Hi, I need help switching at least one (or several) Mail account from POP to IMAP. I don't want to lose any of my old emails. I've had a gmail email account since the days when you had to have an invitation.
For example, with a POP account, if you check email on your iPhone, the messages downloaded there will only be there; when you get back to your Mac, you won’t see them in your inbox.
![Account Account](https://hostpapasupport.com/knowledgebase/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/12-5.png)
At the time I only had a desktop Mac and had all my mail as POP. My gmail settings say I have had 'POP since 2009'.
Or something like that. Meanwhile, I joined the 21st Century with an iPhone 4 (Verizon 2011) and an iPad 3 (2012) and have IMAP.
I also have an old ISP account that I never use for connecting to the net but that has old POP accounts from the 1990s. I'm nervous about trying to switch my MacBookPro and PowerBook Mail clients over to IMAP. I think I have the idea, but it would be great if someone can help me with step by step advice. This is what I think I should do. Create a backup of the POP files in the /library/Mail folder for the target account i.e. @pop.gmail.com 2.
Save the backup files to multiple places, e.g. Hard disk, usb drive, etc. Delete the mailbox from Mail 4.
Change the account to IMAP and all of the settings. Let the Mail client try to sync. Can anyone provide more specific ideas? Thanks in advance. I just now did it this way. created a new account and configured it to be IMAP account.
I named mine close to the old account so it would be right after it in my list of accounts. once the account is created, highlight all the old messages in the inbox of the OLD account and drag them over top of the NEW account. Messages are copied over.
repeat for Outgoing folder: Highlight from OLD outgoing messages and drag to NEW outgoing if you wish, as well as the Drafts folder if you have any. After I did this I logged onto the server via webmail interface and voila all messages were therein! Both Incoming and Outgoing (sent) After verifying that all is fine I disabled the old account (Mail Preferences). Apple Footer. This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided; every potential issue may involve several factors not detailed in the conversations captured in an electronic forum and Apple can therefore provide no guarantee as to the efficacy of any proposed solutions on the community forums. Apple disclaims any and all liability for the acts, omissions and conduct of any third parties in connection with or related to your use of the site.
![Mac Mac](/uploads/1/2/5/3/125382743/859505674.png)
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