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Import mail from another provider

Moving in from Gmail, Outlook, or any other IMAP mailbox? fjell.email copies your existing mail across for you. The transfer runs on our server — once it starts you can close the app and it keeps going, and you can cancel it whenever you like.

  1. Open the import screen

    In the webmail or Android app, go to Settings → Import mail. Under Import from another mailbox you'll enter the details of the account you're moving from.

  2. Get an app password from your old provider

    Gmail and Outlook don't let apps sign in with your normal password — you need a one-off app password. Turn on two-factor authentication in that account, then create an app password for “mail”. That's the value fjell.email uses to read your old mailbox; it never sees your real password.

    • Gmail: Google Account → Security → 2-Step Verification → App passwords.
    • Outlook / Microsoft 365: Security settings → Advanced security options → App passwords.

  3. Fill in the source mailbox

    Enter where your mail is coming from:

    • Provider — pick Gmail or Outlook to fill the server settings automatically, or choose Custom / Other to type them yourself.
    • IMAP host and Port — only needed for a custom provider (e.g. imap.example.com on port 993).
    • Source email address — the full address you're importing from, e.g. you@gmail.com.
    • App password — the app password you just created (not your normal password).

  4. Start the import

    Tap Start import. fjell.email creates a short-lived, single-purpose password for your own mailbox and hands both sets of credentials to a server-side worker, which copies every message across. You don't have to keep the app open — the copy runs entirely on our side.

  5. Track progress — or walk away

    The Imports list shows each transfer with a live count (“Importing 240 of 1,500…”). Because the job lives on the server, it survives closing the screen, switching devices, or quitting the app — reopen Import mail any time to check in. A big mailbox can take a while; it reconnects and resumes on its own if the connection drops.

  6. Cancel if you need to

    Press Cancel next to a running import to stop it — the worker halts on its next check. Finished, failed, and cancelled imports stay in the list with a status until you Dismiss them, so the screen only shows what's relevant.

  7. Find your imported mail

    Imported messages land in your fjell.email mailbox with their original folders and dates preserved. Once the import reports done, everything is searchable and syncs to every device like the rest of your mail.

Note on Microsoft 365: some organisations disable app-password / basic IMAP sign-in entirely. If Outlook rejects the app password with a “basic authentication is disabled” error, that's a policy on the source account — modern OAuth sign-in for imports is on our roadmap.