Start an Email Import from the Dashboard

The import tool copies email from an external account into a TrekMail mailbox with a guided three-step wizard. The source must be outside TrekMail. To move mail between two TrekMail mailboxes, see Moving mail between two TrekMail mailboxes below.

Available on Starter and higher plans. Nano accounts can view the import page but cannot start an import.

Prerequisites

• Source credentials: The email address and password for the account you are importing from. Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and iCloud use an app password rather than the normal account password. See Import from Gmail for the Google steps; check the provider's own help for the others.
• A TrekMail mailbox: Create the destination mailbox before you begin, then select it in the last step.
• No other active import: Before starting a single import, finish or cancel existing migration work. A running or paused bulk batch also uses the account's import capacity.

Step 1: Connect to your source

1. Go to Import in the left sidebar. You will see two tabs: Single Import and Bulk Import. Stay on Single Import.
2. Select your provider: Click one of the provider cards (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud). The server address, port, and encryption are filled in automatically. For any other host, select Other and fill in the details manually.
3. Enter your email address for the source account.
4. Enter your password. Use an app password for a provider that requires one.
5. Expand Advanced settings only if you need to override the server address, port, or encryption type.
6. Click Check connection. We verify your credentials and load your folder list with message counts. No emails are copied at this step.

Step 2: Choose folders and options

1. Select folders: Check the folders you want to import. Use Select all or None to quickly include or exclude everything.
2. Import options:
   • Skip duplicates: Recommended. Prevents re-importing a message you've already brought in.
   • Only import emails after: Optional date filter. Use this to import only recent email if you don't need your full history.
3. Click Continue to proceed to Step 3.

Step 3: Choose destination and start

1. Destination mailbox: Select the TrekMail mailbox that will receive the imported emails.
2. Review the import summary, including the folders selected and their message count.
3. Click Start import. The import runs in the background, so you can close the page and return to it later.

Monitoring progress

Once started, the job appears in the Import history table at the bottom of the page. It shows the current stage, progress, and any message that needs your attention.

There is no guaranteed completion time. A small mailbox may finish quickly, while a large mailbox, a slow source server, provider throttling, or many folders can make an import take much longer. Leave the job running and use the history entry as the source of truth.

Troubleshooting

• Authentication failed: Check the source email or username and password. If the provider uses two-step verification, create an app password in that provider's account settings.
• Could not reach the server: Check the IMAP host, port, and security setting shown by the source provider. For a known provider, reselect its card to restore the standard settings.
• TLS or certificate error: Confirm the host and security setting with the source provider. Do not send the source password to support.
• The source is rejected as local or internal: The importer accepts external providers only. See Moving mail between two TrekMail mailboxes below if both mailboxes are on TrekMail.

Moving mail between two TrekMail mailboxes

The Import wizard is one-directional: it copies mail into TrekMail from an outside provider. It cannot copy messages from one TrekMail mailbox to another, and the source-host check rejects imap.trekmail.net for that reason.

To copy or move existing folders and messages between two TrekMail mailboxes today, use a standard desktop IMAP client such as Thunderbird, Apple Mail, Outlook, or eM Client:

1. Add both TrekMail mailboxes using the incoming host shown for each mailbox under Apps & Devices: Mail Client Setup, port 993 with SSL/TLS. A White Label provider may show a branded host instead of the TrekMail default.
2. Wait for both accounts to finish syncing their folder trees.
3. Copy or drag the folders or messages from the source mailbox into the destination mailbox.
4. Wait for the copy queue to finish, then verify that the messages are present in the destination before removing anything from the source.

For a large or business-critical mailbox, copy a small folder first and check the destination before moving the remaining folders.

Migrating many accounts?

Use the Bulk Import tab to migrate multiple accounts at once with a CSV file. See Bulk Email Migration for the full guide.