How-to library

Exchange Online how-tos

8 step-by-step Exchange Online jobs with official downloads, exact clicks and checks.

8 how-tosUpdated 4 Nov 2026
Moving Exchange to Exchange Online? Start with the full guideCutover, staged, Minimal hybrid or Full hybrid: pick the method, then follow the plan.Read the guide →
Connect to Exchange Online PowerShell

At the end you will have the ExchangeOnlineManagement module installed on your Windows or Mac admin computer, be connected to your tenant with Connect-ExchangeOnline, and know how to disconnect cleanly.

10 stepsExchange Online
Convert a user mailbox to a shared mailbox

At the end the mailbox will be a shared mailbox that the right people can open, its sign-in will be blocked, and you will know whether you can remove its licence and how to turn it back into a user mailbox.

9 stepsExchange Online
Create, start, monitor and complete a migration batch

At the end you will have moved a group of mailboxes into Exchange Online with a migration batch, checked each user's progress and finalised (or cleaned up) the batch.

7 stepsExchange Online
Create a migration endpoint in Exchange Online

At the end you will have a migration endpoint in Exchange Online that holds the connection settings your migration batches use to reach the source mail system.

7 stepsExchange Online
Export an Exchange Online mailbox to PST

At the end you will have a PST copy of one or more mailboxes, made either centrally by an admin through Microsoft Purview eDiscovery or on a user's PC with Outlook for Windows.

8 stepsExchange Online
Import PST files to Microsoft 365 with network upload

At the end you will have uploaded PST files to Microsoft's storage with AzCopy and imported them into user mailboxes or archives with a Microsoft Purview import job.

8 stepsExchange Online
Reset an Outlook profile after a mailbox migration

At the end Outlook will open a new, clean profile connected to the user's new Exchange Online mailbox, and you will have checked that Autodiscover points to the right place.

8 stepsExchange Online
Set up mail forwarding during a migration

At the end, mail sent to a user arrives in whichever mailbox they actually use during the migration: forwarded from the old system to Microsoft 365 before the MX change, or from Exchange Online back to the old system for people not yet moved, with automatic external forwarding allowed only where you need it.

11 stepsExchange Online

Playbooks that use these how-tos

How to migrate cPanel email to Microsoft 365

Move mailboxes from a cPanel web host into Exchange Online with Microsoft's built-in IMAP migration, carry calendars and contacts across by hand, and switch MX without losing mail.

17 min read
How to cut over email DNS without losing mail

Every email migration ends with the same DNS changes. This runbook puts them in a safe order, with TTL planning, record-by-record checks and the rules that stop mail bouncing or landing in junk.

15 min read
How to migrate from Exchange Server to Exchange Online

Pick the right method for your Exchange version and mailbox count, set up hybrid or a cutover batch, move mailboxes and public folders, then switch MX and Autodiscover to Exchange Online.

24 min readChecklist
How to migrate Gmail to Exchange Online

Move Google Workspace mail, calendars, contacts and filters into Exchange Online with Microsoft's built-in Google Workspace migration, keep mail flowing both ways while you work, and change MX only when every batch is done.

19 min read
How to move Microsoft 365 from GoDaddy to a tenant you control

If you bought Microsoft 365 through GoDaddy, there are two ways to end up with a tenant you manage directly or through another partner. This guide follows what Microsoft and GoDaddy actually document, and says plainly where the documentation stops.

16 min read
How to migrate between two Google Workspace accounts

Consolidate Google Workspace accounts after a merger, acquisition or rebrand: choose between copying data, Google-run Domain Transfer and moving the domain yourself.

13 min read
How to migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365

Move Gmail, Calendar, Contacts, Drive and shared drives into Exchange Online, OneDrive and SharePoint with Microsoft's own tools, then cut over mail without losing a message.

17 min readChecklist
How to migrate IMAP email to Microsoft 365

Move mailboxes from a web host, cPanel server, Zoho Mail or any IMAP service into Exchange Online using Microsoft's built-in IMAP migration, then switch MX without losing mail.

13 min read
How to migrate Microsoft 365 Groups and Planner plans to another tenant

Microsoft has no native tool that moves a Microsoft 365 group or its Planner plans between tenants. This guide shows how to inventory them, recreate each group with its owners, members and settings, and rebuild plans with the Microsoft Graph Planner API.

15 min read

Common Exchange Online errors and fixes

All errors →
TooManyBadItemsPermanentException

The mailbox move stopped because it found more corrupt or missing items than the move request allows.

Exchange Online
StalledDueToTarget_Processor

A hybrid move from Exchange Server stalls and the move report shows MapiFxProxyTransientException: the data export was cancelled due to a timeout.

Exchange Online
MigrationPermanentException: Cannot find a recipient that has mailbox GUID

Moving a cloud mailbox back on-premises fails because the on-premises remote mailbox does not have the matching ExchangeGUID.

Exchange Online
MigrationPermanentException: Target user already has a primary mailbox

Offboarding a mailbox from Exchange Online to on-premises fails because the on-premises user still has mailbox attributes set.

Exchange Online
DataConsistencyScore Investigate (skipped items need approval)

The migration found some data loss and will not complete until an admin reviews and approves the skipped items.

Exchange Online
LargeItemLimit: migration fails on large items

The migration request fails or skips messages that are bigger than the maximum message size allowed in the target mailbox.

Exchange Online
We weren't able to connect to the remote server. Please verify that the migration endpoint settings are correct

A cutover migration cannot create its Outlook Anywhere migration endpoint, often with Error 0x6ba (The RPC server is unavailable).

Exchange Online
CrossTenantMigrationWithoutLicensePermanentException

A cross-tenant mailbox move fails because the user does not have a Cross-tenant User Data Migration licence.

Exchange Online