Transfer Windows Live Mail to Thunderbird in Simple Steps

Why Export Email from Windows Live Mail to Thunderbird?

Switching email clients is not as simple as it sounds, and it requires caution to ensure that the data remains unharmed. Yet, for conversion, understanding why it is mandatory is equally important. So, the reasons for this conversion are presented here:

• Thunderbird is a free, open-source, new-day platform, whereas WLM is outdated and no longer supported. 
• With WLM, modern IMAP and SMTP configurations often behave inconsistently or fail miserably.
• WLM cannot handle multiple accounts or large mailboxes and data storage. 
• Mozilla Thunderbird has cross-platform flexibility, add-on extensions, and better robust encryption. 

Well, even though this is important, there lies a major constraint in this email migration. 

Manual Transfer Windows Live Mail to Thunderbird

Though there is no direct EML import option in Thunderbird, the add-on extension simplifies this task without any hassle. You need to follow the steps below to make the transfer: 

1. First, browse to C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail.
2. There, locate your EML files and save them in a separate folder on your PC. 
3. Next, install and configure an account in your Mozilla Thunderbird, if not already done. 
4. Further, from the More menu, browse to Add-ons and Themes and search ImportExportTools NG. 
5. Add it to your Thunderbird profile and restart Thunderbird to load the extension. 
6. Afterward, create a new folder in the Local Folders of Thunderbird and right-click it. 
7. Next, choose ImportExportTools and opt for Import EML Files >> from subfolders and directories. 
8. Later, select the EML files of Windows Live Mail from the system and click Open to load them. 
9. Finally, the process to import Windows Live Mail to Thunderbird is complete. 

Loopholes:

• No guarantee that the metadata, read/unread status, remains intact.
• Risk of duplicacy and a time-consuming process for large datasets. 
• Option for no automation or bulk migration of data. 
• Highly dependent on manual processing, which can result in risk or loss. 

Transfer Windows Live Mail to Thunderbird in Simple Steps

There is a chance that you don’t have access to the Windows Live Mail or its directory, but you will definitely have the EML files. So, an easy, smart, and absolute way to bulk migrate data from Windows Live Mail into your Thunderbird account is to use the SysInfo EML Converter Tool. This dedicated software eases your task and helps you instantly move the data with complete data integrity and preserved folder structure. Moreover, it has several advantages for complete user satisfaction during the email migration. 

Note: You can even use it to convert Windows Live Mail to PDF, MBOX, or any other formats without data loss. 

Guide to Migrate Windows Live Mail to Thunderbird

1. Launch the software and click the Next button to get started. 
   
2. Then, click Select File/Folder and upload WLM EML files to transfer. Hit Next. 
   
3. Further, preview and verify the folders you need to convert. Click Next. 
   
   
4. After that, choose Thunderbird from the file formats and use the filters. 
   
5. Finally, the default Thunderbird path is already chosen if you have a profile on the same PC. Click Convert. 
   

All the selected emails, no matter the size or count, will be transferred at once directly within your Thunderbird profile. You can open the application to verify if the emails exist. 

Use Case Scenarios 

Transfer Windows Live Mail to Thunderbird is a practical decision nowadays to ensure business operations are continued without any fallback. We present two scenarios of how this migration has benefitted users, IT admins, enterprise professionals, and others:

>> A mid-sized support group with over 300 archived customer interactions in Windows Live Mail was constantly experiencing crashes when performing searches. Upon migrating to Thunderbird, the typical response time for queries improved by around 60%. Also, the indexing of mailboxes became nearly effortless.

>> For a group managing more than 500 mailboxes during an infrastructure upgrade, the use of SysInfo EML File Converter Tool reduced the time to import Windows Live Mail to Thunderbird to a few hours with 99.9% data integrity retention. All while still ensuring that no data would be lost and that no manual oversight would be required.

Conclusion 

This guide provided all the practical solutions to transfer Windows Live Mail to Thunderbird in an effective manner. Whether you are an individual with a few files or an enterprise with major data volumes in GBs or TBs, you can have a simplified data export. 

The manual method with the ImportExportTools NG extension works on a small scale and results in minimal loss or alterations. Whereas, with the professional SysInfo Windows Live Mail to Thunderbird Migrator, complete batch exports offline quickly with no loss and 100% accuracy without effort and time wastage. 

Frequently Asked Questions

About The Author:

Simran Bhatia

Simran Bhatia is a technical content writer engaged in writing clear, concise, and SEO-optimized content. With a background in computer science and a passion for writing, I thrive to deliver complex technical content in simple layman terms.