How to Import EML to Outlook 365? The Complete Process Explained!

An EML file is used to store a single email with multiple components such as sender, recipient, subject, and other content. This file format is supported by several email clients such as Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, Apple, and even we can import EML to Exchange Server in a few minutes.

It is used as a local storage and can be shared with others easily. One can open this in the browser by changing its extension from .eml to .mht but without formatting. Outlook 365 is full-fledged with different functionalities other than emails. In several situations, there is a requirement to import EML to Office 365. Let’s explore some of the noteworthy reasons behind it.

Why Import EML to Outlook 365?

Outlook is a widely used platform known for its collaboration features, robust security, and better email management. Importing EML files to Outlook 365 poses several benefits which are:

• Organizations have critical cloud data and protecting that from cyber threats or unauthorized access is essential. That’s why they are switching from other email clients to Outlook as this offers multi-factor authentication types of security.
• Having a large volume of EML files, there might be the possibility of getting corrupted. To safeguard them from corruption users import EML to Office 365.
• Directly accessing the EML files is not possible, by migrating them to Outlook will help users to access email data efficiently and manage wisely.
• Outlook offers a clean UI that helps to manage email data efficiently and this is one of the main reasons to import EML to Outlook 365. Additionally, when we import EML to archive mailbox this makes email management better.
• Using Outlook 365, one can integrate the data with other Microsoft services i.e. Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, etc. This helps to enhance the collaboration experience. 
• Importing EML files to Outlook 365 makes the data accessible from anywhere or any device. 
• The Outlook 365 offers search functionality, which helps to find desired content from large data sets.

After analyzing the importance of moving EML data to Outlook 365. It’s time to discuss the solution to the respective query.

How to Import EML to Office 365? – Best Solutions!

Importing EML files into Outlook 365 can be done by manual and professional methods. Remember to import EML to Google Workspace is easy but migrating data to Outlook is much complicated. Below we described all the solutions sequentially so that you can choose the best approach for this migration. Let’s explore the manual methods first!

Top 3 Manual Methods to Import EML to Outlook Web

As such there is no direct manual tool provided by Outlook to import EML to Outlook 365. But, three solutions help in this i.e. Network Upload, Drive Shipping, and Drag & Drop. Let’s explore the first method.

Method 1. Drag & Drop Files to Import EML to Office 365

• Open Outlook and navigate to the folder where you want to import your EML files.
• Locate your EML files on your local storage, select them, and drag and drop them into the Outlook folder.
• Verify that all the EML files are now available in Outlook.

Export your EML data as PST:

• In Outlook, go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export.
• Select Export to a file and choose Outlook Data File (.pst).
• Browse to select to save the PST file and click Finish.

Import EML to Outlook 365:

• Open Outlook with your Office 365 account configured.
• Go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export, and select Import from another program or file.
• Choose Outlook Data File (.pst), browse to your saved PST file, and select Finish to complete the process.

Method 2. Network Upload to Import EML to Office 365

There is an inbuilt method in Outlook 365, to import Outlook local files to Outlook 365. Use these steps.

• Go to the Compliance.microsoft.com.
• Move to the Data Lifecycle Management > Microsoft 365 > Import.
• Now, Open the Import tab and click on + New import job.
• Choose the option of Uploading your data from the wizard to import EML to Outlook 365.
• Now copy the SAS URL for further processing and Install the Azure AzCopy tool on your system.
• Run the command prompt on the local system and run this command.
  azcopy.exe copy “<Source location of Outlook local files>” “<SAS URL>”
• You can verify all of the uploaded files using the Azure Storage Explorer.
• Now, create a CSV file, to specify the destination location of the mailboxes.
• Now, in the Import Data wizard, select the options “ I’m done uploading my files” and “I have access to the mapping file”.
• Upload the created CSV file of the mailboxes by clicking on + and Selecting mapping file and Validate it.
• Now click on Save and Close.
• Now, Microsoft analyzes all the data and provides you with the age of the data. So that you can filter the data easily.
• At last, Click Import data to import EML to Outlook 365 and the status becomes visible on the Import Outlook local files page.

Limitation of Network upload

• This is a time-consuming process. That’s why not preferred for the large data set to import EML to Office 365 via this.
• It has complex steps due to which administrators are also avoiding it.
• There should be a proper internet bandwidth during the process. Data may be lost or corrupted while facing any connectivity issue.
• Importing multiple accounts using these methods is not an efficient approach, it can confuse importing the data.
• It is only limited to certain countries.
• Not able to import Outlook local files, which is greater than 2 GB.

Method 3. Drive Shipping to Import EML to Outlook 365

• Firstly, prepare the Outlook local file with the appropriate names and maintain the hierarchy.
• Copy the Outlook local file that you want to import to the hard drive. Make sure that the file does not contain any virus.
• Microsoft preferred BitLocker to encrypt the data for better authenticity.
• Raise a drive shipping request to Microsoft. Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center and then Import services >> Data Migration and create a drive shipping request.
• Now wrap up the hard drive and the required documents properly. Then, finalize the suitable shipping service to send the hard drive to the allotted Microsoft data center.
• Keep an eye on the shipping progress. After reaching the hard drive to the destination Microsoft data center. The process of importing starts as per the queue.
• You will get a notification when the import EML to Office 365 process is complete.
• Finally, you can verify your data by opening Outlook 365.

Limitations of Drive Shipping

• This process is very time-consuming. Shipping of the data to the allotted data center takes a lot of time. There may be a queue for importing the Outlook local files in the data center. Due to which your tasks would be done at last.
• During the shipping of data, it can be lost or damaged before reaching the data center.
• It is expensive because Microsoft charges 2$ per GB for the process of importing.
• You cannot opt for this approach for the multiple import process.

To learn more about its core benefits go through these points:

• Allows to import EML to Outlook 365 directly.
• Automatically preserves attachments and folder hierarchy throughout the migration.
• Import large volume data simultaneously, won’t show file size limitation error.
• Having several import options such as Retry Failed, Delta Import, and Full Migration.
• Also, generate the Summary report or the Detailed report after the completion of Importing files.
• Comes with a minimum cost compared to other automated solutions so that any user can buy it easily. 
• Works on every Windows system.
• No need for Outlook to be installed in the system. It will migrate the data within the Office 365 account directly.

Follow the Instructions to Import EML to Office 365!

These steps help you to import EML to Outlook 365 using the specified solution:

• Download the solution for free, and choose the File System and Office 365.

• Choose the Email option and click on Next.

• Now, you are in the source tab, where you need to select the location of the Source file. Before choosing the file, make sure you have folder names as the email and inside that folder manage all subfolders of emails, contacts, and others individually.

• After selecting the location of the source file. Click on Validate and hit Next.

• Now, in the destination window, select the Admin Email and Application ID. Hit Validate and Next.

• After saving all the source and destination details, you have to select the users from several options: Fetch Users, Import Users, and Download Template.

• After fetching the users, click on the Start Import button to import EML files into Outlook.

• After a while, a notification pops up for successful importing.

Overall Summary!

The query of how to Import EML to Outlook 365 is solved in this article. The different reasons for choosing Outlook 365 are also explained in a detailed manner. Moreover, we have discussed the four different ways to import EML to Office 365. We know after reading all of them, that most of the users are confused about which method suits them best. So, the answer is that manual methods are considered for small data migration like 5 to 6 file transfers, but for large data, it is highly recommended to opt for the specified automated tool. 

The aforementioned smart solution gives you the desired result and you can do the migration hassle-free with this solution. Still, if you have any doubts related to the same, then click on 24/7 Support. Their team will guide you on how to use this solution effectively and proceed with the transition effortlessly.