Email hosting Malaysia: move company email without losing mail

To move company email to a new provider without losing mail, copy every mailbox to the new host first, then change your domain's MX record, then keep copying for a few more days until all new mail arrives at the new host. Contacts and calendars usually need a separate export. Tell staff the date, and plan to set up Outlook and phones again.

Why do businesses lose mail during a move?

Mail goes missing when the MX record is changed before the old mailboxes are copied, or when the old account is closed too early. For a day or two after the change, some senders still deliver to the old server. If that account is already gone, those emails bounce or vanish.

What is the safe order for an email migration?

1. List every mailbox, alias and forwarder on the old host, with the size of each mailbox.
2. Create the same mailboxes on the new host, with new passwords.
3. Copy the old mail across with IMAP while the old host still receives mail. Microsoft's own guide for IMAP moves to Microsoft 365 copies mail from newest to oldest, up to 500,000 items per mailbox.
4. Change the MX record for your domain to the new host. The MX record is what tells other mail servers where to deliver your email.
5. Run the copy again a few times over the next days to pick up mail that still reached the old server.
6. Only after mail has arrived at the new host for several days, stop the copy and close the old account.

What does an IMAP copy leave behind?

An IMAP copy moves email folders only. Microsoft says this kind of migration does not carry contacts, calendar items or tasks. Export them from Outlook or webmail before the move and import them afterwards. Check also for mail rules, signatures and shared mailboxes, which have to be set up again by hand.

What should staff expect on move day?

Staff will need the new password and new server settings on each device. Outlook on the PC usually needs a fresh profile. Phones need the old account removed and added again. Old emails appear in batches as the copy finishes, so tell staff not to delete anything that looks missing on the first morning.

What to do

1. Pick a quiet day, such as a Friday evening, for the MX change.
2. Send staff the date, the new settings and who to call for help.
3. Keep the old email plan paid for at least two weeks after the change.
4. After the move, send a test email from Gmail and from a customer's address to make sure mail arrives.

How SyncTech can help

Our email migration service plans the cutover and copies the mailboxes for you. If you are still choosing a provider, see our business email hosting in Malaysia.

Source and credit

We are sharing facts from Microsoft. This guide is written by Synctech in our own words.

• Migrate your IMAP mailboxes to Microsoft 365 or Office 365, Microsoft Learn: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/mailbox-migration/migrating-imap-mailboxes/migrating-imap-mailboxes Retrieved 31 October 2026. Microsoft, Microsoft 365, Outlook and Gmail are trademarks of their owners. Synctech is not connected with them. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. If anything here is wrong, email support@synctech.com.my and we will correct it.