Import OLM to IMAP Account without Corruption & Data Loss

  

Mark Regan
Published: February 17th, 2026 • 6 Min Read

As a Mac user, your MacBook doesn’t work properly, and you’re looking for a temporary solution for Outlook, and you don’t know how to import OLM to IMAP. Then this blog post will help you out to move OLM to IMAP.

The OLM file is a local file format of Outlook for Mac. IMAP is a web file format of email accounts that syncs in real-time with all platforms, including Mac, Windows, and Smartphones. To use OLM files user need to use Mac devices, due to which users cannot access their mailbox directly on other platforms, such as Windows and web-based email clients. It requires the right conversion to open OLM to IMAP.

So, in this blog post, we will let you know the top reasons why Mac Outlook users need to migrate OLM to IMAP. We will provide you with both manual and expert methods to upload OLM to IMAP, and we will also share with you the process on how to move OLM to IMAP on Mac and Windows.

Before moving on to the solutions, let’s look at the reasons for OLM file migration to IMAP.

Reasons to Import OLM to IMAP

There will be many reasons why a user migrates from OLM to IMAP. Some of the most common reasons are listed below.

• Platform Access: The OLM files work on Outlook for Mac, and they can’t be accessed on other devices, such as smartphones and Windows; to access them, users need to migrate OLM to IMAP.
• Increase Security: IMAP gives real-time sync to its users, which helps users to maintenance the secure communication. It also reduces the risk of system crashes and local data loss, which help user to create a backup anytime.
• Collaborative Support: The IMAP allows users to share a mailbox with multiple team members to manage the same mailbox at once. Which helps to improve teamwork and productivity in the companies.
• Reduced Storage Dependency: When users’ data is stored on web-server so, the storage dependency on the local computer is reduced, which allows the computer system to run smoothly, and users choose the IMAP option.

These were the most common reasons that often happened with every user. Now let’s see the solution to import OLM to IMAP server.

Manual Method to Upload OLM to IMAP

You can migrate OLM to IMAP manually by following the process given below carefully.

1st Step: Configure IMAP Account

1. Open Outlook on your Mac Operating System.
2. Go to the “Preferences” menu from the navigation bar, and choose the “Accounts” option.
3. After that, click on the “add account” button to add your IMAP account in Outlook.
4. Configure your IMAP account with the Outlook Mac.
5. Enter your IMAP account “ID” and “password” and click on the “add” button.

2nd Step: New Folder Creation

1. Create a “new folder” in your IMAP account.
2. To move your OLM data files in to new folder.

3rd Step: Drag and Drop

1. After making a new folder.
2. Drag and drop your OLM mailbox data inside the “new folder.”

4th Step: Sync Process

1. Finally, wait for Outlook to sync emails with the IMAP server.
2. And that’s it! You have successfully imported your OLM data into IMAP.

Note: If you are using Windows, you can also follow the same procedure to migrate the Outlook data to IMAP.

By using this manual solution, you can successfully import OLM to IMAP. This manual solution has some loopholes that you should know.

Limitations of Manual Method

• It takes too much time if you have large OLM files or you need to move bulk mailboxes.
• Using this process, you cannot save your mailbox contacts, calendars, and attachments properly.
• The use of this process can create file delicacy issues, due to which you might be confused in move OLM to IMAP.
• This process need for continuous internet connection to avoid migration failures.
• If a non-tech user is trying to use this process to open OLM to IMAP, they might make mistakes that leads account corruption.
• The drag-and-drop and copy methods only work for accessible OLM data files.

These were the major loopholes of using a manual solution to import OLM to IMAP that you must know before using the manual solution. However, to overcome these limitations, you can try the expert-tested professional solution below.

How to import OLM to IMAP Professionally?

If you want to move your OLM files to IMAP safely, you can try BitRecover OLM Converter Wizard. This tool simply import OLM to IMAP with complete data integrity and attachment. It keeps the original folder structure during the complete conversion process. The tool allows users to name their converted files as per their choice.