Move mail from another provider

Copy an existing mailbox into NovaNode Mail with the built-in tool in the Mail panel. Nothing is deleted at the old provider and both mailboxes keep working during the copy.

4 min read · Updated 19 October 2026

The Mail panel has a copy tool for this. It logs in to your old mailbox over IMAP, copies everything into a mailbox here, and leaves the old one untouched.

Before you start

• Create the destination mailbox here first (Mail panel → New mailbox).
• Have the old provider's IMAP server name, your username there and the password at hand. The provider's help pages usually list the server under "IMAP settings".
• Leave the MX record pointing at the old provider until the copy has finished, so no mail is lost in between.

The copy

1. Open the Mail panel(client area → Mail product → Open mail panel) and find Move mail from another provider.
2. Fill in the old side.Old IMAP server, port (993 with SSL is the default and fits almost every provider), the username and the password at the old provider.
3. Choose the destination.Pick one of your mailboxes under Copy into and type its password.
4. Start the copy.Leave Use an encrypted connection ticked unless the old provider cannot do it. The run appears under Previous copies with its state; a finished run shows the number of messages copied.

The passwords are used for the copy and deleted when it finishes. They are not written to any log.

If a run fails

The reason is shown under the run, for example "The password for the mailbox here was not accepted". Fix it and press Run again. Running the copy twice does not duplicate mail that already arrived.

Afterwards

Switch the MX record to NovaNode (see DNS records for NovaNode Mail) and set up your devices with the mail settings. Keep the old mailbox a few days in case something arrives there late.

Did this not solve it? Open a ticket and tell us what you tried.