Account Closure Preparation- Support Page

 Before your mailbox is decommissioned, you may wish to save your data and inform your contacts of an alternate email address where they can reach you. 

If you wish to open a new email account, there are numerous free and paid email providers to choose from. Examples of free email services include Gmail (from Google), Outlook.com (from Microsoft), or Yahoo! Mail. Home internet providers such as Rogers or Bell may also include email accounts as part of their service packages. 

1. Transfer your Data 

Transfer all data (mail, contacts, calendars) 

If you use Outlook (Windows or Mac), it’s possible to transfer everything at once (mail, contacts, calendars) by exporting it. The resulting files can be imported into the same app they were exported from. Please find the knowledge base articles below, which provide step-by-step instructions.

In some instances, you can transfer data separately (move only messages, only contacts, or only calendar items) by exporting or by copying between accounts. In Mac Mail, Contacts and Calendar, have to be dealt with individually.   Please find the knowledge base articles below, which provide step-by-step instructions.

If you use another email app or email on the web, transferring all data may not be possible.  

Transfer email messages 

There are a few different methods you can use to save your email messages: 

  • Forward messages to another mailbox 
  • Copy messages from one account to another 
  • Export messages to an archive file and import them into another account, or as local folders. 

Please find the knowledge base articles below, which provide step-by-step instructions.

Transfer Contacts 

We recommend exporting contacts to an external file and then importing them into another account. Please find the knowledge base articles below, which provide step-by-step instructions.

Transfer Calendar items 

We recommend exporting calendar data to an external file and then importing them into another account. Please find the knowledge base articles below, which provide step-by-step instructions.

2. Notify contacts of change of email (optional) 

To avoid missed correspondence, reach out to your contacts to inform them that your @utoronto.ca email address will be going out of service. Remember to supply an alternative means for them to contact you.  

Don’t forget to update your contact information with: 

  • People or organizations you correspond with. 
  • Subscriptions to newsletters, mailing lists or listservs.  
  • Services that provide alerts and notifications (e.g. news, banking or taxes, health and safety alerts). 
  • Online logins and accounts (e.g. social media, online shopping, clubs and memberships).  
Please review the information below for steps you can take to preserve your data. 

Transfer your Data 

Transfer all data together (mail, contacts, calendars) 

Copy email, contact and calendar data from one account to another 

Note: If you plan to use the same desktop app to access all email accounts you own, this option is recommended, rather than exporting and importing data. You can transfer your data by setting up both accounts in a desktop email app and copy them from one account to the other. Click through to individual articles for detailed instructions on setting up your UTmail+ account in a supported desktop email app. 

You will need to find instructions for setting up your other account in a desktop email app on the email provider’s website (e.g. Google, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.). 

How to copy data from one account to another within the same email app 

Once you have both accounts set up, copy between the accounts 

Export the contents (mail, contacts, and calendar)  of your UTmail+ account from outlook

You can import the archived content back into Outlook and either leave it as locally stored data or move it to a new account in the cloud. 

 

Transfer messages, contacts and calendar items individually 

Forward messages to another mailbox 

This is a good option if you only need to save a small number of email messages. Forwarding is straightforward – select the message you wish to save, click on Forward, then address the message to the recipient email and send.  

Export content

This will allow you, in some cases, to import the content into other accounts in other apps or in web-based email accounts. 

Messages
(note: it is not possible to export messages from OWA) 

Contacts 

  • Export contacts from OWA (KB0013843) 
  • Export contacts from Outlook for Windows (KB0013843) 
  • Export contact lists from Outlook for Mac (KB0013843)
    (not recommended as it only exports to .olm files. Export CSV from OWA instead). 
  • Export contact lists from Contacts on Mac (KB0015228)
  • Export contact lists from Thunderbird (KB0015229 – this is for local contacts. To have O365 contacts set up in Thunderbird, you need to have a third-party app)

iOS Notes 

Calendar 

  • Export calendar items from OWA (KB0015230)
  • Export calendar items from Outlook for Windows (KB0015164) 
  • Export calendar items from Outlook for Mac (KB0015231)
  • Export Calendar items from Calendar on Mac (KB0015167) 
  • Export calendar items from Thunderbird (KB0015232 – this is for local calendar items. To have O365 contacts set up in Thunderbird, you need to have a third-party app

 

OneDrive 

 

Import content

 

If you will not be moving to the alumni email service, you will continue to receive decommissioning notices until your account is deactivated. To be eligible for an alumni email (which gives you an address ending in @alumni.utoronto.ca), you must have alumni status as per the Alumni Relations department. If you are unsure, you can contact us at uoft365.project@utoronto.ca and we can guide you with next steps.