare Your Google Workspace Account

• Sign up for Google Workspace with your business email address.
• Complete the initial setup, but do not change your MX records yet—keep them pointing to your current server so mail continues to flow to your old inbox during migration.

2. Use Google’s Data Migration Tool

Google Workspace provides a built-in Data Migration tool that can import emails from most providers (IMAP, Exchange, Gmail, etc.):

• Log in to the Google Admin console (admin.google.com) using your new admin credentials.
• Navigate to Data Migration:
  • Go to Data > Data import & export > Data migration (you may need to click “Show more”).
  • Click Set up data migration.
• Configure Source Connection:
  • Migration Source: Choose “Other IMAP server” if migrating from a typical webmail or cPanel host.
  • Data Type: Select “Email”.
  • Connection Protocol: “Auto Select (Recommended)”.
  • Role Account: Enter your current email address and password for the old server.
• Customize Migration:
  • Set the migration start date (to migrate all emails or only those after a certain date).
  • Decide whether to include deleted or junk emails.
• Select Users:
  • For a single mailbox, click Add User and provide the source (current) and destination (Google Workspace) email addresses.
  • For multiple accounts, use the Bulk Migrate with CSV option.
• Start Migration:
  • Click Start. The tool will begin copying emails from your old server to your new Google Workspace inbox.
  • Migration time depends on the size of your mailbox.

3. Verify Migration

• Check your Google Workspace inbox to confirm all emails have been imported.
• Compare folders and messages to ensure completeness.

4. Change MX Records Only After Migration

• Once you confirm all emails are in Google Workspace, update your domain’s MX records to point to Google’s servers.
• This will redirect all new incoming emails to your Google Workspace inbox.

5. Final Steps

• Monitor both old and new inboxes for a short period to ensure no emails are missed.
• Decommission your old email server after you are certain all emails and new deliveries are working as expected.

Key Tips

• Do not change MX records until migration is complete—this prevents loss of incoming emails during the transition.
• If your emails are organized in folders, ensure the migration tool supports folder mapping, or use an email client (like Outlook or Thunderbird) to manually copy folders if needed.
• For large or complex migrations, consider using a professional migration service or consulting your IT provider.