Migrate Your Yahoo Mail and Contacts to Gmail

Import your address book and more

By
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Writer
  • University of Vienna
A former contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
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Updated on March 10, 2021
Reviewed by
Michael Barton Heine Jr
Michael Heine headshot
Reviewed by Michael Barton Heine Jr
    Michael Heine is a CompTIA-certified writer, editor, and Network Engineer with 25+ years' experience working in the television, defense, ISP, telecommunications, and education industries.
    lifewire's editorial guidelines

    When you switch your email service from Yahoo to Gmail, transfer your Yahoo mail and contacts to your Gmail account. Once the transfer is complete, send mail from either account at any time. Choose either your Yahoo or Gmail email address when composing messages or replying to existing ones. Or, configure your Yahoo mailbox to forward to the other account.

    How to Migrate Yahoo Contacts to Gmail (and Emails, Too)

    Log in to your Yahoo account and your Gmail account to prepare to transfer messages and your address book.

    1. From your Yahoo account, move the messages that you want to transfer to Gmail to your Yahoo Inbox. Either drag and drop or select and move emails into the Inbox folder.

      Move emails to the Inbox folder in Yahoo before you start the migration process. Mail that's in the Drafts, Trash, and Spam folders isn't imported.

    2. Go to Gmail and select Settings (the gear icon).

      Gmail inbox screen with Settings (gear icon) highlighted

    3. Select See all settings.

      Gmail Settings with See all Settings highlighted

    4. Select the Accounts and Import tab.

      GMail settings with Accounts and Import tab highlighted

    5. Select Import mail and contacts.

      Gmail settings with "Import mail and contacts" highlighted

    6. Enter your Yahoo email address and select Continue.

      Enter your Yahoo email address and select Continue.

    7. Select Continue to accept ShuttleCloud migration manager's terms of use.

      Select Continue to accept ShuttleCloud migration manager's terms of use.

    8. Select your account.

      Select your account.

    9. Enter your password and select Next.

      Enter your password and select Next.

    10. Select Agree to allow ShuttleCloud Migration to access your Yahoo contacts, profiles, and mail.

      Select Agree to allow ShuttleCloud Migration to access your Yahoo contacts, profiles, and mail.

    11. Select your import options and then choose Start Import.

      Select your import options and then choose Start Import.

    12. Select OK to finish. Your account import will begin.

    Tips About Importing Yahoo Contacts to Gmail

    Here a few things to keep in mind once you authorize the transfer:

    • It might take up to two days before you see all the Yahoo mail imported into Gmail, but that depends on how many emails you have in Yahoo.
    • Gmail creates a label for messages imported from Yahoo. It's named after the Yahoo address that forwards mail to your Gmail account. You can delete this label if you wish.
    • Yahoo contacts and messages are not deleted from your Yahoo account when imported into Gmail. If you want to remove contacts and messages after the migration, log in to your Yahoo account.
    • Return to the Accounts and Import tab in the Gmail settings to check the progress of the process.
    • Stop importing mail at any time by clicking the Stop link in the Accounts and Imports tab of the Gmail settings.
    • With a Yahoo Mail Plus subscription, you can also have Gmail download new mail automatically.
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