Convert PST to MBOX with Simple Methods & Data Integrity

Looking for the right solutions to convert PST to MBOX easily and securely, or without Outlook? Then, you need to read this blog post. You are going to find the easiest way to convert PST file into MBOX format.

PST is a file type from Microsoft Outlook that only works in Microsoft Outlook. You cannot access PST files directly in other email clients, such as Thunderbird, Apple Mail, and Mailbird. MBOX is a widely known and standard format that opens easily with the use of many MBOX-supported email clients like Thunderbird, Apple Mail, Mailbird, and others.

People convert PST to MBOX because they want to use Thunderbird or Apple Mail; they do not want to pay for a subscription to Microsoft 365; MBOX-supported email clients are more compatible than Outlook, and they are freely available.

In this blog post, we are going to share the major reasons which tell why users change PST to MBOX. We are using both manual and automatic solutions to convert PST file into MBOX. Moreover, we are also going to answer the users’ questions on the internet related to PST and MBOX. Read this complete blog till the end to find the easiest, quickest, and most secure way to convert PST file into MBOX format.

Without wasting more time in the intro section, let’s first know the major reasons in the upcoming section, why some users save PST to MBOX.

Major Reasons Why People Convert PST to MBOX

Some of the key reasons why users convert PST to MBOX are listed below:

• Cross Platform Compatibility: MBOX is more compatible with Operating systems such as Windows, macOS, and Linux, and also supports email clients such as Thunderbird and Apple Mail. Because of this, it becomes a more convenient option for users, and they switch to MBOX.
• Cost and Complexity: Outlook is a paid email client, and some people are overwhelmed due to the complex features of Outlook especially if they want to use it for personal use. This is because users change PST to MBOX.
• Data Backup: The MBOX files are easy to manage and retrieve, so users can simply archive or back up their old emails easily. In addition, it also provides a long-term data storage solution. This is the reason why users convert PST to MBOX.
• Data Loss Prevention: PST is the standard format for Outlook, and they are quite weak. If the PST file gets damaged, the stored emails will be lost. Due to which people convert PST file to MBOX format.
• Organization Requirements: Some organizations use different email clients in their departments. Due to this, the organization’s employees need to change PST to MBOX.

So, these were the major reasons, which is why users are converting their PST files to MBOX format.

Now, let’s see the manual solution to save PST to MBOX format in the upcoming section.

If we talk about MBOX file format, then surely, we can say it is one of the popular formats that is been supported by most of the Email Clients such as Thunderbird, Apple Mail, SeaMonkey, and others. It usually stores a lot of files, emails, and data items in it without having any kind of size limitation.

Exporting Outlook emails to MBOX will allow users to switch to different email clients or applications properly in a single file/folder. We all know Outlook exports its data to PST, which is not supported by any other email client. So, it is better to convert Outlook PST to MBOX format and use it anywhere according to your needs and requirements.

Change PST to MBOX with Manual Methods

You can convert PST files to MBOX format manually with the three solutions listed below, with their detailed steps.

1st Solution: Use of Outlook and Thunderbird

1st Step: Import PST in Outlook

1. Open Outlook on your computer PC.
2. Go to the “file,” click on “Open & Export,” and choose “Import/Export.”
3. Then, select “import from another program or file,” and click Next.
4. After that, choose “Outlook Data File (.pst),” and click “Next.”
5. Browse the file location and choose the PST file, and click “Next.”
6. Done!

2nd Step: Import Outlook to Thunderbird

1. Open the Thunderbird application on the Windows Operating system.
2. Then, go to the “tool” options from the menu bar and select the import option.
   
3. Choose the “Import from Outlook” option and hit Continue button.
4. Select the items to import and click Continue.
   
5. Then, click the Start Import button to import your PST files.
   
6. Finally, click finish.

3rd Step: Export from Thunderbird

1. Open the Thunderbird application on the Windows Operating system.
2. Go to the “tool” options and select the export option.
3. Then simply click on the export button.
4. Done! Your converted MBOX file has been exported successfully.

2nd Solution: Convert PST to MBOX using Gmail

1st Step: Import PST in Outlook

1. Open Outlook on your computer.
2. Then, open “file,” go to the “Open & Export,” and click “Import/Export.”
3. After that, choose the “import from another program or file” option and hit Next.
4. Now, select the “Outlook Data File (.pst)” option, and click “Next.”
5. Finally, browse the file location and pick the PST file, and hit “Next.”
6. Done!

2nd Step: Configure Gmail Account on Outlook

1. Open Microsoft Outlook on your desktop PC.
2. Next, open “file,” and click on the “add account” button.
3. Write your Gmail account ID and password in Outlook.
4. Finally, click on the connect button to connect your Gmail account to it,
5. Done!

3rd Step: Drag and drop into the folder

1. Open Outlook on your personal computer.
2. Now, create a new folder inside the configured Google account.
3. Simply drag all the emails one by one from your PST folder into a new folder.
4. Done!

4th Step: Use of Google Takeout

1. Open the Chrome or any other supported browser on your computer.
2. Type Google Takeout in the search bar and open the first result on Google.
   
3. Now, check the mark only mail and click on the next step button.
   
4. Then, set the frequency and file type & size.
   
5. Finally, click on the create export button.
6. Google Takeout will send you a download link for your MBOX files in ZIP format after 24 hours.

3rd Solution: Use of Thunderbird

1st Step: Import PST in Microsoft Outlook

1. Open Outlook on your Windows Operating System.
2. Go on “file” option, choose “Open & Export,” and select “Import/Export.”
3. Then, select the option “import from another program or file,” and click Next.
4. Choose the option “Outlook Data File (.pst),” and hit “Next.”
5. Lastly, pick the PST file from your local computer folder and hit “Next.”
6. Done!

2nd Step: Add Gmail Account in Outlook

1. Open Outlook on your desktop personal computer.
2. Go to the “file” option, and choose the “add account” button.
3. Next, enter your Gmail ID along with Password.
4. Lastly, hit the “connect” button and wait for a few minutes to configure it.
5. Done!

3rd Step: Drag PST files in Gmail Account Folder

1. Open Microsoft Outlook on your desktop personal computer.
2. Then, create a “new folder” in the configured Gmail account in Outlook.
3. Start dragging all the emails from your PST folder into a newly created folder.
4. Done!

4th Step: Configure Gmail Account in Thunderbird

1. Open the Thunderbird application on your computer.
2. Click on the “gear” icon in the left panel and go to the “account settings”.
3. Then, click on the “New Account” button and choose a “mail account” option.
4. Enter your Gmail ID and Password for Thunderbird & configure your account.
5. Done! After this, your account is ready to use in Thunderbird.

5th Step: Installation of Thunderbird Extension

1. Open the Thunderbird application on your Windows OS.
2. Then, click on the “gear” icon in the left panel.
3. After that, choose the “add-ons and themes” option.
4. Search for “ImportExportTools NG,” click on the add to Thunderbird button.
5. Done!

6th Step: Convert MBOX from Thunderbird

1. Go to the Gmail account and select folders individually.
2. Then, right-click and choose the “ImportExportTools NG” option.
   
3. After that, select the “Folder Export (MBOX)” option and choose “as MBOX file.”
   
4. Finally, you successfully convert PST to MBOX.

You can convert PST to MBOX by following all the above solutions as per their steps.

The solutions given above have some loopholes, which you need to know before using them.

Limitations of Manual Solution

• You need to keep Microsoft Outlook installed on your computer system to perform all three solutions.
• The solution is a lengthy, time-consuming process and not easy for non-tech users.
• Solutions have multiple steps that make process slow, like import>import to Thunderbird> export.
• The attachments, email formatting, and metadata To, Cc, Bcc, and Date are not converted properly.
• If the PST file size is more than 20GB, then the system might hang or crash.
• A strong internet connection is compulsory to sync and upload to Gmail.
• You have to manually drag & drop emails, which takes too much time in case of a large mailbox.
• If your PST file is bigger, you are not able to store it on Gmail.
• Google Takeout sends the export link after 24 hours and sometimes even more time.
• The folder hierarchy of the original PST might be changed during the import to Gmail.
• When your Thunderbird and extension versions mismatch, the error might occur.
• Sometimes the bulk conversion can corrupt the email formatting and attachments of emails.
• If your mailboxes are larger, Thunderbird might slow down or become unresponsive in the middle of the conversion process.

These were the loopholes of using manual solutions that you must be aware of before using them. However, to avoid all these limitations of the manual solutions and for the quickest solution to convert PST to MBOX, you can try the next final automatic solution described in the upcoming section.

How to convert PST File to MBOX Format Automatically?

As we know, all the manual solutions to save PST to MBOX format and their loopholes made the conversion of PST files into MBOX format risky. Therefore, to convert PST to MBOX automatically, you can try RecoveryTools PST Converter. This tool simply changes all your PST files into MBOX format without losing any attachments with complete data integrity. It preserves folder structure during the complete conversion process. Additionally, you can use this tool without installing Microsoft Outlook.

Quick Steps to Convert PST to MBOX

1. Download and open the automatic application on your Windows PC and click Next.
   
2. Choose the option “convert configured Outlook mailbox data” option and hit next.
   
3. Check the required mailbox folders that you want in MBOX format from the panel.
   
4. After that, click next and choose MBOX as a saving option.
   
5. Select the “destination path” for the converted MBOX files.
   
6. Finally, click on the “Convert” button to start the conversion into MBOX format.
   

Frequently Asked Questions

• Ques 1: Does Outlook support MBOX?

  Ans: No, Outlook doesn’t support MBOX files, but Microsoft Outlook supports other file formats such as PST, OST, and MSG formats.

• Ques 2: What is an MBOX file?

  Ans: An MBOX file is a regular way to keep messages. It keeps all the info related to messages you saved, which includes messages and attached files.

• Ques 3: Can Outlook export MBOX file format?

  Ans: The answer to this question is No. Outlook does not export MBOX format. But you can export your data into MBOX format with use of given above manual solutions

• Ques 4: What is the difference between PST and MBOX?

  Ans: The MBOX format stores a complete mailbox of a user’s email account, which helps users to keep their mail safe from future loss. On the other hand, the PST file stores only Outlook emails, which are not accessible in all other types of email clients.

• Ques 5: Does Gmail use MBOX?
  Ans:  The answer to this question is No. Gmail doesn’t use MBOX format, but it allows users to export their Gmail emails into MBOX format with the use of the Google Takeout Tool.

Final Thoughts

In this blog post, we discussed how to convert PST to MBOX easily and securely, with and without Outlook. We have covered all the main reasons why users want to change PST to MBOX. Found that users are switching from PST to MBOX to reduce costs, keep data backups, and others.

We tested three manual solutions to save PST to MBOX. After testing all three solutions we found some loopholes in the solutions, such as time-consuming, risky, not useful for batch PST files, and lastly, not easy for non-tech users. On the other side, the automatic solutions did the conversion of PST to MBOX easily, quick and safely without losing data integrity and attachments of any single email inside the PST file.

Additionally, we also given the answer of users’ frequently asked questions on the internet. So, as per our opinion, the easy and secure solution to convert PST to MBOX is the use of an automatic method. Now it is totally up to you which solution you are going to choose for your PST to MBOX conversion.