Bring your existing email across
Switching to MailPoppy doesn't mean leaving your history behind. The app imports your old mailboxes over IMAP — AWS WorkMail, Gmail, Microsoft 365, iCloud, your web host, anything that speaks IMAP — straight into your new mailboxes. Your credentials never leave your computer.
Before you begin
- Deploy your MailPoppy backend and create the destination mailbox first — in the app's Setup tab. Imported mail needs a mailbox to land in.
- Keep your old account running until the import has finished and you've checked your mail is all there. Nothing is deleted from the old side.
- Have the old account's IMAP server, your full email address, and its password ready — an app-specific password if that account uses 2-factor sign-in.
How migration works
The same four steps work for every provider — only the server settings change.
- 1
Open Migration in the MailPoppy app
On the desktop admin app, open “Bring your old mail across.” Migration runs locally — your old account's password is sent only to the helper on your own machine, never to MailPoppy.
- 2
Enter your old mailbox's IMAP details
Type your previous provider's IMAP host, port 993 with TLS, your full email address as the username, and that account's password (an app-specific password if it uses 2-factor sign-in).
- 3
Test the connection & preview
Click Test connection. MailPoppy lists every folder with its message count and shows where each will land. Tick “Preview only” for a dry run that counts messages without importing anything.
- 4
Pick the destination mailbox & import
Choose which MailPoppy mailbox the mail should land in, then Import. Your folders are mapped across and your messages appear in the Inbox — ready before you switch off the old account.
Migrating from AWS WorkMail
Already on AWS WorkMail? You're a short hop away — and you keep everything inside your own AWS, just on a service you fully own and control.
1. Find your WorkMail region
WorkMail runs in one AWS region. You can see it in the WorkMail console, or in your web-app URL (https://<alias>.awsapps.com/mail). Your IMAP host is imap.mail.<region>.awsapps.com:
| Region | IMAP host |
|---|---|
| US East (N. Virginia) | imap.mail.us-east-1.awsapps.com |
| US West (Oregon) | imap.mail.us-west-2.awsapps.com |
| Europe (Ireland) | imap.mail.eu-west-1.awsapps.com |
2. Use these settings in MailPoppy
- •Port: 993, with TLS (the default).
- •Username: your full WorkMail address, e.g. you@yourdomain.com.
- •Password: your normal WorkMail password — IMAP is enabled on WorkMail by default.
3. Test, import, and verify
Test the connection, import your folders, and confirm everything arrived in MailPoppy. Repeat the import for each WorkMail user you're moving across. Your old mail is now safe in MailPoppy — keep the WorkMail account running until you've confirmed it's all there.
Settings for other providers
Any IMAP mailbox works. Drop these into the same Migration form (host, port 993, TLS, your full email, and the password).
| Provider | IMAP host | Sign-in |
|---|---|---|
| Google Workspace / Gmail | imap.gmail.com | Use an App Password (turn on 2-Step Verification first). Workspace admins must allow IMAP for the org. |
| Microsoft 365 / Outlook | outlook.office365.com | Microsoft is retiring Basic IMAP authentication — your admin may need to enable IMAP/authenticated access for the mailbox, and basic-auth sign-in may stop working. Migrate sooner rather than later. |
| iCloud Mail | imap.mail.me.com | Requires an app-specific password generated in your Apple Account settings. |
| Yahoo Mail | imap.mail.yahoo.com | Requires an app password generated in Account Security. |
| Fastmail | imap.fastmail.com | Requires an app password with IMAP access. |
| cPanel / web-host mailbox | mail.yourdomain.com | Use your mailbox password. Check your host's webmail for the exact server name if mail.yourdomain.com doesn't connect. |
Providers and their settings change over time — if a connection is refused, double-check the host and port in your provider's own help pages, and that IMAP access is switched on for the account.
Tips & troubleshooting
App passwords for 2-factor accounts
If the old account uses 2-step verification, your normal password won't work over IMAP — generate an app-specific password and use that instead.
Turn on IMAP
Some providers ship with IMAP off. Enable IMAP in the account's settings before you connect, or the server will refuse the login.
Large mailboxes take a while
Big accounts import in the background — let it run. Re-running skips messages already imported, so it's safe to resume.
Verify before you cancel
Check your imported mail in MailPoppy before you shut the old account down. The import never deletes anything on the old side.
Ready to make the move?
Set up your own email on your domain in about five minutes, then bring your old mail across — no AWS experience needed.