Save Yahoo Emails to Computer

You want to save Yahoo emails to computer, but Yahoo Mail has no Save All button. It prints one message at a time, so a large mailbox takes many hours by hand. Below are four ways to save Yahoo emails to computer, Yahoo settings you need and fixes for common errors.

Can Yahoo Mail save emails to computer on its own?

Only one email at a time. Yahoo Mail lets you print a message and save it as a PDF, but it has no button to save Yahoo emails to computer in bulk. Yahoo also lets you request a copy of your account data. Yahoo's page on viewing and managing account data says your download can take up to 30 days and arrives as JSON files. It does not say if Mail is included. JSON files are hard to read, so most people use one of these ways below.

How to save Yahoo emails to computer as PDF?

Print one email to PDF when you need only a few. Every PDF keeps how your email looks on screen.

1. Sign in to Yahoo Mail in your browser and open an email you want to save.
2. Select three dots in your toolbar, then select Print. You can also press Ctrl+P on Windows or Cmd+P on a Mac.
3. Set your printer to Save as PDF.
4. Select Save, name your file and choose a folder to save Yahoo emails to computer.

Repeat for every message. That is fine for ten emails and slow for a thousand. Need a longer PDF guide? See how to save Yahoo email as PDF. Want rows in a spreadsheet? See how to export Yahoo emails to CSV.

How to save Yahoo emails to computer with Outlook?

Add Yahoo to Outlook over IMAP, wait for sync, then export to a PST file. Outlook then holds a copy of your Yahoo mail on your PC.

1. Sign in to Yahoo Account Security and create an app password for Outlook. Copy that code.
2. In classic Outlook select File, then Add Account, and enter your Yahoo address.
3. Select Advanced options, then Let me set up my account manually, and choose IMAP.
4. Enter imap.mail.yahoo.com with port 993 and SSL/TLS. For outgoing mail enter smtp.mail.yahoo.com with port 465 or 587.
5. Enter your app password when Outlook asks, then select Finish.
6. Wait while your Yahoo folders download. Open large folders once so you save Yahoo emails to computer in full.
7. Select File, Open & Export, then Import/Export. Choose Export to a file, then Outlook Data File (.pst), select your Yahoo account and choose a save location.

Menu names follow classic Outlook and change by version, so test one small folder first. Do not use IMAP as your only backup. Delete a message in Outlook and it is deleted on Yahoo too. Want Yahoo mail in a new Outlook profile? See how to export Yahoo Mail to Outlook.

How to save Yahoo emails to computer with Thunderbird?

Thunderbird is free and stores IMAP mail as files you can copy. Ask Leo, a long running tech help site, uses it as his main way to back up Yahoo.

1. In Thunderbird open Account Settings, then Account Actions, and select Add Mail Account.
2. Enter your name, full Yahoo address and password, then select Continue. Use your app password if Yahoo rejects your normal one.
3. Confirm IMAP is selected, then select Create Account.
4. Restart Thunderbird if Yahoo folders do not show. Let every folder download.
5. Open your Thunderbird profile folder and copy its mail files to a drive to save Yahoo emails to computer for good.

Ask Leo says Yahoo has no officially supported backup and that sync mirrors deletions, so a copy of your profile folder is your real backup. Thunderbird keeps IMAP folders as MBOX files. To export one folder, see how to export Yahoo Mail to MBOX. For setup help, see how to add Yahoo Mail to Thunderbird.

Steps to save Yahoo emails to computer with software

1. Install Corbett Yahoo Backup Tool on your Windows PC and select Open.
2. Select Email Accounts, then Add Account, and choose Yahoo.
3. Enter your Yahoo address and app password. It sets imap.mail.yahoo.com on port 993 itself.
4. Preview a few messages to confirm your Yahoo folders loaded.
5. Select Export and choose a format such as PDF, PST or MBOX.
6. Add date, sender or subject filters if you want less mail, then select a destination folder.
7. Start your export to save Yahoo emails to computer, then open one file to check it.

Licence is lifetime from $99 with a 30-day money-back window. To send Yahoo mail into another account instead of a file, use Corbett Yahoo Mail Migration Tool or see how to transfer emails from Yahoo to another account. Need only sender lists? See how to extract email addresses from Yahoo.

What Yahoo settings do you need to save Yahoo emails to computer?

Yahoo's help says to create an app password if Account Key or two step verification is on. Use your full Yahoo address as username. Yahoo also says ports 995, 465 and 587 must not be blocked by a firewall, antivirus or network setting.

• IMAP incoming: imap.mail.yahoo.com, port 993, SSL/TLS.
• POP incoming: pop.mail.yahoo.com, port 995, SSL. Yahoo says POP downloads Inbox mail only and is one way.
• Outgoing SMTP: smtp.mail.yahoo.com, port 465 or 587, with sign in required.

Yahoo's POP page says settings let you leave a copy on Yahoo servers or delete mail after download, and it names no default. Use IMAP when you save Yahoo emails to computer, so Yahoo mail stays safe.

Which way to save Yahoo emails to computer is best?

For a few emails, print to PDF. To save Yahoo emails to computer in bulk, use IMAP in Outlook or Thunderbird for free, or software when you need filters and many accounts.

Moving to Gmail instead of a file? See how to transfer Yahoo Mail to Gmail. Need only files from your mail? See how to download all attachments in Yahoo Mail.

How to open Yahoo emails after you save Yahoo emails to computer?

PDF files open in any PDF reader. A PST file opens in Outlook through File, Open & Export, then Open Outlook Data File. MBOX files open in Thunderbird. If you saved a PST file and need it inside a live profile, see how to import PST to Outlook. Copy your saved folder to an external drive too, so one failed disk does not take your emails with it.

Why does save Yahoo emails to computer fail?

Yahoo rejects your password when you save Yahoo emails to computer

Create an app password if Account Key or two step verification is on. For "Server password has changed" or "Authentication failed", Yahoo says to update your app or grant temporary access in your account settings. If sign in still fails, Yahoo says to delete your Yahoo account from your app and add it again.

Only your Inbox downloads when you save Yahoo emails to computer

That is how POP works, according to Yahoo's POP page. Switch your mail program to IMAP to save Yahoo emails to computer from every folder, not Inbox alone.

Mail vanishes from Yahoo after download

A reader question on Ask Leo says POP3 deletes mail from Yahoo as it downloads. Use IMAP, and check your leave a copy setting before you start.

Outlook offers no way to import your Yahoo mail

A Family Tree Forum member in June 2014 had over 800 Yahoo emails and wanted to save Yahoo emails to computer all at once. Outlook only offered import from a short list of programs. A helper told them to add your account by hand in Outlook with Yahoo's POP and SMTP settings, and another suggested MailStore Home, a free archiving tool. That thread does not say which one worked. Use our Outlook steps above, which add Yahoo by hand.

Sign in works in a browser but not in your program

Yahoo says to send a test email to your own address, wait up to five minutes and confirm your program uses right POP or IMAP settings. For other IMAP problems, see how to download IMAP emails from server.

What to do after you save Yahoo emails to computer?

After you save Yahoo emails to computer, open a few saved emails and check dates, senders and attachments. Keep your Yahoo mailbox until counts match. Also save Yahoo emails to computer a second time on another drive. Yahoo empties a mailbox left unused for 12 months, according to Corbett's page, so keep a second copy of your saved files on another drive. Contacts need their own export. Ask Leo says to open Yahoo Contacts, select Actions, then Export All, and choose Yahoo CSV. His article dates from 2012, so menu names may differ now.

Questions about save Yahoo emails to computer