Moving your UBmail when you change from student to faculty or staff

If you are a UB student who started Spring 2021 or before and used UBmail (Gmail), and you are hired by the university, your email system will change from Gmail to Exchange Online. Follow these steps to transfer your messages and settings.

Instructions

1. Move Your Messages

In most cases, you will have 30 days to move your messages and export your Google documents before your old account is closed. Sometimes your new department's IT staff will make these changes for you. Check with them before following the steps below.

Method 1: Forward each message to yourself individually

  1. After your account is switched, log into UB Gmail through https://mail.google.com/a/buffalo.edu.
  2. Forward each message to your @buffalo.edu email address. Your live mailbox is always reachable at https://ubmail.buffalo.edu.

Method 2: Use an email client to move your email folders

  1. Follow Google's instructions to Enable IMAP in UB Gmail
  2. If you don't already have one, download a UB-supported email client
  3. Open your UB-supported email client
  4. Create a temporary account to be used only as you move messages out of your secondary mailbox:
  5. Create a second, permanent account in your email client for your primary mailbox:
  6. Using your Old UBmail (Gmail) account, move your folders (labels) from your "Old UBmail (Gmail)" to your "UBmail (Exchange Online)" account
  7. Delete the "Old UBmail (Gmail)" once all mail and folders have been moved 

2. Move Your Contacts

  1. Follow Google's instructions to Export Gmail contacts into a CSV file
  2. Import the CSV file into your new email client

3. Export Your Google Documents

Follow Google's instructions to Download a file from Google Drive.

4. Recreate Your Settings

Follow instructions for your email client to update the following as desired:

  1. Spam filters
  2. Folder filtering rules
  3. Vacation (Out of office) messages
  4. Signature files