How to Migrate Mailboxes from One Office 365 Tenant to Another?
Jackson Strong | May 12th, 2023 | Email Migration
Can I transfer mailboxes from One Office 365 tenant to another tenant? Yes, this complicated query has a simplified solution. Stick to this article till the end and you are going to find out the step-by-step guide to migrate mailboxes from One Office 365 Tenant to Another.
Migrating data from one tenant to another is a complex process that many organizations may face due to mergers, acquisitions or restructuring. Processing Office 365 Tenant to Tenant Migration requires careful planning and execution to avoid potential data loss, security risks, and service disruptions.
However, with the right approach and tools, a successful migration can be achieved, allowing organizations to seamlessly transfer user accounts, data, and services to the new tenant while maintaining business continuity.
In this article, we’ll discuss the steps involved in an Office 365 tenant to tenant migration and provide some tips and best practices to help organizations navigate the process. We will also discuss Office 365 tenant to tenant migration tools that helps you to quickly transfer your O365 data
To gain a better understanding of why there is a need for office 365 tenant to tenant migration, let’s first examine the common user queries and needs that are often searched for on the internet.
“What is easy way of office 365 tenant to tenant migration step by step? Kindly help me with detailed guide. As I had tried to o365 tenant to tenant migration but facing multiple technical issues. Waiting for your response.”
– User from Microsoft forum
Some of the major queries of the users on internet are;
- What are the potential risks associated with a tenant to tenant migration, and how can they be mitigated?
- How long does it typically take to migrate from one tenant to another, and what are the factors that affect the migration time?
- Is it possible to migrate only certain data or services, such as email or files, to the new tenant, while leaving other data behind?
- What tools or services are available to help with a tenant to tenant migration, and how can I determine which one is right for my organization?
- What are some best practices for planning and executing a successful tenant to tenant migration?
Preparation for Office 365 Tenant to Tenant Migration
Preparation is key to a successful Office 365 tenant to tenant migration. Migrating data from one tenant to another can be a complex process, and it’s important to have a clear understanding of the steps involved and the potential risks and challenges that may arise. Proper planning and preparation can help minimize business disruption, ensure data is migrated safely and accurately, and prevent unexpected problems from occurring. In this section, we’ll explore some key considerations and best practices for preparing for an O365 tenant to tenant migration to ensure a smooth and successful transition.
Plan and prepare: Before beginning the migration process, plan and prepare by identifying the data and users that need to be migrated, creating a migration plan, and ensuring that all prerequisites are met.
Set up the target tenant: Create the target tenant and configure it with the necessary settings and licenses. Make sure that user accounts are created and configured appropriately in the new tenant.
Migrate data: Migrate the data from the source tenant to the target tenant. This can be done using Advik Office 365 Email Migration Tool, PowerShell scripts, or manual methods.
Verify the migration: Once the data has been migrated, verify that everything has been moved successfully, and that users have access to all the data they need.
Decommission the source tenant: Once the migration has been verified, decommission the source tenant, including deleting all data and user accounts.
Communicate with users: Keep users informed throughout the migration process, ensuring that they know what to expect and how to access their data in the new tenant.
Monitor and maintain: Monitor the new tenant to ensure that everything is working correctly, and take steps to resolve any issues that arise. Perform regular maintenance tasks, such as updating security policies and monitoring user activity.
This blog will concentrate on the process to migrate data from one office 365 tenant to another using various approaches, including the Tenant to Tenant Migration Tool, PowerShell scripts, or manual methods. Let’s begin exploring these migration techniques.
Method 1. How to Migrate Mailboxes from One Office 365 Tenant to Another
An Office 365 Tenant refers to a full Office 365 account attached to a domain. When you created a new Office 365 account, it creates a Tenant Account to store all the data of Office 365 account. Suppose we choose the name for our Tenant as adviksoft. The two DNS entries that will be created by defaults are;
- adviksoft.onmicrosoft.com
- adviksoft.sharepoint.com
At this point, if any user is added will have an email address of user@adviksoft.onmicrosoft.com.
Check out Advik Office 365 Backup Tool for this task. This utility is specially designed to transfer emails from one Office 365 account to another without losing any information. This software is capable of Office 365 tenant to tenant migration of the same domain.
Office 365 Tenant to Tenant Migration – Step by step guide
- Run Advik Office 365 Backup Tool and Sign in.
- Select mailbox folders to transfer.
- Choose Office 365 as saving option from the list.
- Enter your Office 365 tenant credentials.
- Click the Backup button.
Note: During the email migration process, the program will maintain the mailbox folder structure and key elements of emails. Hence no data loss will occur. You can also transfer emails from one Office 365 account to another using the same software.
Note: Before using the software, enable Less Secure Apps from Office 365 Security. Click here to find out how.
Follow the steps to migrate Mailboxes from One Office 365 Tenant to Another
Step 1. Run Advik Office 365 Backup Tool in your system.
Step 2. Enter your main Office 365 webmail credentials.
Step 3. Select desired mailbox folders that you want to transfer.
Step 4. Choose the “Office 365” saving option from the list.
Step 5. Enter login details of the tenant account where you want to migrate emails.
Step 6. Hit the “Backup” button to start tenant to tenant migration.
Done! This is how you can export emails from one account to another in Office 365. It is important to make sure to backup your data to avoid issues such as downtime or disruptions during the migration process.
Why Choose Advik Office 365 Tenant Migration Tool?
There are various reasons to choose this tool. This tool import Office 365 tenant to tenant account very quickly and accurately. Apart from this, the tool is loaded with tons of features which are as follows;
Maintain Folder Structure: Office 365 Tenant to Tenant Migration tool is programmed in such a way that all your emails remain in an exact folder as in the origin of the emails. This will make the navigation of emails easier after the process of migration.
Preserve Key Elements: All the key elements of emails such as header info, footer info, timestamp, too, Cc, Bcc, etc will remain intact during and after the process of Office 365 sub-account Migration.
Supports All Windows OS: You can Install the Advik Office 365 Migration Tool on almost all versions of Windows such as Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP. Apart from this, you can also install this tool on both 32 bits as well as 64 bits architecture of Machines.
Advanced Email Filters: In the process of Office 365 Tenant to Tenant Migration tool offers some advanced filter options that you can use for selective migration. You can select single as well as multiple email folders and you can also be filtering emails by subject name, email address, date, etc.
Supports Multiple Languages: You can use this software in your native language as this software supports multiple languages such as French, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, etc.
Office 365 Tenant Migration: Apart from email transfer you can use this tool to migrate mailboxes from Office 365 Tenant to Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Office 365, etc.
Multiple Saving Options: The software allows you to export pst from Office 365 admin, PDF, EML, MSG, MBOX, etc.
Dedicated Customer Support: In Case you are stuck somewhere while using this tool you can contact our dedicated customer support team for your help. Advik Software provides official Online Chat support offering 24*7 assistance to their valuable customers.
Method 2. O365 Tenant to tenant Migration using PowerShell Script
While there are Tenant to tenant Migration tools available, PowerShell scripts can offer a powerful and flexible solution that allows for fine-grained control over the migration process. In this section, we will explore the steps involved in migrating email data from one Office 365 tenant to tenant using PowerShell scripts, as well as best practices for ensuring a smooth and successful migration.
1. Connect to both Office 365 tenants:
Before starting the migration, connect to both the source and destination tenants using PowerShell. To do this, follow these steps:
a. Install the Azure AD and Exchange Online modules:
Install-Module AzureAD
Install-Module ExchangeOnlineManagement
b. Connect to the source tenant using the Connect-AzureAD and Connect-ExchangeOnline cmdlets:
Connect-AzureAD
Connect-ExchangeOnline -UserPrincipalName <adminUPN>
c. Connect to the destination tenant using the same cmdlets:
Connect-AzureAD
Connect-ExchangeOnline -UserPrincipalName <adminUPN>
2. Export mailboxes from the source tenant:
Use the New-ComplianceSearch and New-ComplianceSearchAction cmdlets to export the mailboxes from the source tenant. This involves creating a compliance search to find the mailbox data and then exporting it to a .pst file.
a. Create a new compliance search:
New-ComplianceSearch -Name <searchName> -ExchangeLocation all -ContentMatchQuery <query> -StartDate <startDate> -EndDate <endDate>
b. Start the compliance search:
Start-ComplianceSearch -Identity <searchName>
c. Export the search results to a .pst file:
New-ComplianceSearchAction -SearchName <searchName> -Export -ExportFilePath <filePath>
3. Import mailboxes to the destination tenant:
Use the New-MailboxImportRequest cmdlet to import the mailboxes into the destination tenant. This involves creating a target mailbox and then importing the .pst file into it.
a. Create a new target mailbox:
New-Mailbox -Name <name> -Alias <alias> -UserPrincipalName <UPN> -Password (ConvertTo-SecureString <password> -AsPlainText -Force) -DisplayName <displayName> -FirstName <firstName> -LastName <lastName> -ResetPasswordOnNextLogon $false -PasswordNeverExpires $true -PrimarySmtpAddress <emailAddress>
b. Create a new mailbox import request:
New-MailboxImportRequest -Name <requestName> -Mailbox <mailboxName> -FilePath <filePath> -TargetRootFolder <folderName> -IsArchive
c. Start the mailbox import request:
Start-MailboxImportRequest -Identity <requestName>
4. Verify the migration:
Once the migration is complete, verify that all data has been migrated correctly. This involves checking the mailbox size, verifying that all emails are present, and testing the mailbox functionality.
a. Check the mailbox size:
Get-MailboxStatistics -Identity <mailboxName> | Select-Object TotalItemSize
b. Verify that all emails are present:
Search-Mailbox <mailboxName> -SearchQuery <query>
c. Test the mailbox functionality:
Log in to the target mailbox and verify that all emails, contacts, and calendar entries are present and functioning correctly.
Method 3. Migrate Mailboxes from One Office 365 Tenant to Another Using Outlook
Open Outlook on your computer:
Open Outlook on your computer and log in to your source Office 365 account.
Add the destination Office 365 account:
Add the destination Office 365 account to Outlook by clicking on File > Info > Add Account. Follow the prompts to add the account.
Export the mailbox data:
In Outlook, click on File > Open & Export > Import/Export. In the Import and Export Wizard, select Export to a file and click Next. Choose the type of file you want to export (such as Outlook Data File (.pst)) and select the mailbox or folder you want to export. Choose the destination for the exported file and click Finish.
Import the mailbox data:
Log in to the destination Office 365 account using Outlook. Click on File > Open & Export > Import/Export. In the Import and Export Wizard, select Import from another program or file and click Next. Choose the type of file you want to import (such as Outlook Data File (.pst)) and select the file you exported earlier. Choose the destination for the imported mailbox data (such as a new folder) and click Finish.
Monitor the import:
During the import process, monitor the progress by checking the status bar at the bottom of the Outlook window. Depending on the size of the mailbox data being imported, this process may take some time.
Verify the imported data:
After the import process is complete, verify that the mailbox data has been successfully imported by checking the destination mailbox or folder.
Overall, migrating mailbox data from one Office 365 tenant to another using the Outlook application can be a straightforward process, but it’s important to ensure that you have a reliable and fast internet connection to avoid any issues during the transfer. Additionally, be sure to follow best practices for exporting and importing mailbox data to avoid any data loss or corruption.
Final Words
Migrating from one Office 365 tenant to another can be a complex and time-consuming process, but with the right tools and approach, it is possible to make the transition smoothly and efficiently. In this guide, we’ve explored several methods for performing tenant-to-tenant migration, including using PowerShell scripts, manual methods, and third-party tools. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can migrate your email data and other critical resources from one Office 365 tenant to another with minimal disruption to your business operations. However, it’s important to note that every migration scenario is unique, and you may encounter unforeseen issues or complications during the process.
