Can I switch email provider without losing my emails and calendar?
Yes, if you know what moves on its own and what doesn't. What gets lost most often, the right order of steps and how to avoid days without email.
“We’re changing provider, but I don’t want to lose anything and I don’t want anyone stuck without email for two days.” That’s the right thing to ask for, and it can be done. The risk isn’t in the emails. It’s in everything you don’t know you have until it’s gone.
Can I take all my emails with me?
Yes, if they are on the server. Mail is copied with IMAP, the standard protocol that almost every provider offers: folders, read and unread messages, attachments. There are tools that copy from one server to another mailbox by mailbox, and that can repeat the copy to pick up only new messages.
What about my calendar and contacts?
They move too, through a different channel. Calendar and address book don’t go through IMAP: they use CalDAV and CardDAV, or they are exported to standard files, iCalendar (.ics) for appointments and vCard (.vcf) for contacts. Watch out for invitations: check recurring meetings and attendees’ replies after the transfer.
What gets lost most often when you switch email provider?
The things nobody ever wrote down. In our experience, these:
- Rules and filters: the folders your mail sorts itself into.
- Signatures and auto-replies: they often live in the program, not on the server.
- Aliases and lists:
info@,accounts@, the addresses that reach several people. - Shared mailboxes and delegation: who can read or write on behalf of whom.
- Local archives: Outlook PST files or folders saved only on the computer, which the provider can’t see.
Take stock of these five items before the switch. It’s an hour of work that saves weeks of “but it used to work”.
In what order do you switch?
In six steps, and the order matters:
- Inventory: mailboxes, aliases, shared mailboxes, devices, local archives.
- Domain preparation: a few days beforehand, lower the time-to-live of the DNS records so the change spreads faster.
- First copy of mail, calendar and contacts, while the old mailbox is still working.
- Change where the domain points (the MX records) to the new server.
- Second copy of just the messages that arrived in the meantime.
- Device setup, with instructions ready for your staff.
The old provider stays active for a few weeks. It’s your safety net for messages that arrive while the change spreads.
How does the move to Akomodix work?
Without stopping anyone. On Akomodix, the domain moves to the new server from day one, and mailboxes not yet migrated keep receiving mail from the old system. Mailboxes move one at a time, with no single night when everything changes at once. Migration from the most common systems is part of the platform, and for today’s Akomodix customers we prepare it ourselves.
If you’re thinking about switching, you can do the inventory right now: tell us how many mailboxes, aliases and devices you have, and we’ll tell you what you’d risk losing with any provider, us included.
Frequently asked questions on this topic
How long will I be without email during the switch?
If the move is well prepared, very little or not at all. You copy the mail while the old mailbox is still working, change where the domain points (the MX records) and then copy only what arrived in the meantime. The tricky part is the few hours while servers across the internet pick up the new address: that is why you keep the old provider running for a few weeks.
Will I lose the old emails stored on my computer?
It depends on where they are. If they are on the server, IMAP copies them all. If they sit in a local archive, such as Outlook PST files or folders saved only on the computer, the provider can't see them. Find them before the switch and upload them separately to the new mailbox.
Do I have to set up every phone and computer again?
Usually yes, because the servers and credentials change. The work shrinks a lot if the new provider publishes automatic configuration: the email program finds the servers on its own from the email address, and you just enter the password. It's worth preparing a page of instructions for your staff before switchover day.