Office 365

How to Export Office 365 to MBOX? Practical Methods

Overview: This guide explains how to export Office 365 to MBOX manually. It talks about the limitation of this method and provides you a direct solution to migrate multiple emails or mailboxes.

Talking about Office 365 (which is now called Microsoft 365) keeps email and other mailbox information on its servers. However, some users would choose to have a local copy of their emails that may help them with backup, migration, or using email clients that support MBOX files.

There is one major drawback, Microsoft 365 does not provide a direct option to convert Office 365 data in MBOX directly. To do this, you might have to link your account with an email client, sync your mailbox, and further use a professional tool to export your emails.

Also Read: How to Export Office 365 to MSG?

Why Migrate Office 365 to MBOX?

MBOX is a type of mailbox file that stores several emails in one. It is supported by several email applications including Thunderbird and Apple mail. These are some of the reasons to export Office 365 to MBOX format.

• In order to store a local copy of important emails
• Transfer mailbox information to an MBOX supported email client
• Users can save emails on the computer for local use
• Keep business emails for future reference
• Move certain emails or folders out of the cloud
• Have the email data ready whenever you shift to any other email platform

Firstly, check whether you want a single email message or all other mailbox contents like contacts and calendars before selecting a method. MBOX is mainly for storing email messages, so other file types may need different methods for exporting.

Can Users Directly Export Office 365 to MBOX format? 

Microsoft 365 does not provide any direct option to save an entire mailbox in the MBOX format. It provides some migration solutions, but does not offer any direct way to migrate your mailboxes into the MBOX format. Therefore, you need to use a dedicated software.

You have these three options to go with:

• One is to migrate a Microsoft 365 mailbox to Thunderbird and use the relevant add-on to export the messages to MBOX.
• Secondly, you can export the mailbox data into any format of your choice, and then convert it to MBOX format using that particular tool.
• The best way is to use our dedicated tool whose primary feature is to directly move Office 365 to MBOX

The choice of the method will depend on criteria such as the email size, the number of mailboxes, access rights, and whether it is necessary to export data selectively.

Manual Methods to Export Office 365 to MBOX Format

There are two approaches which you can follow to migrate Office 365 emails to MBOX. Follow them one by one to know which is best suited for you.

#1. Convert Office 365 Data Using Thunderbird Client

Mozilla Thunderbird can connect to Microsoft 365 through the use of appropriate account settings. You will be able to access emails that you have synchronized and export MBOX folders with the necessary add-on.

Step 1. Add Microsoft 365 Account to Thunderbird 

• Start Mozilla Thunderbird
• Next, choose to create a new email account
• Provide the email address and credentials for your Microsoft 365 account
• Let Thunderbird do the account setup
• Now, proceed with signing into the account, which includes verification of your organization needs
• Wait for some time while the mail folders and messages sync

Your organization may not permit third-party email programs or maybe require approval from the administrators. In case you cannot connect, then talk to the organization about authentication and access policies.

Step 2. Wait for Email Synchronization

• Access the required folders which include the Inbox, Sent Items, & archive
• You need to allow Thunderbird to begin the download of the available messages
• In case you have large mailboxes, the synchronization process can take a significant amount of time
• Check the date of the emails and the count of the messages to verify that the required emails are downloaded before starting the process

Step 3. Install a Compatible MBOX Export Add-on

Thunderbird has no built-in feature that lets users export Office 365 to MBOX format. For that, you might want to visit Thunderbird’s official Add-ons store in order to find and migrate your mailbox. Make sure to confirm the Thunderbird version and requirements of the add-on before installing it.

Step 4. Export the Required Folders

• You first need to open the mailbox or folder that you would like to export
• Next, right-click on the folder or use the export command available through the add-on
• If the add-on supports, select MBOX as an output format
• The next step is to give a file location on your computer where you want to save the exported folder
• Do this as often as needed for other folders
• Now, verify exported messages by opening the final files through a compatible mail application
• The application menu depend on the add-on you are using

Limitations of Above Steps:

• It is very important to properly configure Thunderbird to Microsoft 365 account
• You will have to monitor that all your emails is sync properly
• These manual steps will take more time, in cases of large mailboxes
• Some folders may require a separate exporting process
• The add-ons compatibility may differ depending on the version of Thunderbird
• To migrate contacts and calendars, you need a different approach
• The partial synchronization can lead to incomplete export

#2. Export Office 365 to MBOX Through Intermediate Format

Another way is to export Office 365 mailbox to PST and then convert it to MBOX. This particular method consists of two steps because the Outlook application exports data directly in PST and not in MBOX.

Step 1. Set Up Account in Classic Outlook

• Launch Classic Microsoft Outlook supported for Windows
• Connect your Microsoft 365 account, If you have not set up yet
• Go through the sign-in authentication steps
• Give it some time to complete the synchronization of the mailbox data
• Remember to check the folders that you want to access

Don’t forget to check if Outlook has downloaded the data you plan to export. As some of the messages may still be stored on the server depending on your account.

Step 2. Migrate Mailboxes to PST Format

• Launch Outlook
• Go to File > Open and Export > Import/Export
• Select Export to a file
• Choose Outlook Data File (.pst)
• Select the mailbox or folder you want to export
• Tick Include subfolders if you want to export everything in the folder
• Pick a destination and begin the export process

Depending on the version of Outlook, the menu path may differ. The above workflow is for Classic Outlook for Windows.

Step 3. Now, Move PST Files into MBOX

Once the PST file is created, you can take the help of FreeViewer PST to MBOX Converter. Follow the below steps to convert:

• Firstly, open the dedicated tool
• Add the PST file that was created
• If the software supports, preview the mailbox content
• Select MBOX as the output format
• Next, choose a destination folder to locate
• Now, begin the conversion process
• Make sure to check the converted MBOX file before using them

Retain the original PST file until you have confirmed the converted files are accurate.

Drawbacks:

• You need to use the software related to Outlook and which can generate PST files
• Users have to take the help of dedicated tool
• It could take time for big mailboxes to synchronize, & export
• It is essential to have enough storage for both these methods
• PST export process has two steps wherein validation of the output is essentially required
• When only MBOX files are required, one could eliminate the need for a PST file altogether

Directly Export Office 365 to MBOX Format – Expert Solution

In case, you want to export multiple mailboxes, filter out specific emails, or deal with many Microsoft 365 mailboxes. Then, use the FreeViewer Office 365 Export Tool. Using this tool, you can avoid the long process of syncing with Thunderbird.

Download Now Purchase Now

Why to Choose?

• Export your mailbox data without having to create a PST file
• Takes very less time managing large mailboxes
• Use filter options to migrate only selective information
• Store your mailbox data in a compatible email client format
• Check your export results before proceeding with the migration process

Important Tips:

Follow these points before you export Office 365 to MBOX format.

• Make sure that you can log in and get the desired data
• The Microsoft 365 administrator may limit the number of exports and other connections
• Big mailboxes can use significant amounts of local storage
• If working in Thunderbird or Outlook, check that messages are present before exporting
• Avoid deleting any emails and intermediate files before confirming the success of the export
• Open the exported data in a compatible email client and check the messages

Conclusion

You can easily export Office 365 to MBOX with the help of the above methods. The manual method comprises two steps, as it does not provide direct MBOX export options. It requires more time and has additional steps for handling files manually. If you want to handle large Office 365 mailbox data, then you can go with our dedicated solution. Verify the exported messages and attachments, while keeping the backup of original emails.