How to Migrate IMAP to Office 365 Shared & Primary Mailboxes?

Rollins Duke
Published: May 23rd, 2025 • 12 Min Read

Do you want to migrate IMAP to Office 365 Shared and Primary Mailboxes but unable to find the appropriate method? Worry not! This comprehensive guide provides complete instructions and top-notch solutions to import IMAP email to Office 365 with attachments and other data. Migrating emails from IMAP Server to Office 365 Shared Mailbox is highly beneficial as Microsoft 365 is a proficient, secure, and solid email service. Continue reading the article to learn about manual and automated solutions.

Understanding IMAP and Office 365 Shared & Primary Mailboxes

If you want to migrate IMAP to Office 365 Shared and Primary Mailboxes, it helps to know how they work and their unique advantages. With this comparison, you can better understand their distinct purpose for email communication and collaboration. However, before you import IMAP email to Office 365, let’s learn the differences and reasons to transfer IMAP email to Office 365.

IMAP: IMAP is a standard protocol used to access emails stored on a mail server. IMAP has the ability to let the user read their emails from different devices, and also keep it in sync with each email action. It is simple and only provides basic email functions, without different collaboration features for teams.

Office 365 Shared and Primary Mailboxes: Office 365 Shared Mailboxes facilitate teamwork and collaboration. Shared mailboxes allow multiple users to send and receive emails from a single address, making them great for departments or groups like support or sales. A shared mailbox also includes all the added benefits of shared calendars, contacts, and tasks so that teams can manage their communication and scheduling in one place. A Primary Mailbox is assigned to an individual user, who has personal folders, direct access to all mailbox features and full control over the email account.

For various reasons, users are looking to migrate IMAP to Office 365 Shared and Primary mailboxes. Some of the most common reasons are mentioned below.

Why Import IMAP Email to Office 365?

A lot of users want to migrate IMAP to Office 365 for several reasons. Let’s understand the best possible reasons for exporting IMAP to Office 365:

Some users use freeware IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) supportable email service for their email needs. But when businesses come into the growing phase then they want to use a fully professional email application. Everyone knows that Microsoft 365 is an excellent cloud-based email service that is obtainable with multiple productivity applications.
Various computer users look weary after using different email services because of downtime and complicated features. Thereafter, they started searching for a solution to migrate IMAP mailbox to Office 365 accounts. Microsoft 365 is the leader among professional email service providers because of its unmatched features. Hence, users prefer to use it for their email needs.

Read Similarly: Steps to Migrate from Office 365 to IMAP Server

How to Migrate IMAP to Office 365 Shared and Primary Mailboxes?

Follow these step-by-step instructions to import IMAP email to Office 365 using the manual solution and IMAP to Office 365 migration tool.

Pre-Migration Activities for Users

#1 Know IMAP Details of Source Email

Go to https://imapsettings.com/ website and enter your current email address.
Click on the Find button and get IMAP details of your source email account.
The upcoming solution will ask for the Email Address, Password, IMAP Host, and IMAP Port Number.

#2 Purchase a Suitable Microsoft 365 License

Visit Microsoft’s official website and purchase a suitable plan according to your requirements.
Thereafter, add a custom domain to target Microsoft 365 according to your choice.
Assign user and admin licenses for Microsoft 365 as per your email needs.

#3 Create Primary, Shared, and In-Place Archive Mailboxes

Office 365 allows the creation of primary, shared, and in-place archive mailboxes. You can create them accordingly before starting the IMAP to Office 365 Migration process.

Primary Mailbox requires a license accordingly.
Shared Mailbox is free after creating the primary mailbox.
The In-Place Archive mailbox is also free to store old data.

Method 1: Migrate IMAP to Office 365 Shared and Primary Mailboxes Manually

If you are in search of a manual solution to import IMAP email to Office 365, then you can take the help of Outlook email client. To do this, you need to configure both your IMAP and Office 365 accounts in Outlook as shown below:

Step 1: Configure IMAP Account in Outlook

Open the Microsoft Outlook email client.
Go to File >> Add Account.
Enter your IMAP email address and password.
Follow the prompts to complete the setup.

Step 2: Export IMAP Emails to PST

Go to File >> Open & Export and click the Next button.
Select the Outlook Data File (.pst) and again click Next.
Finally, choose the IMAP account folder and save the .pst file on the computer.

After this, you need to follow two more steps to successfully migrate IMAP to Office 365 Shared and Primary Mailboxes.

Step 3: Setup Office 365 Account in Outlook

1. Navigate to File option and Add Account.
2. Enter your Office 365 email address and password.
3. At the end, Complete Setup to continue IMAP to Office 365 migration.

Step 4: Import the Exported File into Office 365

Again, go to the File menu and select the Open & Export option.
Click on Import/Export.
Select Outlook Data File (.pst) and hit Next.
Browse and select PST file you exported.
Lastly, Hit the Finish button to initiate.

Note: The process is lengthy, time-consuming and requires a lot of effort and technicalities. Also, it may fail to sync the proper IMAP data in your Office 365 account. If you are a professional and looking for a smart solution to instantly migrate IMAP to Office 365 Shared and Primary Mailboxes then try using the automated IMAP to Office 365 migration tool. One of the most trusted and advanced IMAP to Office 365 migration tools is mentioned below.

Method 2: Automated Tool to Instantly Migrate from IMAP to Office 365 with Ease

If your organization has a large number of users and wishes to migrate IMAP emails to Microsoft 365 for Mac & Windows OS, then there will be a mandatory requirement to work with an experienced IT support services provider. Whoever wants to migrate IMAP to Office 365 Shared and Primary Mailboxes must be completely familiar with email flow and how it works. Everything from the IMAP server needs to get into your Office 365 account without any glitches.

There are numerous benefits to import IMAP email to Office 365 – increased workforce productivity, business continuity, and much more. However, to migrate IMAP to Office 365 isn’t as simple as it seems. One wrong move and all your organization’s email messages could go down.

For backing up data in the cloud, Office 365 is mostly preferred by everyone. This is the reason why users want to perform Office 365 migration IMAP. Hence, if you also want to convert IMAP content to Office 365 account for Windows & Mac OS, then a third-party solution like the BitRecover IMAP Backup tool is the most recommended solution.

Easily install the demo version of IMAP to Office 365 Migration Tool and get complete satisfaction before upgrading.

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How to Migrate IMAP to Office 365 Shared and Primary Mailboxes?

First of all, start IMAP to Office 365 Migration Tool, fill IMAP Server credentials, and press Login.
The software is adding IMAP Server folders in the software panel.
After that, select the required IMAP Server folders in the software GUI.
Select Office 365 from the listed saving options.
Now use the advanced settings to migrate your IMAP mailboxes to Office 365.
After that, use the advanced options to save messages in the default folders, I am admin, and change the language.
After that, Select Office 365 from the Saving option.
Enter Office 365 account credentials in the secure popup window and press Sign In.
Click Backup and the process to migrate IMAP to Office 365 is running, please wait.
IMAP to Microsoft 365 migration process has been completed successfully.
Lastly, login to your Office Outlook 365 account to view migrated data.

Note That: In this way, anyone can easily migrate IMAP to Office 365 Shared and Primary Mailboxes accounts. The process will be the same for primary and shared mailboxes, just keep in mind to use only the right credentials accordingly.

Read Similar: Easy Solution to Migrate IMAP to Gmail

Key Features of IMAP to Office 365 Migration Tool

(1) Migrate Multiple IMAP Accounts at Once

For convenience, users can migrate multiple IMAP user accounts to Office 365 using a CSV file. This CSV file comprises the source IMAP Server credentials of different email accounts. Moreover, you can import this CSV file into the GUI to automate the migration process from multiple IMAP Accounts to Office 365.

(2) Smart and Advanced Filters

This IMAP to Office 365 migration tool free edition is the most flexible and customizable utility. Using an array of custom options, you can easily alter the default behavior of the entire migration to meet specific requirements. By choosing these options, the users can apply criteria that filter email messages in different ways.

Migrate all IMAP email folders or individual folders.
Migrate IMAP to Office 365 with a specific subset of messages that fall within a certain date range.
Easily import IMAP email to Office 365 Shared and Primary Mailboxes by applying filters like From, Subject, To, Exclude Folders, and Has the words.

(3) Maintaining Data Integrity

The original email messages, including the metadata, are entirely preserved during the migration process. Moreover, the source IMAP server emails do not get compromised in any way – it remains the same after the post-migration.

The tool migrates and maintains attachments during migrate other types of IMAP mailboxes to Microsoft 365 or Office 365 accounts.
Embedded images are preserved in the emails throughout the process to migrate IMAP to Office 365.
Migrate a single IMAP file/ folder or all files/ folders in one go according to your choice.

(4) Simple and Intuitive Interface

This tool is extremely intuitive, powerful, and trustworthy. It is designed to offer a positive migration experience for the end users. Additionally, users can migrate single as well as multiple IMAP email accounts to Office 365 in batch mode.

(5) Use Advance Options Accordingly

If you are an admin then, check the option “I am Admin”. This helps to perform multiple account mapping. For using the user accounts be to ensure that Application Impersonation, as well as mailbox delegation, is allowed.

The Change Language option is helpful if your source IMAP folders are in non-English Dutch, French, German, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Italy, and Finnish language. It is advisable to set the same language for both source and destination accounts.

(6) Compatible with All Types of Mailboxes

This software is capable to migrate IMAP to Office 365 Shared and Primary Mailboxes and In-Place Archive Mailboxes. Therefore, it will ask for IMAP and M365 account credentials to complete this task with ease.

How to Change Office 365 Primary Mailbox to Shared Mailbox?

Microsoft 365 has an inbuilt option to convert a primary mailbox to a Shared Mailbox, just follow the given steps.

First of all, log in to your Microsoft 365 account with your credentials.
Go to Office 365 Admin Center and choose the Active Users option.
Now select the email address that you have decided to change.
Thereafter, choose a particular email id and click on Mail Settings.
After that, you can see More Settings to convert the primary mailbox to a Shared Mailbox .
Click on the Convert button for proceeding to change email types.
Your Office 365 primary mailbox changed to a Shared Mailbox, press Ok for your confirmation.

Let Us Help You!

The free version of IMAP to Office 365 Migration tool for Windows & Mac OS allows transferring the top 25 data items from each IMAP server folder to a supportable format. If you are struggling with any queries or doubts regarding how to migrate IMAP to Office 365 Shared and Primary Mailboxes, then you can always contact our technical support team. Hence, we hope you liked this article and now can easily import IMAP email to Office 365 mailboxes.

Some Frequently Asked Questions for Users

Ques 1: How to migrate IMAP to Office 365 shared mailbox?

Ans: Below are the instructions to import IMAP emails to Office 365.

First, launch the software to migrate IMAP mailbox to Office 365.
Then, enter IMAP server login details, IMAP Host, and IMAP Port No.
Now, enable the required folders for migration and select Office 365.
Specify the Office 365 credentials and click on Backup.
The process to transfer IMAP to Office 365 shared mailbox is beginning.

Ques 3: While performing the migration, can we avoid migrating Sent items to Office 365?

Ans: Yes, you can selectively migrate IMAP to Office 365 account. Hence, you can exclude the sent items and can move the desired IMAP server emails to Office 365.

Ques 4: Can I install this software on my Mac computer?

Ans: Yes, IMAP to Office 365 Migration Tool is separately available for all Windows and macOS users.

Ques 5: I have a few attachments with the IMAP emails. Will the tool migrate them also to my Exchange Online also?

Ans: Yes, IMAP to Office 365 migration tool will migrate IMAP mailboxes to Exchange Online for Windows & Mac OS along with corresponding attachments.

Ques 6: Is there any restriction with the license version to migrate IMAP to Office 365?

Ans: No, you can transfer unlimited emails from the IMAP server to Office 365 with the license version using IMAP to O365 Migration Tool.