Freeware and simple method to import PST files to Office 365

Many users have concerns regarding putting their sensitive data in the PST folder because PST files are at risk to malware. Because of this reason, many users want to import PST files to Office 365. Are you searching for answers on "How to open PST files in Outlook 365?" Then you will get the solution to your queries here. But before that, let's see some more reasons why users want to migrate PST files into Outlook 365.

Reasons to Import emails to Outlook 365

• Office 365 contains outstanding data security features.
• Users of Office 365 can access files or Office programs on any device.
• O365 also protects from hidden threats.
• You get apps, such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint, OneNote, etc., with Office 365.

Now we will become aware of the reasons to Import PST files into Outlook 365. Now we will learn the reliable methods to transfer PST files to Office 365. Firstly we will see two manual methods and then one professional method.

Manual Methods to Migrate Outlook to Office 365

Method 1: Through Import/ Export Wizard

In the first method, we will import pst files to Office 365 by using Import/ Export Wizard. Follow the below steps for importing PST Files.

1. Open MS Outlook on your system.
2. Click File and then select Open & Export.
3. Now tap on Import/ Export Option to proceed.
4. In Import/Export Wizard, choose Export to a file and hit Next.
5. After that, opt for Outlook Data file (.pst) and press on Finish button.
6. Now you can select the folders you want to migrate and click Next.
7. Then, click the Browse button and pick the location for the PST file.
8. Tap on the Finish button to start the process.

Given above are steps to upload pst files to office 365. But, this manual method is only applicable for small PST files. To import large PST data, you can use another manual approach. Let's learn about it in detail in the below lines.

Method 2: Through Office 365 Security & Compliance admin center

In this method, we will be using the Office 365 Security & Compliance admin center to convert PST to Office 365. Follow the below steps to get the best results.

To start the process, you need to check that your Office 365 account has adequate permissions to import PST files into Outlook 365. To allot the Mailbox Import Export role to your user account, follow the below steps.

1. Launch the Exchange Admin center to start: https://admin.exchange.microsoft.com/
2. Now enter Administrator login credentials to log in.
3. Then, select Roles and pick the Admin Roles option.
4. After that, choose Mailbox Import Export.
5. The Mailbox Import Export window will open. Here click the Assigned button.
6. Now you can add the user account to import PST to O365 by tapping on the +Add tab.
7. You can also edit other permissions and then we can start the conversion process.

Now we can start importing PST files to Office 365 after we get permission from the above steps. The steps for migration of PST files via the O365 admin center are as follows:-

1. Open O365 Security Compliance Admin Center through the link: https://protection.office.com/
2. Select Information Governance in the left pane and click Import.
3. Now tap on the Import PST file and then pick the New Import job.
4. Provide a name for your new import job.
5. Hit the Next button to proceed.

Now Microsoft equips two choices to Transfer pst files to Office 365- Upload data through the Internet or Ship hard drive to physical location manually.

Note: By transferring files through the second method you have to pay $2 per gigabyte. So we will use the first method as it costs nothing.

Choose the option Upload your Data and click Next.

1. Now go to step 2 and tap on Show network upload SAS URL.
2. After that, copy the SAS URL and save it in a safe place. Remember, don’t share this URL with anyone.
3. To proceed further, download and Install Azure AzCopy under step 3.
4. Run the installed application.
5. To download the PST file to Azure storage, enter the following command. AzCopy.exe /Source:/Dest:/V:/Y
6. Now create a CSV file of the following Format.
7. Tick mark the option, I am done uploading my files, and I have access to the mapping file.
8. After that, click Next and choose your CSV file.
9. Then tap on Validate, and then press Save.
10. At last, hit Import to Office 365.

The above techniques are effective, but the Manual method contains a lot of steps to perform. Thus, the user has to spend a whole day migrating Outlook to Office 365 manually. There are some more drawbacks of the Manual methods that users usually face. In the below context, we will learn some flaws of Manual methods.

Manual Methods Limitations to Migrate Outlook to Office 365

• Takes a lot of time for the user.
• Novice users may get confused in the process.
• You can lose your data if an error occurs.
• You cannot delete duplicate files in a manual process.
• It doesn't guarantee data safety.

Now you know the shortcomings of the manual method. You might be looking for a better alternative to import PST to O365. Then Next method is the answer to your question. Now we will know about the professional method in the next lines.

Professional Method to Convert PST to Office 365

In the professional method, we will use a reliable third-party utility. The software we will use to import emails to Outlook 365 is MailsDaddy PST to Office 365 Migration Tool. This software comes with a simple interface and is easy to use. It allows users to migrate multiple PST files to Office 365 at one time. It is compatible with Outlook 2019, 2013, 2016, and previous versions. Finally, let us see a short overview of what we discussed here.

To sum up

Finally, we will conclude the whole write-up in some lines to come up with the conclusion. So many users were looking for approaches to import PST files from Outlook 2010 to Office 365 or other versions of Outlook. Therefore, we discussed two manual ways to import PST files to Office 365. However, manual methods have some drawbacks. Then we learned a much better approach using a professional tool. At last, I want to suggest using professional software to transfer PST files to Office 365 without difficulty.