Operations & Technology
Email transfer without data loss
A provider switch rarely fails because of the web space — it fails because of the mailboxes. We transfer them in full: every folder, subfolder, attachment and read status. The old mailbox stays untouched throughout.
One mailbox up to 3 GB free — no sign-up.
Why the email transfer keeps getting postponed
The website moves in an hour. The mailboxes are why many businesses stay with a provider they're unhappy with for years.
Years of correspondence
Quotes, invoices, agreements. What's in the mailbox is often the only surviving copy, and the evidence in a dispute.
Folder structures
Filing systems built up over years, with subfolders per client and per year. A file export rarely captures that cleanly.
The fear of a gap
When the MX records switch over, messages keep arriving at the old mailbox for a while. Those are exactly the ones most transfers lose.
How the transfer works
Whether you do it yourself or leave it to us, the process is the same.
Check
Both mailboxes are tested and counted: how many folders, how many messages, how much data. You know what to expect before anything starts.
Copy
Messages are read from the old mailbox and written to the new one. Nothing on the old server is deleted or changed.
Switch over
Only once everything has arrived are the domain's MX records switched. Until then, mail keeps flowing normally.
Re-sync
One final sync picks up anything that trickled into the old mailbox in the meantime. No duplicates.
Copy, not move
That is the key difference to an export followed by an import: your old mailbox stays fully intact until you have checked yourself that everything arrived. If something goes wrong, the original is still there. At no point do your emails exist in only one place.
- Every folder and subfolder, including umlauts
- Attachments in their original size and format
- Read, unread and flagged status
- Trash and spam skipped on request
- Gmail labels are preserved
- Repeatable at any time, without duplicates
Do it yourself or have it done
You can handle a single mailbox yourself in five minutes. For a company-wide transfer with a domain and several addresses, the full-service option is worth it.
The wizard guides you through the transfer in five steps. No account, no installation.
- One mailbox up to 3 GB free
- Larger mailboxes 12.90 € one-off, plus VAT
- Live progress and a completion report
- Re-sync included
- Runs in the browser, on German servers
You tell us the old and new provider; we take care of the rest, including the tricky switch-over.
- Inventory of all mailboxes
- Setup with the new provider
- Transfer of all addresses
- DNS and MX changes at the right moment
- Final sync and function check
PixAgentur hosting clients get their existing mailboxes transferred at no extra cost.
What happens to your credentials
A transfer needs access to both mailboxes. Here is what actually happens on the technical side, beyond a general assurance that it's safe.
Stored encrypted
Passwords are only ever stored encrypted, with the key kept separate from the database. They appear neither in the log nor in the server's process list.
Deleted automatically
Credentials and logs are removed automatically once the transfer is complete. You can also trigger immediate deletion at any time.
Content is not kept
Emails pass through the server but are not stored permanently. What remains is the count and folder data for the report.
Servers in Germany
Run on our own infrastructure in Germany, not with a third-party provider abroad.
Frequently asked questions
Does this work with my provider?
With any provider that offers IMAP, which is practically all of them. Server settings for IONOS, STRATO, ALL-INKL, Hetzner, one.com, Gmail, Microsoft 365, and Plesk and cPanel servers are on file and get set automatically.
How long does a transfer take?
That depends on both servers. A personal mailbox is often transferred in minutes; large business mailboxes on Gmail or Microsoft 365 take hours, because those providers throttle the speed. Progress is shown live throughout.
Do I have to wait during the transfer?
No. The transfer keeps running on our server even if you close the window. With your transfer ID and security code you can come back at any time, with an optional email notification at the end.
What about calendars and contacts?
Those are not stored in the IMAP mailbox, so they are not transferred along with it. With the transfer service we handle them separately: just tell us which accounts are affected.
Can I test whether it will work first?
Yes. The connection test in the tool checks both mailboxes without transferring anything, at no cost.
Move your mailboxes without losing anything
Try the connection test: it costs nothing and shows within seconds whether both sides are reachable. Or leave the entire transfer to us.