How to Migrate Email From One cPanel Account to Another

Moving to a new host or a new cPanel account is easy for the website files; email is where people worry. You want every mailbox, every message and ideally every password to arrive intact, without losing mail that arrives during the move. This guide covers three ways to do it, from the most complete to the simplest, and how to switch over without downtime.

Choose your method

Method	Moves passwords?	Best for
Full cPanel backup and restore	Yes	Moving a whole account, website and email together
Copy the mail and etc folders	Yes	Email only, when you have File Manager on both sides
IMAP copy (sync tool or email app)	No, you recreate accounts	A few mailboxes, or the old host isn’t cPanel

If you’re moving to Hostnali, you don’t need to do any of this yourself: we migrate websites and email for free. Open a ticket with your old cPanel details and we’ll do it.

Method 1: full cPanel backup and restore

1. On the old cPanel, open Backup → Download a Full Account Backup.
2. When the backup is ready, ask your new host to restore it (on Hostnali, send it to our team or let us fetch it). It includes email accounts, passwords, messages, forwarders and filters, along with the website.

Method 2: copy the mail folders (email accounts and passwords)

This is the manual method: all email data lives in two folders in your cPanel home directory.

Step 1: compress and download the mail data. In File Manager, open the mail folder. Each domain has its own folder inside it, such as mail/yourdomain.co.ke. Compress that folder and download it.

Step 2: compress and download the account details. Email usernames and passwords are stored under etc/yourdomain.co.ke. Compress and download that folder too.

Step 3: upload and extract on the new cPanel. Upload both archives to the same paths (mail/ and etc/) on the new account and extract them. The domain must already be added to the new cPanel.

Step 4: check. Log in to webmail on the new server with an existing password; the mailboxes and messages should be there.

Method 3: copy mailboxes over IMAP

When you only have email logins, not cPanel access:

1. Create the same email accounts on the new cPanel (Email Accounts → Create).
2. Copy the messages with an IMAP sync tool, or add both old and new accounts to an email app such as Thunderbird or Outlook and drag the folders across.

This works with any email provider, but it’s slower for large mailboxes.

Switch over without losing mail

1. Lower the TTL on your domain’s DNS records a day before, so changes spread quickly.
2. Copy the email with one of the methods above.
3. Change the MX records (or the nameservers) to the new host.
4. Keep the old account for a few days. Some mail may still arrive at the old server while DNS updates; do a final copy of anything new before you close it.
5. Update email apps on phones and computers if the server name changes; see how to set up business email on your phone.

Common problems

Problem	Fix
Mailboxes show 0 messages after copying	Check folder ownership and permissions, or ask support to fix quotas
Passwords don’t work	The etc folder wasn’t copied; reset passwords in Email Accounts
Mail still arriving at the old host	DNS hasn’t fully updated; wait, then do a final copy
Mail going to spam after the move	Make sure SPF and DKIM are set up for the new server (cPanel Email Deliverability)

Frequently asked questions

Will I lose emails during the move?

Not if you keep the old account open for a few days after changing DNS and do a final copy.

Do I need to tell my staff their new passwords?

With methods 1 and 2, passwords move with the accounts. With method 3, you set new passwords.

Can Hostnali move my email for me?

Yes, free of charge, along with your website. See business email hosting.