Backing up and restoring an email account using Microsoft Outlook 2016, 2019, and 2024

Valid for Mail Basic and Mail Business.

This article explains how to back up and restore your emails using Microsoft Outlook 2016, 2019, or 2024.

This allows you not only to create backups of your important data, but also to restore the contents of your mailbox when changing your email address or setting up a new one – for example, following a domain migration.

Back up your mailbox

• Open Outlook.
• Click File.
• Click Open and Export.
• In the Open pane, click Import/Export. The Import/Export Wizard opens.
• In the Import/Export Wizard, select the Export to a file option.
• Click Next.
• Select the Outlook Data File (.pst) option.
• Click Next.
• Now select the (email) folders you wish to back up. If you want to back up the entire contents of your mailbox (recommended), select the mailbox itself and tick the Include subfolders option. Once you have made your selection, click Next.
• Click Browse to specify the location and name for the export file.
• Select the save location and specify the filename for the export file.
• Confirm your settings by clicking OK.
• You can now decide how Outlook should handle duplicates. If in doubt, we recommend that you leave the default setting Replace duplicates with exported items here.
  
  - The Replace duplicates with exported items option ensures that the data – for example, an email – is only saved once in the file.
  
  - The Allow duplicates option means that the same data is saved multiple times during repeated exports.
  
  - The Do not export duplicates option means that only data added since the last export is saved.
• Click on Finish.
• If you wish to protect your data from unauthorized access, you can now secure the file with a password. Access to this file will then only be possible via the password.

Enter the desired password in both fields and click OK (if you do not require a password, simply leave the field blank).

Outlook will now complete the export without any further prompts.

Restore your mailbox

• Open Outlook.
• Click on File.
• Click Open and Export.
• In the Open pane, click Import/Export. The Import/Export Wizard opens.
• Select the action Import from other programs or files.
• Click Next.
• Select Outlook Data File (.pst) as the file type to import.
• Click Next.
• Select the folder whose contents you wish to import.
• If you wish to restore the entire contents, select Outlook Data File at the very top and tick the Include subfolders option.
• You can now specify where the data should be imported to (if in doubt, leave the default setting).
  
  - The Import items into current folder option ensures that the contents, together with the saved folder structure, are inserted into the folder you had open before calling up the import function. This allows you, for example, to test the import without changing your general folder structure or its contents.
  
  - The option Import items into the same folder in: (default) causes the contents to be automatically inserted into the same folder within the Outlook data file specified via the drop-down menu. Any folders that do not yet exist will be created.
• Click Finish to start the import.

Once the import is complete, you can manage your emails as usual.