Export Exchange 2016 mailbox to Office 365 | Approach for All

Updated On - November 20, 2023 by Nasir Khan | Reading Time: 7 minutes

Office 365, a cloud-based platform offered by Microsoft, is now ruling the email niche. Several organizations and individuals are now preferring it over their existing email clients, and I probably think Office 365 is the best email service now. It offers several business professionals’ required applications as a bunch such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint, Teams, and so on. If you’re an Exchange Server user, this write-up will help you export Exchange 2016 mailbox to Office 365 without any hassle and risk of data loss. So, let’s dive into it.

Why is Office 365 replacing old email services?

Office 365 first came into existence in 2011; since then, it has never looked back. After the Covid19, it is becoming popular at high speed, and there are several reasons behind it. Some of the popular ones are as follows: 

• It is a cloud-based platform accessible from anywhere and anytime with the presence of the internet. Hence, you can access your work-related documents and communications even on a road trip or vacation.
• There is no downtime in Office 365 as it always stays up to date. Also, you don’t need to update your Office 365 account; it gets updated automatically as soon as the new version is released.
• It reduces the business cost as you don’t have to install any infrastructure to use Office 365 services. Also, you get almost every modern-day working environment-required application in a single subscription.
• Office 365 is the most secure email service; you can leave everything to the experts. Hence, you no longer have to worry about the data loss risk.

So, these are some of the most popular highlights of Office 365 that are attracting users to Microsoft 365. Now let’s move towards the reasons to export Exchange 2016 to Office 365.

Why should you move into Office 365 from Exchange Server?

Exchange Server and Office 365 are both offered by Microsoft. However, there are several differences between both for which you should Export Exchange 2016 to Office 365 mailboxes. Some of the primary causes of leaving the Exchange Server are as follows:

1. Exchange versions only come for 10 years, and after that, Microsoft discontinued support for them. Due to this, Exchange 2016 will reach its end of life (no support and bug fixes) in 2025. Moving into Office 365 from Exchange is better than moving into Exchange 2019.
2. The exchange server holds a complex GUI compared to Office 365, which makes it a bit complicated to use for newbies. On the other hand, one can use Office 365 without any assistance or technical expertise.

Now you know the drawbacks of Exchange server and the features of Office 365, it’s time to know how you can export Exchange 2016 to Office 365 mailboxes.

Ways to shift your data from Exchange 2016 to Office 365

There are several ways to do so; one can utilize manual methods and automated tools. Manually, you need to create an Exchange Profile in Outlook and then use the import/export wizard to export Exchange 2016 mailbox to PST and then create the Office 365 profile into Outlook and import Exchange PST into it. Let me describe the process in detail:

Export Exchange 2016 to Office 365 with the help of Outlook

I’ve divided the process into three phases, so it’ll be easy to understand for everyone, and even novices can utilize it without any assistance. I’ll only create the profile for Exchange Server, and the same steps will be applicable for Office 365. So, let’s begin with creating a profile:

Phase1: Create Outlook profile for Exchange account

1. Open Outlook in your system.
2. Now click on the File option and then click the Add account option.
3. Following, provide your Exchange email address and select Let me set up my Outlook account manually option.
4. Select the Exchange icon in the next wizard to continue.
5. Now, provide the incoming server and outgoing server and click on the Connect option.

Once you’re done creating an Outlook profile for an Exchange account, follow the below-given process to export Exchange mailbox to PST format.

Phase2: Export Exchange mailbox into PST format

1. Click on the File option from Outlook’s ribbon bar.
2. Now select the Open & Export option from the left pane and click on the Import/Export option.
3. Next, select the Export to a file option and click on the Next button.
4. Following, select the Outlook data file .pst as a file format and click Next.
5. Choose the Exchange mailbox folder you want to export into PST, and also use the filter option if required.
6. At last, browse the location to save the resultant PST file.

Once the process gets completed, you’ll have your Exchange mailbox data in PST format and can import it into Office 365. To export Exchange PST into Office 365, you need to create a profile for Office 365 account by following the above-mentioned steps. After that, go as follows:

Phase 3: Export Exchange 2016 PST into Office 365

1. Go to the File option from Outlook’s ribbon bar.
2. Now select the Open&Export option and click on the Import&Export option.
3. Following, select the Import from another program or file option and click Next.
4. Choose Import from the Outlook data file and click Next.
5. Browse the PST file you created in the last phase and choose the filter option as needed.
6. Now your Exchange data will be exported into your Office 365 account.

Should you go with the Manual Method?

There is nothing wrong with the manual method; it works effectively. However, there are a few limitations with it, due to which I don’t suggest it to everyone, especially for organizations who want to Export Exchange 2016 to Office 365 with several mailboxes. Some of this method’s limitations are as follows:

1. Using the manual method, you cannot export Exchange mailboxes in batches.
2. As you can see, the process is an indirect approach, and you have to follow several phases to export Exchange mailboxes.
3. The PST files have a size restriction of 50GB. After that, it gets inaccessible. Hence, if you have a mailbox over 50 GB, you cannot move it manually.
4. You have to repeat the same process over and over to export multiple Exchange mailboxes.

By keeping these limitations in mind, I suggest using an automated tool to ease the process and make it quick.

Regain Exchange to Office 365 migration tool

It is an automated tool specially coded to export Exchange 2016 mailboxes to Office 365 in batches and effortlessly. The tool is the most cost-effective and must-have solution for Exchange administrators. It costs only $99 for a lifetime subscription, and you can export unlimited mailboxes to Office 365, Gmail, PST, EML, and several other targets. Let me show its 4 steps process to you so you can have an idea of how the tool works:

Free Download100% Secure Buy NowPrice: $99

• Step1: Install the free Exchange to Office 365 migration tool.
• Step2: Click on the Open option and add EDB files from where you want to export mailboxes.
• Step3: Click on the Export option and select Office 365 from the dropdown menu.
• Step4: Provide Office 365 credentials and click on the convert Now button.

So, it is the process to export Exchange 2016 mailbox to Office 365 using Regain tool. Several features are embedded in the tool, making it a picture-perfect tool for this task. Such as:

• With this tool, you can export any Exchange mailbox into Office 365.
• There is no bar on exporting the Exchange Server mailbox size; you can export any mailbox size.
• You can select the desired folder to export into Office 365. Also, it can filter out unwanted emails.
• Before exporting data into Office 365, you can have a preview of complete Exchange mailbox emails, including meta properties.
• The tool is compatible with all Exchange versions and works in all Windows Operating Systems.

Conclusion

Several Exchange users and organizations now want to move into Office 365 for the latest and advanced features. However, it is a hectic task manually, and several Microsoft MVPs and Exchange administrators suggest using Regain Exchange to Office 365 migration tool. It is recommended to use the free version once before making any decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ques1. Can I also manage Exchange Server 2016 and Office 365 in sync?
Ans. Yes, you can create a hybrid environment between Exchange Server 2016 and Office 365. You can keep your items in Office 365 while synching with the Admin Center.

Ques2. Will I get a preview of the mailbox items before migrating Exchange 2016 EDB files to Office 365?
Ans. The software will scan the files after adding to them and show a preview of your mailbox data before processing for any further action.

Ques3. I am confused before migrating Exchange Server 2016 to Office 365; will I get the same data structure in the sense of folder hierarchy and metadata properties in the target?
Ans. With the professional software developed by Regain Software, you will get a carbon copy of your data in Office 365 after the migration. This utility keeps data originality intact, and users get the same hierarchy and properties.

Ques4. Can I add and migrate multiple EDB files to Office 365 in a single go?
Ans. The tool properly handles the migration of multiple EDB files to Office 365. Users can add EDB files of any size and number, and the tool will professionally process them.