Migrating from Gmail

Moving from Gmail (or Google Workspace) to Faivelo takes three things: a Google app password, a destination mailbox on your Faivelo domain, and a few minutes to kick off the import. Faivelo copies your mail over IMAP — nothing is deleted from your Google account.

Before you start

• Your domain is added and verified in Faivelo, and the destination mailbox exists. If the domain has no mailboxes yet, create them first — the migration needs somewhere to put the mail.
• Testing the connection (the pre-flight check) is free; running the actual migration is included with any paid plan.

Step 1: Turn on 2-Step Verification

Google only issues app passwords for accounts with 2-Step Verification enabled. If you haven’t already, turn it on at myaccount.google.com/security.

Step 2: Create an app password

1. Go to myaccount.google.com/apppasswords.
2. Give it a name (something like “Faivelo migration”) and click Create.
3. Copy the 16-character password Google shows you.

Note

An app password is not your normal Gmail password. It’s a one-off credential you can revoke later without touching your real login. Faivelo removes the spaces automatically when you paste it, so don’t worry about formatting.

Step 3: Start the migration

1. In your Faivelo dashboard, open Migrations.
2. Pick Gmail / Google Workspace as the source — the server settings (imap.gmail.com) are filled in for you.
3. Choose the destination domain, then enter your Gmail address and paste the app password, and map it to the destination mailbox.
4. Faivelo runs a quick pre-flight check and shows you exactly what will move: your folders, the message count, the size, and a time estimate.
5. Review the folder list, then click Start migration.

What gets copied

• All your mail folders (labels) and the messages in them, preserving folder structure.
• Trash and Spam are skipped by default — they rarely need to come along and just slow things down.
• Gmail’s virtual folders like All Mail, Important, and Starred are excluded automatically, so you won’t end up with duplicate copies of every message.

How long it takes

The pre-flight check gives you an estimate up front. As a rule of thumb, expect roughly a few messages per second — Gmail throttles bulk IMAP access, so a large mailbox with tens of thousands of messages can take a few hours. You can watch live progress bars in the dashboard, and you don’t need to keep the page open.

Mail keeps flowing

The migration only reads from Gmail — it never deletes or changes anything there. Your Faivelo mailbox receives new mail normally the whole time, so there’s no downtime and no gap in your inbox. You can keep sending and receiving while old mail copies over in the background.

After the migration

• Spot-check a few folders in Faivelo webmail to confirm everything arrived.
• Revoke the app password in your Google account — it’s no longer needed.
• If you’re moving off Gmail entirely, make sure your domain’s MX records point at Faivelo so new mail arrives in the right place.

Next steps

• Migrating from Microsoft 365 — if you have other accounts to bring over.
• Set up your mail apps with your new Faivelo mailbox, or use Faivelo webmail right away.