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JohnOrrett's avatar
JohnOrrett
Up to speed
3 hours ago

Migrating email account to new laptop

Hi, I'm helping a friend set up a new laptop, who has an existing Outlook account on his old laptop with Pop3. 

The current Outlook setup has multiple sub folders. On setting up on the new laptop, via Pop3, only new emails come through. 

If I change the settings on the new laptop to IMAP, will all of the existing emails and sub folders then populate?

If yes, great, if not, presume I can export a PST file to include all sub folders, and import it into the new Outlook?

My friend also has access to his emails via his Android device, and wants to continue receive emails sync'd on both laptop and phone.

Many thanks,

John

 

3 Replies

  • coenoby's avatar
    coenoby
    Very Insightful Person
    2 hours ago

    ​ JohnOrrett​ 

    "via Pop3, only new emails come through. "

    Yes that's normal, it's the way POP3 is designed to work.

    "If I change the settings on the new laptop to IMAP, will all of the existing emails and sub folders then populate?"

    Yes, but.....

    1)  You cannot simply change the incoming server in the existing Outlook settings from pop3.virginmedia.com to smtp.virginmedia.com. 

    You will need to set up a new email account in Outlook using the IMAP option. 

    2)  The IMAP account will then mirror the structure and content of your friend's VM email account as displayed in their webmail account on the VM website. 

    So any folders that have been set up in the POP3 Outlook (such as their sent emails) will not appear in their webmail account and so will not be downloaded to the new IMAP  account in Outlook, 

    So if you want to include them then you will need to do something like you are suggesting with PST files.

     

    One big difference they will see is that when they send a VM email using Outlook it will also appear in their VM webmail account. POP3 is strictly a one way process simply downloading new emails to Outlook, 

    However, IMAP's two way process does also mean that if they delete a VM email in Outlook it will also disappear from their webmail account - and vice versa. 

    When you set up a new IMAP Outlook, it should auto fill the SMTP and IMAP  server details but if you need them:

    IMAP settings
    Host Name: imap.virginmedia.com
    Username: your full Virgin Media email address
    Password: your Virgin Media email app password
    Advanced settings
    SSL Encryption: Enabled
    Port: 993 (this may be automatically chosen by selecting SSL encryption)

    Note also, that the password in the email Outlook, or any other email client/app,  does need to be your friend's  VM mail app password. If necessary here's recent post where I set our how to generate a new one Using Thunderbird email client | Virgin Media Community - 5686390    

    Coenoby

     

  • goslow's avatar
    goslow
    Alessandro Volta
    2 hours ago

    Is this a VM mailbox that you are working with?

    Are you installing 'classic' Outlook (the desktop app from part of a paid-for MS Office suite)?

    • JohnOrrett's avatar
      JohnOrrett
      Up to speed
      14 minutes ago

      Hi goslow, yes, it is a classic Outlook desk based app from an Office suite.

      On the back of the kind answer from Coenoby, I can delete the new pop3 account in Outlook and replace it with a new IMAP setup, of which I use as well.

      A couple of further questions, if I may:

      The current VM webmail only has the default email structure, whereas the desktop based Outlook has all the sub folders. If I change Outlook to IMAP, will the online VM webmail change also reflect this? (it doesn't matter, as my friend is unlikely to access VM webmail unless Outlook and Android email fails for any reason).

      Currently my friend's VM webmail password is the same as the desktop Outlook one. Will going down the IMAP route force him down the 4 blocks of 4 password? Reason I ask is that I had to set this up several months ago, so my Outlook is 4 blocks of 4, but can't for the life of me remember if my VM webmail and email through Android uses that format, or the 'classic' password.

      I had to link my VM account recently to an O2 account, which was a total pain, so hopefully I won't have to do that. If that is the case, I may just import the PST file and use the current POP3 account settings using the current password.

      Thanks again both,

      John