How to import Office 365 PST files
Follow the steps below on how to import Office 365 PST files
step by step:
1. Assign Mailbox Import Export role
You must be assigned the Mailbox Import Export role in
Exchange Online to create import jobs in the Microsoft Purview compliance
portal and import PST files to user mailboxes. By default, this role isn’t
assigned to any role group in Exchange Online.
Assign Mailbox Import Export role in
Exchange Online to create import jobs in the Microsoft Purview compliance
portal and import PST files to user mailboxes:
- Sign
in to Exchange Admin Center.
- Expand Roles and
click on Admin roles.
- Select Organization Management
- Click
on the tab Permissions.
- Select Mailbox
Import Export role.
- Click Save.
Note: It can take up to 24 hours before the
change applies. But, most of the time it will work within 1 hour.
Suppose you get the error below after clicking on Save:
We couldn’t save your changes. Please try again.
An excellent alternative way to add the Mailbox
Import Export role is with PowerShell.
Connect to Exchange Online PowerShell and run the New-ManagementRoleAssignment cmdlet.
PS C:\> New-ManagementRoleAssignment -Role "Mailbox
Import Export" -SecurityGroup "Organization Management" -Name
"Import Export Org Management"
Name Role RoleAssigneeName RoleAssigneeType AssignmentMethod EffectiveUserName
---- ---- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- -----------------
Import Export Org Management Mailbox Import... Organization M...
RoleGroup Direct
2. Create PST import job
To create a PST import job in Microsoft Purview compliance
portal, follow these steps:
- Sign
in to Microsoft
Purview compliance portal.
- Expand Data
lifecycle management and click on Microsoft 365.
- Choose Import.
- Click on New Import Job.
If you don’t see a New import job, it means that
you have to wait before the change in the previous steps applies.
- Give
the import job a name. Click Next.
- Click
on Show network upload SAS URL.
- Click
on Copy to clipboard to copy the SAS URL. You will need
the SAS URL in the next step.
In the next step, you will upload the PST files to Office
365 with AzCopy command-line tool.
Note: Don’t cancel the import job because you
need to return to this window and finish the import job. If you cancel the
import job, you need to do this job again.
3. Upload PST files to Office 365
- Download
AzCopy
and extract it
1. 3. Now copy the PST path and SAS url and past here as follows \
azcopy.exe copy "<Source location of PST files>/*" "<SAS URL>"
- The
output will show like this.
INFO: Scanning...
INFO: Could not read destination length. If the destination
is write-only, use --check-length=false on the command line.
100.0 %, 1 Done, 0 Failed, 0 Pending, 0 Skipped, 1 Total,
2-sec Throughput (Mb/s): 26.7263
Elapsed Time (Minutes): 06.21431
Number of File Transfers: 3
Number of Folder Property Transfers: 0
Total Number of Transfers: 3
Number of Transfers Completed: 3
Number of Transfers Failed: 0
Number of Transfers Skipped: 0
TotalBytesTransferred: 1841431012
Final Job Status: Completed
6. Select PST import mapping file
- Go
back to the PST import job, check both the boxes, and click Next.
- Click Select
mapping file.
- Browse to the PstImportMappingFile.csv file. It must be as look like
4. Click on Validate.
- It
shows a green text, which means that it’s valid. Click Next.
- Review
the PST import job. Click Submit.
- Upload
to the cloud succeeded. Click Done.
You are not finished because there is one last step. That’s
to start the PST import to Office 365.
7. Start PST import to Office 365
Before you can start to import the PST file to Office 365,
you have to wait for the analysis progress to complete. After
that, it will show the Import completed progress and ready to:
- Select
the checkbox in front of the Import Job.
- Click
on Import to Office 365 button.
- Select No,
I want to import everything. Click Next.
- Click
on Submit.
- Upload
to the cloud succeeded. Click Done.
You have to wait before Microsoft accepts the request and
starts the progress. It’s not possible to force the PST import to Office 365.
8. Verify PST import job completion status
To verify the PST import job status, click on the Import
Job in the list view. Then, verify that the PST import job shows
the status completed.
You successfully imported a PST file to Office 365.
