How to Add ProtonMail to Outlook – Verified Solution
When users have to switch from one mail app to another, a thousand different thoughts come to their minds. Moreover, experts agree that the task is daunting but not impossible. This statement is true for the current users of ProtonMail looking for alternatives. Therefore, this blog explores the solutions to add ProtonMail to Outlook and provides them in a few simple steps. Here, we will also discuss the reasons to import ProtonMail emails to Outlook, so read this blog to know everything!
Reasons to Forward ProtonMail to Outlook
1. Manage Multiple Email Accounts Together: Since Outlook is a multi-client platform, adding your emails helps you easily access them with other accounts like Gmail and Roundcube. On the other hand, ProtonMail doesn’t offer any facility to add non-ProtonMail accounts, once again highlighting Outlook’s prominence as the preferred multi-email client.
2. Enhanced Productivity Features: Outlook has access to Microsoft 365 applications like Teams, OneNote, and Yammer which help people collaborate on projects professionally. There are no such applications for ProtonMail users, signaling a gap in productivity features between these two email clients.
3. Comfortable Account Storage: Outlook has 15 GB of email storage, expandable up to 1.5 TB with the Microsoft 365 auto-archiving policy. On the contrary, ProtonMail’s email storage is limited to 1 GB for free accounts, extending to 15 and 100 GB for the premium plans. This limitation in email storage justifies the urgency to add ProtonMail to Outlook.
Conditions to Import ProtonMail Emails to Outlook
We will discuss the requirements for setting up a data transfer process without problems. For ProtonMail Premium subscribers, the following should be completed beforehand:
Condition #1:
ProtonMail Bridge: It is an app to link ProtonMail accounts with external email clients like Outlook or Thunderbird by shifting the IMAP configuration.
- The bridge creates a secure connection between the account and the email client via a TLS connection. Users must have access to their Single Remote Password for this method to work.
- Once installed and set, users don’t need to operate it themselves as it is designed to work in the background, utilizing only minimal resources of the machine.
Condition #2:
In case you don’t have access to the premium version, you need to do the following:
ProtonMail Import-Export: This is an application for getting a copy of the email data on the local machine. Install this app on your computer.
We will now explore the solutions for switching the location of ProtonMail emails in the following sections.
#1 Method: Setup Forwarding to Add ProtonMail to Outlook
You can forward ProtonMail emails to Outlook manually by following the following steps:
- Step-1. Access ProtonMail Settings and enable Email Forwarding.
- Step-2. Open the Outlook app >> File option >> Add Account.
- Step-3. Type ProtonMail email ID, select the manual setup, and click Connect.
- Step-4. Provide IMAP server details and click Next.
- Step-5. To complete the setup, type the account password and hit Connect.
Note: This method requires ProtonMail Bridge setup, and it is available only for premium (Mail Plus and Proton Unlimited) users.
#2 Method: Import-Export App to Migrate ProtonMail Emails to Outlook
Users then have to convert the files into Outlook-acceptable format, and only then can they import ProtonMail emails to Outlook.
The steps for the application are as follows:
- Open the ProtonMail Import Export App and select the ‘Add Account’ option.
- Afterward, log in using your Proton Mail credentials and click the ‘Next’ button.
- When the STATUS indicates ‘connected,’ proceed by selecting the ‘Export All’ option.
- Now, continue by clicking the ‘Export’ button.
- Choose the folders, apply a date filter, and opt for the MBOX format. Designate a location to save the email data and click the ‘Export’ button.
- After the export process concludes, click the ‘Okay’ button.
- You can now access and confirm your MBOX files at the location you designated.
Note: The task is not done yet; as explained previously, Outlook can’t use MBOX files directly. So you need to import MBOX file to Outlook before using it.
Expert’s Way to Import ProtonMail Emails to MS Outlook
The manual method to add ProtonMail to Outlook requires technical knowledge, therefore restricting its usage. We will discuss how to use automated software that helps you with the process without any technicality. This software is none other than Corbett Email Backup and Restore.
Steps to Transfer ProtonMail Data to Outlook
The following points describe the steps to import ProtonMail emails to Outlook using the software (In case you are utilizing the ProtonMail Bridge):
- Install the automated tool on your Windows computer and run it.
2. Click the Open dropdown menu, select the Email Accounts option, and click Add Account to add the ProtonMail email account. [Note: You must setup ProtonMail Bridge for the next steps]
3. Enter your ProtonMail account details and click Advanced Settings to enter the IMAP server details. Click the Add button to add the email folders on the software.
4. View the account folders on the left-side view panel and use the Advanced Search feature for selecting specific emails based on date, subject, sender and receiver.
5. Click the Export menu and select Office 365 as the export option. Select the Save button to transform the data into the required format.
Conclusion
This blog discussed the reasons and solutions to forward ProtonMail data to Outlook. The reasons mentioned here highlight the necessity to add ProtonMail to Outlook. We also saw some requirements for the email migration process, one of them being ProtonMail Bridge. The solutions described in the blog are perfect to import ProtonMail emails to Outlook, but the manual solution takes time and requires technical know-how. The automated software mentioned in this blog is the perfect solution for forwarding emails for those who lack technical knowledge and want to eliminate data loss problems.