Switch from Gmail to Outlook in Few Seconds

 Gmail, the email service provided by Google, is one of the email servers with a huge number of active email users. In fact, people have been using Gmail for a long time as a means of information exchange. The biggest advantage to Google users is that they can log in to other services of Google (such as YouTube, Orkut, Google+, and more) with their Gmail login credentials.

I do not recommend using Gmail only for exchanging information through emails, as plenty of other email service providers are also available, including, Yahoo Mail, Rediffmail, and Outlook.com (the online version of the most preferred desktop client from Microsoft). However, people prefer using Gmail because of its ease of use. In fact, Gmail is a secure email service provided free of cost by Google, which users can use both as a secure webmail and via IMAP4 or POP3 protocols.

Why Recommending Outlook.com?

Outlook.com is nothing apart from an email service by Microsoft, and it is named among the best webmail services, previously know as Hotmail. As you know that both Google and Microsoft are business rivals, I will not say that one provides better emailing services than the other does. However, one should change himself according to the technologies and trends. Outlook.com provides a nice and clean ‘Metro’ style look that makes you feel the Windows 8 interface. The email service is best suited to those who have been using the Outlook desktop client for years. In fact, such users will feel like home.

[sws_yellow_box box_size=”600″] Read: Outlook Email Service Review: Ready to replace your Primary ID [/sws_yellow_box]

Switching to Outlook.com

If you really wish to knock off Gmail and switch to Outlook.com, Microsoft will certainly appreciate your step. Well, MS Outlook (previously Hotmail) has been a super fine email client, but people, even I, refused to switch to this email service provider. In order to make the email migration process easy and secure, Microsoft, this time has come up with a tool that enables migrating from Gmail to Outlook. The tool enables switching to Outlook.com from your Gmail account in a way that the same Inbox is available on the new platform.

Well, the email migration tool has already become popular and people are using it to migrate their emails and contacts from Gmail to Outlook.com. Microsoft, as per the estimation, says that the number of users migrating to Outlook.com will soon cross 400 million. Moreover, those who were planning to switch to Outlook.com now can make a move easily as well as in a secure manner.

Steps to follow

Since the secure and reliable tool from Microsoft is now available, you can switch from your old Gmail account to Outlook.com that has advanced features. Mentioned below is the process that you must follow in order to have smooth and hassle-free Gmail to Outlook migration:

• At the very first step, you need to create an Outlook.com account, which I believe that you must have created already. Now, click the ‘Tools’ icon in the top right corner, and then choose ‘More mail settings’.

• On the page that opens, you see so many options. Look for ‘Managing your account’, and then click ‘Import email accounts’ sub-heading under it.

• After that, choose a Google account to import from. Here, you see Google as a default option, and is shown when Outlook is installed on the same computer. In case the email ID from which you are importing emails is already registered with Microsoft, it detects that ID and lists under “Choose from where you want to import your account:”.
• Now, a pop-up dialog box appears to explain what is about to happen next, “Send email from your Gmail address using Outlook.com” and “See and chat with your Gmail contacts from the new platform (i.e. Outlook.com) and other Microsoft web services”.
• The ‘Options’ link enables selecting and importing all of the Gmail messages into a folder and/or sub folders, which by default is opposite to the default settings (i.e. Migrate selected folders and sub folders only). With the selected option, click ‘Start’.

Note: Based on the requirements, you can opt for the ‘Options’ later or tight during email import.

•  Subsequently, you will be asked to choose an email account to import data from, in case you signed in to Gmail with multiple email accounts. Choose the right account to proceed. However, in case your account is not listed, click ‘Add account’ and type-in your login credentials, and then proceed.

• You see a message box, saying, what is about to happen next. Moreover, it asks your permission to authorize Microsoft to access your email account.

• Click ‘Accept’ to provide authorization to Microsoft to access your Gmail account information. Once you click ‘Accept’, it will start importing your emails and contacts on Gmail account into Outlook.com account. The time elapsed in the migration process relies on the number of emails and contacts in your Gmail account.

Note: The migration process keeps going on in the background without bothering you in any sense. Therefore, you can carry on with other work on the computer.

You will receive an email from Microsoft, which includes steps to set up email auto-forwarding. These steps will be executed every time you receive an email on your Gmail address, and then forward it to your Outlook.com account. However, you can still send emails from your Gmail address.

While the email auto-forwarding steps are being executed, your Outlook account remains safe; there is not at all an issue with the Gmail account as well. In case you want to use your Gmail account at its original address , you can undoubtedly use it. You will see all your emails and contacts intact on Gmail as well.

Note: In case you want to give it a try, I suggest going for it since it does not affect any of both the email accounts. Moreover, you can anytime access your Gmail account right on the mail.google.com

About the Author: Eric Simson is working as a Technical Content Writer with Stellar Information Technology Pvt Ltd, which is a world leader in hard disk data recovery, data backup, password recovery, file repair and various email converter tools such as ost to pst tool, edb to pst conversion software and many more tools for migration and recovery.