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Google Workspace migration checklist: choose the tool, then cut over mail

Moving email into Google Workspace: pick Google's tool for your source, know what won't transfer, change MX records, then check the result.

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To move email into Google Workspace, pick Google's migration tool by where the mail lives now and how many users are moving, using Google's migration product matrix. Then create your users before you change MX records, as Google's MX change advice recommends, import the mail, switch MX, and check the result before you close the old account.

1. Choose the migration tool for your source

Google's product matrix recommends a tool by source and number of users:

  • IMAP server: the data import tool or GWMME for 1–100 users; GWMME for 101 users or more.

  • Exchange 2010, 2013 or 2016: GWMME for up to 1,000 users; Google Workspace Migrate for 1,001 or more.

  • The data import tool. The data import tool copies email from another Google Workspace account, Microsoft Exchange Online, an IMAP account or a single Gmail account, up to 1,000 users for Google Workspace or Exchange Online, 100 for IMAP and 1 for a personal Google account. Resellers can't use it to import data for their customers.

  • GWMME. Google Workspace Migration for Microsoft Exchange (GWMME) can copy email, calendar and contacts from an Exchange server. The product matrix describes it as the option for more control, able to move data from almost any type of mail server. From IMAP, Gmail or Google Workspace it copies only email and labels.

  • Google Workspace Migrate is designed for migrations of 1,001 users or more. As of the end of 2026 it will no longer be available for Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and OneDrive; Google points those sources to the data import tool.

  • Domain Transfer merges two separate Google Workspace domains. It is quick, but not self-service, and you don't get granular control over what moves.

Coming from Microsoft 365? Exchange Online is the Microsoft 365 mail service. For Exchange Online, the matrix lists the data import tool or GWMME for up to 1,000 users, and advanced data import for 1,001 or more.

2. Know what will not come across

The data import tool brings over email messages, including drafts and sent mail, read and unread status, and, from IMAP servers, folders and subfolders. It skips attachments where the message plus attachment is larger than 25 MB, and file types Gmail blocks, such as executables.

Google's list of things to check after an import names what won't arrive as you had it:

  • Every email import: drafts without a To address aren't imported, and dynamic email messages arrive as standard messages.
  • From a Google Workspace or Gmail account: settings, rules, filters and signatures aren't imported, though they can be re-created in the new account after the import. Email messages from Google Groups don't import.
  • Delta imports: updated drafts arrive as new drafts.

From an IMAP source, GWMME doesn't move calendar events, contacts, Google Drive files or any other non-email content (product matrix).

3. Before you change MX records

  • Create every user. Before you change MX records, create the new Google Workspace user accounts in the Admin console (avoiding issues when changing MX records). The data import tool doesn't create accounts, and each user needs a licence before they start using the new account.
  • Add mailing lists and nicknames. Set them up in the Admin console too, and consider a catch-all address for mail sent to addresses that are wrong or not set up yet.
  • Verify your domain. You need to verify ownership of the domain before you can set up Gmail (MX record setup).
  • Collect IMAP passwords. For an IMAP import, a super administrator sets up and runs it, and needs each user's IMAP password and both email addresses. Some IMAP servers require an app-specific password.
  • Prepare GWMME early. Turn on smart features and personalization if users should be able to filter and sort migrated mail or search for attachments (about GWMME). Google recommends completing that step at least 24 hours before starting a migration.
  • Pilot with dual delivery if you want a safety net. Dual delivery sends messages to both Gmail and your legacy system. During a pilot you can keep the legacy server as the primary server, and you don't update your MX records to Google.

4. Cut over mail

  1. Pick a quiet time. Schedule the MX change for when email volume is low, such as an evening or weekend, and share the date and time of the change, instructions to resend any bounced messages and other ways to communicate time-sensitive issues (Google's MX change advice).
  2. Publish the Google MX record. The Google Workspace MX value is smtp.google.com (MX record setup). Domains set up before 2023 may have older values starting with aspmx, which are still supported.
  3. Remove every other MX record. Old or incorrect MX records can stop email working correctly.
  4. Activate Gmail. In the Admin console, go to Menu > Account > Domains > Manage domains, click Activate Gmail for the domain, and follow the steps on screen.
  5. Expect a lag. New MX records can take up to 72 hours to be recognized. Until the new records are active, mail still goes to your previous provider.
  6. Run a delta import. For IMAP sources, a delta import picks up mail that reached the old account after the first import.

5. Acceptance and rollback checks

Tick these before you close the old account:

Your fallback depends on where you are. If you pilot with dual delivery and keep the legacy server as primary, you don't update your MX records to Google. After the MX change, mail still reaches your previous provider until the new records are active (Google's MX change advice), so keep that account until every box is ticked.

Once mail flows, DemiSignal's domain check shows where your domain receives email and whether the records that stop others sending as your business are set up, with no account needed. If messages bounce after the move, collect the evidence to have ready when email delivery fails before asking for help.

Sources

Questions

Does the data import tool create user accounts?

No. It imports data only into accounts of existing users, so create every user in the Admin console first.

How long does the MX change take?

It can take up to 72 hours for new MX records to be recognized. Until the new records are active, email still goes to your previous provider.

Will my filters and signatures move across from Google Workspace or Gmail?

No. When importing from a Google Workspace or Gmail account, settings, rules, filters and signatures aren't imported, but they can be re-created in the new account after the import.

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