Troubleshooting Easy Switch

Easy Switch is a tool that safely transfers your emails and folders from an external email account to Proton Mail (and your contacts if you are coming from Google). All your files are encrypted the moment they arrive in your Proton Mail inbox, making the transition to a secure email provider quick and easy.

• How to use Easy Switch

This article answers some of the frequently asked questions about Easy Switch and helps address common import errors that you might encounter.

Common questions and import errors

I can’t authenticate my external email account 

You may need to adjust the settings in your old email account to import from it. For full details, see allowing IMAP access and adjusting settings before import.

1. Ensure IMAP access is enabled in your external account.

2. Ensure the email address and password you entered into Easy Switch are correct. If your old email provider requires setting up an app password to allow data transfers, use that instead of your regular password. 

This includes all Yahoo users, and all Yandex users.

3. Ensure you have entered the correct IMAP server address and port number. These details are usually available on your old email service’s website. Here are the settings for some popular email services (which also work if you have a custom domain hosted by that service):

• Yahoo — imap.mail.yahoo.com / port 993
• Outlook.com — outlook.office365.com/ port 993
• Apple Mail — imap.mail.me.com / port 993
• Zoho Mail — imap.zoho.eu / port 993
• AOL Mail — imap.aol.com / port 993

Why is the size of my completed import different from my other account?

It is usual for the size of a completed import to be smaller than the size it occupied in your external email account. Reasons for this include:

• Compression and encryption will change the file size
• Easy Switch doesn’t import duplicate messages or messages labeled as spam or trash.
• Errors during import may mean that some data failed to transfer. You can find these details in the import report.

What do I do if the names of the folders in my old account are too long?

Folder names longer than 100 characters long cannot be imported as folders into Proton Mail. If they exceed this, Easy Switch will show a warning.

To fix the issue, click Customize import and Rename the folder.

What happens to Gmail labels with the same names as my Proton Mail folders?

It is not possible in Proton Mail for a label to have the same name as a folder. If you are importing a label from Gmail that has an identical name to an existing folder in your Proton Mail account, you will see the same warning as above. To fix the issue, click Customize import and Rename the folder.

I imported too many messages. How can I delete them and start again?

When you import messages, Easy Switch adds a label to all the messages by default to ensure you can easily find imported messages. This label can also help you delete all imported messages.

To do this, select the label of the import you want to delete from under the Labels section in the sidebar on the left side. Then, go to the toolbar above the main screen, click the three dots on the top-right, and click Delete All.

Once you delete all imported messages, you can start the import again, and click Customize Import → Interval and choose a smaller time frame to import.

My Gmail has folders nested more than three levels deep. What happens to them?

Proton Mail supports up to three folder hierarchy levels, including the parent folder. If your Gmail has a deeper folder structure, Easy Switch reorganizes those folders during import.

Some of my emails ended up in All Mail instead of their original folders. Why?

Easy Switch imports messages from Gmail’s Inbox, Sent, Drafts, and Archive folders into the corresponding folders in Proton Mail. Emails that are not in any of those folders are imported into All Mail. You can still find them using their original Gmail labels.

My Gmail labels look different after import

If you have nested labels in Gmail, Easy Switch converts them into standard labels in Proton Mail using the format Parent label – Nested label. For instance, a Gmail label named Work / Invoices will be imported as Work – Invoices. To make related labels easier to recognize, Proton Mail gives the converted label the same color as the original parent label.

I have more than 20 calendars. What should I do?

Proton supports up to 20 calendars per account. If you have more, you’ll need to delete an existing Proton calendar, merge an import with an existing calendar, or skip new calendar imports.

Some Gmail messages are not appearing in Proton Mail

A Gmail connection only fetches messages that arrive in your Gmail inbox. If you have Gmail filters that skip the inbox, those messages won’t be forwarded to Proton Mail. To forward them, update the filter in Gmail so the messages stay in the inbox.

My read/unread status isn’t syncing between Gmail and Proton Mail. Is that normal?

Yes. To limit what Google can learn about how you use your email, Gmail connections do not sync email states back to Gmail, such as read, unread, or starred.

Moving a message in Gmail doesn’t move it in Proton Mail. Is that expected?

Yes. A Gmail connection doesn’t sync folder changes. For example, moving a message to a different folder in Gmail won’t move it in Proton Mail, and moving it in Proton Mail won’t change where it appears in Gmail.

I’m seeing duplicate Gmail messages in Proton Mail

Check whether Gmail is already set up to forward messages to your Proton Mail address. If it is, disable the forwarding rule.

My Gmail connection stopped working after I changed my Gmail address

If you change your default Gmail address, any existing Gmail connection in Proton Mail will stop working. This is a technical limitation by Google. When this happens, Proton sends you an email with steps to reconnect your new Gmail address.

How do I move my Gmail connection to a different Proton Mail account?

You can connect a Gmail account to only one Proton Mail account at a time. To move a Gmail connection to another Proton Mail account, disconnect it from the current account before setting it up. The connection may appear as inactive in the initial Proton Mail account; it won’t receive Gmail messages anymore and won’t count toward your connection limit.

I see a “Your email address is not in the original participants list” on a calendar invitation

Calendar events are not synced when setting up a Gmail connection. But calendar invitations received at your Gmail address can still be added to your Proton Calendar. You may see a warning saying, “Your email address is not in the original participants list,” but this won’t cause any issues.

Proton’s access to my Gmail account was revoked

You can revoke Proton’s access to your Gmail account anytime from your Google Account settings. When this happens, Proton notifies you by email. To restore the connection, reconnect your Gmail account via Import via Easy Switch.

I can’t set up a Gmail connection with my Gmail address

If you created your Proton Account through Proton VPN or Proton Pass using your Gmail address, you currently can’t set up Gmail connection with that Gmail account. We’re working on supporting this.