Setting up Gmail to check and/or backup email using POP3 when moving to new hosting is a viable option that most sometimes overlook. If you are currently using Google Apps, Outlook365, or another email hosting company, this may not apply to you but wouldn’t you agree backing up your email is important just in case something happens? Using Gmail’s options under Settings > Accounts and Import > “Check mail from other accounts (using POP3)” will give you a way to do this. This article will address a simple way of getting that setup and how to do that.
TIP: The best method if you have a current cPanel account is to go to your Dashboard > Backups > and then backup your entire cPanel account. Most new hosting companies can take your “cPanel profile” backup and import it which could save you a lot of setup time besides moving/pointing domains.
Some other thoughts to note before we jump in here. Even if you are not moving to a new hosting company, this is a good common practice to put into place. The ideal person for this would be if you are using the standard server email that comes with your cPanel hosting plan. (Meaning to get a “copy” of it somewhere else pretty quick) You could always set up a mail forward of the same account but some cPanel accounts/ hosts don’t like this as it creates confusion on if it needs to deliver to your inbox or simply just forward it only. Be cautious as this doesn't always fly.
*There could be a novel written about this subject but I am choosing to keep it short.
Video: How to Backup Email with Gmail POP3 Settings
(Link to Video for my RSS & Email readers)
Email Account Settings Needed Before You Backup & Start
- Email address and password of account you want to import
- Your hosting providers email settings for POP3 with unsecured or SSL/TLS (secured connection)
- A existing Gmail address or create a new Gmail address just for backing up purposes. All free accounts come with 15gb of storage which is plenty of space for the common person using email.
- A few minutes of time. 😃
Setting up Gmail to Check Other Email Using POP
- Open your Gmail account and look over to the top right for the “Cog Wheel”. Select that and go down to Settings.
- Click on tab called “Accounts and Import”.
- 4th row down, find “Check mail from other accounts (using POP3):”
- Click on “Add a POP3 mail account you own”
- A pop up will occur asking you for the email address that you’d like to import… type that in
- Next, enter your username (full email address of the above mentioned account you are importing)
- Enter Password
- The “POP Server” address normally will default to “mail.yourdomain”. If you are using the basic Unsecured connection… generally this address will suffice but check with your hosting company for details. If you are
- wanted to use an encrypted method (SSL/TLS) then this Server address will look different).
- Port: 110 for unsecured connection or 995 for SSL/TLS connection.
You will find 4 checkboxes below the Username, Password, POP Server, and Port settings.
- The first one is “Leave a copy of retrieved message on the server.”. CHECK (I always like to check this because I want to ensure I have record of the email left on the server.)
- Always use a secure connection (SSL) when retrieving mail. (This will be used if you have selected Port 995. Otherwise… just keep it simple and don’t check)
- Label Incoming Messages. CHECK (This is a nice way to keep your inbox organized and it creates a nice visual effect when you are scanning your email…. let alone just an easy way to know who sent what to what email address.)
- Archive incoming messages (Skip the Inbox) – This I never do because I want to be able to look at the email coming in. I generally don’t go check webmail but do all of it through my gmail accounts).
Next hit “Add Account >>” and a new screen will pop up. This will be asking you if you want to be able to SEND email using this address as well.. Yes or No. For my demonstration purpose here, I will say to click “No”. If you select yes then you will need outgoing mail server instructions which isn’t too hard. Check out my video here.
On the same “Account and Import” page you will now find that it is “fetching” mail to be pulled into your account. Gmail will check every 30 minutes and will pull in 200 emails at a time. So keep that in mind if you are moving over a lot of email that it could take a few days. In the end, this is all worth it as you will be keeping a back up of everything.
My goal was to keep this pretty short and sweet. Let me know if you have any questions!
Dynamic, high-energy executive with history of performance-oriented leadership to e-commerce sales and marketing within the online marketing and advertising industry. MichaelStults.com is where I share my thoughts on different marketing methods, wordpress, leadership, and various topics that I feel inspired to write about. Please take time to learn more about Rare Disease at www.BriParDun.com