[NA] Dropping provider, preserving emails

[Let'sgoflying!]

I’m pulling the plug on ATT & hooking up Starlink.
ATT/Yahoo/sbcglobal also hosts my email.
I suspect I’ll lose access to those email accounts when I discontinue my service.

How to maintain access to those 20,000 messages?

 

[Dana]

I don't know about AT&T, but Comcast allows you to keep using your email even after terminating their service. The only requirement is that you log on through their web interface at least once a month (a POP3 or MAPI email client won't do it).

It seems unlikely Comcast would do this out of the goodness of their heart, so perhaps it's a legal requirement that AT&T would also have to comply with?

Otherwise, set up an email client that supports offline folders and move everything there.

 

[GeorgeC]

N/A: IMAP backup tool recommendation please

Looking for an IMAP backup tool. Goal is to backup GMAIL before deleting old emails in GMAIL account to clear storage space. Currently have some 30,000 emails totaling around 13gb data.

www.pilotsofamerica.com

 

[Matthew]

We dropped ATT services at least a year ago and have had no interruptions in our emails. It’s still our main email system.

 

[JOhnH]

I’m pulling the plug on ATT & hooking up Starlink.
ATT/Yahoo/sbcglobal also hosts my email.
I suspect I’ll lose access to those email accounts when I discontinue my service.

How to maintain access to those 20,000 messages?

I dumped AT&T internet years ago but I continue to use my @att.net account (through Yahoo).
Of course I still get emails that I have to "Kindly" verify may account details or it will be deleted.

 

[Craig]

Download and install Thunderbird and download the entire lot of emails. I run Thunderbird, download all emails and have it keep copies of them online at the same time. Takes about 30 minutes to download all 16,000+ messages when I've had to bring down the entire batch before.

 

[donjohnston]

I don't know about AT&T, but Comcast allows you to keep using your email even after terminating their service. The only requirement is that you log on through their web interface at least once a month (a POP3 or MAPI email client won't do it).

It seems unlikely Comcast would do this out of the goodness of their heart, so perhaps it's a legal requirement that AT&T would also have to comply with?

I dropped Comcast about two years ago. I didn't hear about any requirement to log in through their web interface. Email still works.

 

[midlifeflyer]

Download and install Thunderbird and download the entire lot of emails. I run Thunderbird, download all emails and have it keep copies of them online at the same time. Takes about 30 minutes to download all 16,000+ messages when I've had to bring down the entire batch before.

It doesn’t have to be Thunderbird (although it’s probably the best choice for the job) but that’s what it comes down to - downloading what you need from the old account.

it’s also part of the method of moving a personal email account to a different host BTDT).

 

[RyanShort1]

Make friends with someone at Homeland Security?

 

[Sac Arrow]

You need to save that many emails?

Even for work, once a project or client becomes irrelevant, emails go in to the trash bin baby. I like a clean inbox.

 

[midlifeflyer]

You need to save that many emails?

Even for work, once a project or client becomes irrelevant, emails go in to the trash bin baby. I like a clean inbox.

For a lot of businesses, the project or client becomes irrelevant after the statute of limitations runs. They may be archived to be discarded in accordance with document retention policies, but not just trashed.

 

[flyingron]

Years ago when I knew my company was getting hinky about me using my work email for personal stuff and my wife was using margy@bellatlantic.net when those dunderheads forgot to renew the domain once they became verizon, I decided I better make plans.

I grabbed the domain ronnatalie.com and margynatalie.com and found a provider (TUFFMAIL, now defunct) to point them at. When TUFFMAIL shutdown I moved the accounts over to fastmail which I've been happy with as well.