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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →You can still copy old messages—and, when supported, contacts—into a personal Gmail account using Gmail on the web. It is a one-time import, not ongoing syncing. To receive new mail sent to your old address, set up forwarding at that provider. Google is phasing out Gmail’s desktop POP fetching for third-party accounts: new users stopped being supported after the first quarter of 2026, and existing users may continue until January 2027, depending on rollout. Google’s deprecation notice describes the change.
Choose the right way to bring mail into Gmail
“Importing” can mean copying historical messages, receiving future mail, viewing another account, or moving an organization’s data. Pick the method based on the result you need:
| What you want | Use this method |
|---|---|
| Copy existing messages into a personal Gmail mailbox | Gmail’s web-based Import mail and contacts option, when available |
| Receive future messages sent to the old address | Automatic forwarding configured with the old email provider |
| Read and send from two accounts without copying the mailbox | Add the account to the Gmail mobile app or use an email client |
| Migrate organizational mail, contacts, and calendars | Google Workspace migration tools managed by an administrator |
| Preserve mailbox folders or handle a large, complex transfer | An IMAP-capable desktop client or a migration service suited to the mailbox |
The basic personal Gmail import is a copy, not a complete account switch. It does not keep future mail synchronized, retire the old address, or promise to preserve folders and labels.
Prepare the source account
Before connecting accounts, keep the old mailbox active and protect its contents. Import behavior depends on the source provider’s settings and authentication options.
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- Confirm that you can sign in to the old account and that it permits a secure connection for import.
- Check whether the provider supports POP; some source-account flows require it. Do not enable a setting that deletes messages after download. If importing from Gmail, Google recommends keeping a copy in the source inbox.
- Export important contacts separately, especially if you rely on groups, custom fields, or a clean, deduplicated address book.
- Check that the destination Gmail account has enough storage for the messages and attachments you plan to copy.
- Decide whether you need historical mail, new mail, or both. A one-time import covers the first, while forwarding handles the second.
Keep a backup or the original mailbox available until you have checked the result.
Import messages and contacts in Gmail on the web
Google’s consumer instructions provide this path in Gmail on a computer. Menu labels can vary as Google rolls out changes, and a Workspace administrator may restrict the option.
- Open Gmail on a computer and click Settings.
- Click See all settings.
- Open Accounts and Import.
- Click Import mail and contacts.
- Enter the source email address and follow the sign-in and connection prompts.
- Choose the data options shown for that account, then click Start import.
Google documents the one-time import and its limitations in its Gmail import instructions. The available options can depend on the provider and account configuration; do not assume every address book or message will transfer.
What transfers—and what does not
| Data or behavior | What to expect from the personal Gmail import |
|---|---|
| Historical messages | Messages can be copied through the one-time import, subject to source-account access and import limitations. |
| Contacts | The wizard may import contacts when supported. Check Google Contacts afterward and compare important entries. |
| Folders and labels | Not imported by this basic consumer workflow, according to Google’s instructions. Recreate useful organization with Gmail labels and filters. |
| Calendar events | Do not assume they transfer through the personal Gmail mail-and-contacts wizard. Calendar migration is a separate process. |
| Future messages | Not continuously fetched by the one-time import. Configure forwarding separately if you want new messages delivered to Gmail. |
| Old email address | Remains active with its provider unless you close it separately; imported mail does not change accounts or services that use that address. |
For a controlled contacts transfer, export contacts from the old provider in a supported format and import them into Google Contacts. Check for duplicates and verify groups and custom fields rather than assuming the import preserved every detail.
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Set up forwarding for new messages
If people and services will continue sending mail to the old address, configure automatic forwarding from that provider to Gmail. Forwarding is a source-account setting, and its location and availability vary by provider. It handles future delivery; it does not replace the historical import.
- Open the old provider’s mail settings and find its forwarding option.
- Enter the Gmail address that should receive forwarded messages and complete any confirmation the provider requires.
- Send a test message from an unrelated address and confirm it arrives in Gmail.
- Keep the old mailbox active during the transition, and check it periodically for mail that was not forwarded.
Forwarding may not reproduce the original folder structure or other account-specific metadata. Google lists it as an alternative to desktop POP fetching in its notice about Gmailify and third-party account fetching.
Importing from another Gmail account
Google’s import instructions say to enable POP in the source Gmail account for this route. In that source account, open Settings → See all settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP, enable POP under POP Download for the relevant mail, choose to keep Gmail’s copy in the inbox, and save changes. Then use the destination account’s web import flow.
This instruction is about a one-time import and should not be confused with the separate desktop feature that continuously checked another account. Google is phasing out that POP-fetching feature; its current notice says new users have not been supported since after the first quarter of 2026 and existing users may continue until January 2027. The timing for an individual account can vary during rollout. POP and IMAP access through third-party email clients are distinct from Gmail’s retiring desktop fetch feature.
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Read another account without copying it
If you want to keep mailboxes separate, add the other account to the Gmail app rather than importing it. In the Gmail app, tap the account or profile control, choose Add another account, select the provider, and sign in. Google says its mobile app can read and send messages from third-party accounts over standard IMAP.
This gives the app access to the other mailbox; it does not copy that mailbox into the Gmail account’s inbox. A desktop email client such as Thunderbird, Outlook, or Apple Mail can also display multiple IMAP accounts and, where supported, let you copy messages between them. Check whether a client action copies or moves mail before using it, and allow for local storage and synchronization risks.
If “Import mail and contacts” is missing
First make sure you are using Gmail in a desktop browser, not the mobile app, and check Settings → See all settings → Accounts and Import. Availability can differ by account, administrator policy, or Google’s changing interface. The web import is separate from the retiring desktop POP-fetch option, so older instructions to add an account under Check mail from other accounts may no longer work for new users.
- If this is a work or school account, ask the administrator whether consumer import is restricted and whether an organizational migration is appropriate.
- If you only need future mail, use forwarding at the source provider.
- If you want separate mailbox access, add the account to the Gmail mobile app or a desktop email client.
- If the source lacks POP or Gmail’s consumer import is unavailable, consider provider-specific export, an IMAP client, or an eligible Workspace migration route.
Do not use old advice to enable “less secure apps” as a general fix. Use the provider’s current sign-in method, such as its supported authorization flow or an app password where the provider offers one.
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Troubleshoot connection and missing-mail problems
“Server denied POP3 access”
Check that the username is usually the full email address, the password is correct, POP is enabled at the source if required, and the server name and port match the provider’s current instructions. If the account uses two-step verification, the provider may require an app password for a mail client or legacy connection. A provider may also block older POP authentication. Google’s troubleshooting guide identifies ports 110 and 995 and notes that 995 is the secure POP option commonly used with SSL; follow the source provider’s settings rather than guessing.
Some messages do not appear
Search Gmail for in:anywhere, then inspect Spam, Trash, archived mail, and conversation threads. In a thread, use Expand all to reveal individual messages. Compare the source mailbox’s folders and date ranges, and check for large messages or attachments that may not have transferred. Google warns that a different mail program may have downloaded and deleted messages before Gmail retrieved them. Its missing-message guidance covers additional checks.
Folders, labels, or contacts look wrong
Missing folders and labels are expected with the basic consumer import. Recreate the structure with Gmail labels and filters, or use a migration method designed for folder mapping if preserving it matters. For incomplete or duplicated contacts, compare against an export from the original address book, review duplicates in Google Contacts, and retain the source list until important entries and fields are verified.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When a Google Workspace migration is the better fit
A personal Gmail import is not an organization-wide migration. For a business or school moving users to Google Workspace, an administrator can use Workspace migration tools, including the Admin Console’s data-import workflows where eligible. Google’s April 2026 announcement describes its newer Data import tool for organizational migrations, with email, contacts, and calendar support and Exchange Online highlighted in the announcement. Advanced Exchange Online migration requires a Workspace super administrator.
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Google also outlines migration options for Exchange, personal Gmail, and IMAP providers such as Yahoo or Hotmail on its Workspace migration overview. The Data import tool has no additional migration-tool licensing cost for eligible Workspace editions, according to Google, but a Workspace subscription is still required. This is an administrator-led workflow, not a feature to add calendars to a free personal Gmail import.
Verify the copy before relying on it
Do not close or abandon the source mailbox just because the import reports completion. Check both accounts before changing your routine:
- Search Gmail with
in:anywhereand inspect important date ranges, sent mail, archives, Spam, and Trash. - Open a sample of messages with attachments and confirm that important threads are present.
- Check Google Contacts for key people, groups, and custom details.
- Send a test message to the old address and confirm that forwarding works if you configured it.
- Update critical services—such as banking, government, shopping, subscriptions, and account-recovery settings—to use the new address.
- Keep the old account accessible through a transition period, particularly for password resets and security notices.
Google’s troubleshooting page notes that mail may be missing if it was deleted from the source or removed by another mail program before retrieval. Use the original mailbox as the reference when investigating gaps.
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