How to Export Office 365 Mailbox to PST file Safely?

Summary:

In this guide to converting Office 365 mailboxes to PST, the differences between the manual eDiscovery method and the automated tool are discussed. Here, the steps for both users and administrators to migrate their email without disturbing folder structure are mentioned. The writing can be used as a reference by anyone keen on knowing the easy, reliable, and efficient email conversion process.

Why Export Office 365 Mailbox to PST file?

Knowing the reasons behind exporting Office 365 data to PST files is very important, since:

• Offline Access: Users may download mail data and access their emails offline.
• Archiving and Compliance: Easy archiving and maintaining information for your organization’s auditing and legal issues can be provided by exporting mail data.
• Employee Off-boarding: By exporting data before deletion, users may protect their data.
• Migrating: This makes all moves easier when changing platforms.
• Storage Space Optimization: Space can be freed in cloud storage, since old data are archived offline.

How to Export Office 365 Mailbox to PST file Manually?

Method 1: Export Office 365 Mailbox to PST using MS Outlook

1. Open Outlook on your PC. Go to File, click Add Account.
2. Input your Office 365 email address and click Connect.
3. After that, input your password to Sign In.
4. Once verified, click Done. Outlook will now begin to synchronize your mailbox.
5. Now, in this step export Office 365 mailbox to PST. Click File > Open & Export > Import/Export.
   
6. Choose Export to a file > click Next.
   
7. Select the Outlook Data File (.pst) saving option and hit the Next button.
   
8. Select particular folders or the entire mailbox from which you want to export Outlook 365 emails to PST.
   
9. Browse for a destination path and click Finish. You’re done!

Method 2: Export Office 365 Mailbox to PST Using eDiscovery

To export Office 365 mailbox to PST Purview is an admin-level method used to find content and save it securely. Step-by-Step Process:

1. Login to your Exchange Admin Center with account details.
   
2. Choose Security and Compliance from the Admin Centers option.
   
3. Click on the Permissions >> eDiscovery Manager.
   
4. Use the Edit button to change the respective roles accordingly, you can modify or add other roles as per choice.
5. You will get pre-assigned permissions by default i.e., Case Management, Compliance Search, Export, Hold, Preview, Review, and RMS Decrypt.
6. If your Export Role is missing, then can add it by following the previous step to export Office 365 mailbox to PST.
   
7. Choose More Resources and open all resources, and then Microsoft Purview Compliance >> Content Search >> New Search option.
   
8. Click on the New Search and a wizard will open with different labels. And it allows you to customize elements such as Name, Description, Location of user mailbox, etc.
   
9. Customize elements (Name, Description, Location) and apply advanced filters from the Condition tab. Click Submit then Done.
   
10. After that, click on the Submit button and then Done to start the process.
    
11. Check the search progress in the Search tab. Once complete, hit the Action icon and select Export Results.
    
12. Click the Export button to download PST file from Office 365 admin center.
    
13. Finally, Download the results and copy the Export Key.
    
14. The eDiscovery Export Tool pop-up will appear. Paste the copied Export Key, select your destination location, and hit Start.
    

1. Firstly, Download and install the Office 365 to PST export tool on your system. It supports the processing environments to export Office 365 mailbox to PST on Mac or Windows seamlessly.
   
2. Enter your email address and password, and hit Login. Don’t forget to select the “I am Admin” button if you need to export Office 365 mailbox to PST from Admin Portal.
   
3. All mailboxes will load in the preview panel. Select the specific folders that you wish to export Office 365 mailbox to PST.
   
4. Although the product displays PST as the default option, you can verify it from the saving format menu.
   
5. Click on the “Browse” button to select the local destination location.
   
6. Finally, click on the “Backup” button to export Office 365 mailbox to PST from Portal.
   

Final Conclusion

Overall, there is nothing complicated about exporting mails from Office 365 into PST format. We have provided four different ways of exporting your data. There is a whole lot of options available from simple manual methods to advanced automated Office 365 to PST conversion options. Please make sure that you fulfill the requirements before you start the process.