Simple Methods to Export Gmail Emails to MBOX Format

To manage a Gmail account nearing its storage limit, businesses look for a secure way to save older messages. Now, to do this, the most practical solution is to export Gmail to MBOX file format. By doing this, an offline backup will be created of the Gmail emails in an MBOX format. Users have the choice to do this migration in two ways. One is for migrating a small number of emails using free ways. And the other way is to migrate emails in bulk using a professional Gmail Backup Tool. Let’s understand both ways in detail.

Purpose of Exporting Gmail Emails as MBOX

Mostly, users export emails from Gmail as MBOX to create a secure offline copy of their email messages. Let’s look at some other reasons for exporting emails as MBOX:

• MBOX acts as a bridge while migrating the emails between different email clients.
• The MBOX file eases the email migration process if users are migrating to email clients like Thunderbird or Apple Mail.
• To reduce the Gmail cloud storage, exporting older emails as MBOX files will generate an offline backup.
• Users can read, search, and organize their Gmail emails offline by storing them in MBOX files.
• Technical users often export their emails from Gmail to MBOX for analyzing data or eDiscovery purposes.

How To Export Gmail to MBOX Format?

In the section below, we will implement solutions to successfully export your Gmail emails to MBOX format. Let’s get started.

Manually Export Gmail Emails to MBOX Format 

With the help of Google Takeout, users can easily export their Gmail email messages into MBOX format. Google Takeout allows users to download their Google account data. This data is downloaded in an MBOX file format. 

Look at the steps to start the export process:

1. On your default web browser, visit Google Takeout.
2. Now, log in with your Gmail email account credentials.
3. After that, click on Deselect All and only enable the Mail option.
4. Also, tick All Mail data included and click Next Step.
5. Choose the delivery method, file size, and file type. 
6. Next, press Create export. Download the .zip file and extract the MBOX files. 

Limitations: It can take hours or days to export multiple Gmail accounts as MBOX. Google Taekout does not contain advanced filters like date-range, duplicate detection, etc. Very large files will get split into multiple files because of the file size limit. 

Transfer Gmail Emails to MBOX Manually Using Apple Mail

This method involves first adding your Gmail account using IMAP. Then, sync the email locally and finally export it as MBOX files. The users can transfer the selected emails from Gmail as an MBOX file. 

Use the following steps to initiate the transfer process:

1. Open Apple Mail on your macOS.
2. Navigate to Mail > Add Account and select Google.
3. Now, sign in to your Gmail account with your email ID and password.
4. Once the emails get synchronized, select the Gmail mailbox to export.
5. Then, click on the File menu, choose Export Mailbox.
6. Choose a destination folder to save them locally on a Mac.
7. These will be saved as an MBOX file. 

Drawbacks: This method will only work on macOS, not on Windows or Linux. It takes a significant amount of time to export large Gmail mailboxes. The above method exports one mailbox at a time. 

Simple Solution to Export Gmail to MBOX Format

With a professional Gmail Backup Tool, users can securely export their Gmail email messages to MBOX format. Apart from exporting to MBOX, it can export Gmail to PST file other file formats as well. Additionally, it supports migration to popular email platforms like Yahoo, Outlook, etc. Moreover, it maintains the original folder hierarchy and ensures that no data is lost after converting. 

Simple steps to export emails from Gmail as MBOX:

1. Start by downloading the backup tool on your system.
2. Now, select Gmail (Backup Mails Only) and sign in to your Gmail account.
3. After that, choose the folders for conversion and click Next to continue.
4. Next, pick MBOX as the target File Format from the available options.
5. For customization, opt for additional filters and specify the destination path.
6. At last, complete the conversion by clicking on Convert.

Conclusion

To wrap up, we have explained everything about how to export Gmail Emails to MBOX file format. This blog has illustrated each of the methods in detail. Methods are tailored according to the user’s needs and business requirements. The basic manual options are for exporting a few Gmail messages. The automated Gmail Backup Tool enables users to export Gmail email messages in bulk as MBOX format. In addition to this, it keeps every piece of data intact and ensures data authenticity.

You May Also Read: How to Convert Gmail to Word Document

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