Moving to SimpliServ: switching from your old mail server
How moving your emails from your old provider to SimpliServ works, what you need to do on your devices and what doesn't come over automatically
When you switch to SimpliServ, everyone keeps their email addresses. We copy your existing emails including folders from the old server. All you need to do is switch your devices to the new server.
How the move works
Create mailboxes
Your mailboxes, additional addresses (aliases), shared mailboxes and forwards are created at SimpliServ – with the same addresses as before.
Copy emails
We copy all emails and folders from the old server into the new mailboxes. This runs in the background; in the meantime you keep working with the old account as usual.
Switch on the cut-over date
On the agreed day the domain is switched over (MX record). From then on, new emails arrive at SimpliServ. For a few hours, individual emails may still land at the old provider – we fetch those again afterwards.
Switch your devices
Now you set up the new mailbox on each device and then remove the old account (see below).
Cancel the old provider
Only once everything is running – we recommend about two weeks after the switch – is the old email contract cancelled.
What you do on your devices
- Set up the new mailbox while the old one is still there. Server
mail.simpliserv.app, user name = your email address, type IMAP (all values). Your admin tells you which password applies. - Check that folders and older emails appear in the new account. Large mailboxes need a few minutes after setup until everything has loaded.
- Move emails stored only locally – this affects you if the old account was set up with POP3 or you use folders like "On My Mac", "Local Folders" or an Outlook .pst file. These emails were never on the server and therefore can't be copied over. Move them to a folder of the new account.
- Remove the old account – otherwise the device keeps trying to fetch from and send via the old provider.
- Set the default account and signature in your app to the new account.
The exact steps for your app:
| App | Guide |
|---|---|
| iPhone & iPad | Switching from your old mail server |
| Mac (Apple Mail) | Switching from your old mail server |
| Outlook | Switching from your old mail server |
| Gmail app | Switching from your old mail server |
| Samsung Email | Switching from your old mail server |
| Thunderbird | Switching from your old mail server |
| Webmail | nothing to do – just sign in at webmail.simpliserv.app |
Switch to IMAP now
The move is the best moment to get away from POP3. Always set up the new account as IMAP – even if the old one was a POP3 account. With POP3, emails live on only one device, are missing in webmail and get lost with the device.
What doesn't come over automatically
- Signatures, rules and views in your email app belong to the old account – create them again for the new account.
- Out-of-office replies and filters from the old provider you set up again in webmail.
- Contacts and calendars that were stored only in the old email account (not on the phone or in iCloud/Google): export them before removing the old account.
- Locally stored emails (POP3, "On My Mac", "Local Folders", .pst) – see above.
Frequently asked questions
Will emails get lost during the move? No. Everything on the old server is copied, and emails that still arrive at the old provider on the cut-over date are fetched afterwards. But only remove the old account once the new one works.
I see some emails twice. That happens when the old and the new account are set up at the same time – the copy then exists in both. Once you remove the old account, it's gone.
I already deleted the old account before saving local emails. Contact your admin. As long as the old provider hasn't been cancelled yet, a lot can still be rescued.
Related topics
- Overview & login details
- Email for admins — checklist for the move
How is this guide?