An MBOX file is a mailbox format that stores email messages one after the other as a plain text. Each individual message within mbox file stored in EML format. So you can open an MBOX file with any text editor or viewer like Text Lister or Notepad.
To preserve important data and reduce the risk of losing it, you may want to open MBOX files backed up from your email account. This will help prevent a mental breakdown if your Gmail account mailbox experiences issues, is hacked, or becomes inaccessible. Consider the critical information in your Gmail account – would you want to lose it?
How to back up your email messages on Gmail
- To back up your email messages, simply go to “My Google Account,” click on Data and Personalization.
- Then scroll down to download your data and click it. On the next page, click on deselect all and scroll down till you get Mail.
- Click on next, then choose the doc type & size, and tap “create export.” That’s it. You now have your exported mailbox data.
Now, let’s learn how to access and open an MBOX mailbox file.
Different messaging software stores emails in different mailbox formats, which are often conflicting. If you’re seeking ways to open MBOX file, you will find the right tactics in this guide. Whether using Microsoft software or Apple applications, you will be able to access the contents of the mailbox files.
The Best Way to Open MBOX files in Windows and Mac
How to open an MBOX file in Microsoft Outlook 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, or 2019?
No matter the Outlook version you have, you can use it to access your MBOX data. However, the downside of this is that Microsoft Outlook can’t open MBOX files directly on Windows. However, you can convert them into a PST or EML format to open using Outlook. Alternatively, you can use another mail client like Thunderbird, Live Mail, or Apple mail to open your email messages and mailboxes.
1) How to Import MBOX emails into Microsoft Outlook
Do you want to change your mailbox email files to a favorable version that MS Outlook can open on Windows or macOS? Here are the steps you can take to view your backed-up mail messages.
Step 1: First, download the MBOX to Outlook transfer software. Once downloaded, install it on your PC.
Step 2: If your Microsoft Outlook version is 32 bit, choose the 32bit transfer software, but if it is running on 64 bit, choose the 64bit transfer software.
Moreover, you need to ascertain the Microsoft Outlook software version on your computer. You can do this by opening your Outlook software, tick on File > Office account > About Outlook, and it will show you whether you are using 32bit or 64bit Outlook. Read how to check your Outlook version.
Step 3: Once the installation is complete, open your MBOX to Outlook conversion software. On the top menu bar, select “Mode” to choose the “Import to Outlook” option.
Step 4: Click on the three dots to browse the folder with your mailbox email data. Then tick “Scan Folders.” Once the scanning process is complete, press the “import” button.
Step 5: You will be prompted to choose a destination folder and location to import your mail.
Step 6: Close the conversion software when the importing process is complete. Then open the MBOX files in your MS Outlook software.
2) How to convert MBOX to PST format
Personal storage format (PST) stores outlook data as compared to MBOX that only stores email messages. Hence, when you convert to PST, you can open it in Microsoft Outlook. Here is how you can convert MBOX to PST to be able to view them in Outlook;
Step 1: First, download the MBOX to Outlook Transfer software. Install it on your PC.
Step 2: Run the mailbox conversion tool depending on your Outlook version, 32bit or 64bit.
Step 3: On the top menu bar, select “Mode” and choose the “Save to PST file” option.
Step 4: Select the folder where the MBOX file is located. Click “Scan Folder” and once the scanning process is complete, tick “Save PST.”
Step 5: The conversion tool will prompt you to choose the PST name and destination folder.
Step 6: Close the conversion tool once the process is over. If you want to view the mailbox data, open your MS Outlook software, press file > Open and Export. Choose the “Open Outlook Data File” option and choose your PST file to view in Outlook.
i) How to open a PST in Windows:
- Open your Microsoft Outlook software, push File > Open & Export, then select Outlook Data File.
- Navigate and open the PST file on your PC.
- On the left vertical panel of the Outlook window, scroll down the folders until you get the specific one you want.
ii) How to open a PST in MAC
- Open the Microsoft Outlook application.
- Click the File option on the menu bar, on the dropdown, select Import.
- Click “Outlook data file,” select the doc and tap Next. Import the file.
- Once the import process is complete, tick Done and close.
3) How to export MBOX messages to EML file format
Not only can you view your MBOX files in Outlook through PST, but also the EML format. An EML format allows you to open your data using various email clients. Hence, it breeds more flexibility, and you can view it in any of your mail applications.
Step 1: Download the MBOX to Outlook transfer software and install it.
Step 2: Open the software and on the top menu bar, choose “Mode” and select “Export to EML files.”
Step 3: Click on the three dots to browse where your mailbox docs are located. Once selected, tap on Scan Folders. Once the scanning process is complete, select “Save EML” and choose a destination folder.
Step 4:Once, the exporting is complete, use a mail application to open the EML files.
4) How to Import MBOX Files into Live Mail
Step 1: Run the Windows Live Mail software.
Step 2:Select the EML file you want to import.
Step 3: Then press the mouse button firmly, drag the selection into a folder in your Live Mail app. Then release the mouse button.
Step 4: The selected EML will be imported.
5) How to Open MBOX files in Mac
How to open MBOX files in Mac Mail App?
Step 1: Navigate to your computer applications, search for Mail App.
Step 2: Once the Mail app opens, click on File. On the dropdown select, “Import Mailboxes.” A popup will appear. Tick on “files in MBOX format.” Click on continue. On the new window that will appear, look for the doc.
Step 3: Go back to the mail app, choose mailboxes to see an array of folders and mailboxes. Then click “import” and select from the list of MBOX files. Now, you can access them.
6) How to View mailbox emails
Windows MBOX Viewer is also essential when you want to view mailbox emails.
Step 1: Download the MBOX viewer app. When downloaded, unzip the folder and click on the “mboxviewer” application to set it up.
Step 2: Once installed, tap on the File option on the top menu bar. On the dropdown, choose “select folder.” On the popup window, browse to find your desired MBOX file and click OK.
Step 3: Open the MBOX viewer. On the left-hand menu bar, tick on the doc you want to read. It will start importing. Wait till it completes.
Step 4: At the top, you will be able to see a list of all your emails. Click any of the emails and read them from the bottom box.
7) How to open MBOX files in Thunderbird
You can also use Thunderbird to view an MBOX file. However, you will need to use the ImportExporttools plugin for a smoother mailbox transfer.
Step 1: First, download Thunderbird software.
Step 2: Once it completes, download the Importexporttools add-on for Thunderbird. Alternatively, open your Mozilla Thunderbird software, tap on the Tool option on the top menu bar and choose “Add-on” on the dropdown. Search for the ImportExporttools add-on there and add to Thunderbird.
Step 3: Click on the Tools menu, choose the Import MBOX option on the dropdown.
Step 4: Now, you can view your mailbox messages at ease.
Final Thoughts
Backing up your emails is essential and will help you when you want to recover some important data. You can use any of the options described to open your MBOX files and convert them to favorable formats. Also, while downloading some software, be careful not to download malicious adverts that may cause an issue to your PC.
You may also want to know:
- How to import emails from MBOX files to Gmail account
- How to Convert Emails From Mbox to Outlook
- Why you should avoid manually converting Mbox to Outlook
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keep getting a message saying : Impossibile to import in this folder (imap or newsgroup type)
any way to fix this?