Migrating Your Email Services Away from AfterNorth

This guide outlines the steps you need to take to migrate your email services to a new provider. We cannot provide direct support for the migration process due to the variety of email providers available. For assistance, please contact your new provider's support team.

Important: This process involves coordination between you and your new email provider. Plan ahead to minimize downtime and back up all critical emails and data before starting.

Step 1: Sign Up with Your New Email Provider

• Select a new email service provider.

• Sign up for an account and set up your domain with them. This may include verifying domain ownership through methods like uploading a file to your website or adding a TXT record to your DNS (see Step 2).

• Follow your new provider's onboarding instructions for basic email setup. Contact their support for guidance.

Step 2: Complete Any Required DNS Verification

• Your new provider may require DNS changes to verify domain ownership (e.g., adding a TXT or CNAME record).

• If we manage your DNS records, provide us with the exact verification details from your new provider, and we’ll add them for you at no cost.

• If you manage your own DNS, log in to your DNS provider's control panel and make the changes yourself.

• Once verified, your new provider will confirm the domain is ready. Contact their support if issues arise.

Step 3: Obtain Email Authentication Records from Your New Provider

• Request the following DNS records from your new provider to ensure proper email delivery and security:

  • MX Records: Direct incoming email to your new provider's servers.

  • DKIM Records: Verify email authenticity.

  • SPF Records: Specify which servers can send email for your domain.

  • DMARC Records: Enhance protection using SPF and DKIM.

• These records are typically found in your new provider’s dashboard or setup guide. Contact their support for help locating them.

Step 4: Update DNS Records

• If we manage your DNS:

  • Send us the new MX, DKIM, SPF, and DMARC records via email or our support portal.

  • We’ll update them, which may take up to 24 hours to propagate. Plan accordingly to avoid email disruptions.

• If you manage your own DNS:

  • Log in to your DNS provider and replace the existing AfterNorth records with the new ones.

  • Remove old AfterNorth records after migration is complete.

• Test email functionality after updates. Contact your new provider’s support for troubleshooting.

Step 5: Import Your Existing Emails and Data

• Once DNS is updated and your new provider is active, import your data from our servers.

• Our system supports these protocols for data transfer:

  • IMAP: For syncing emails, folders, and labels.

  • POP3: For downloading emails (note: may remove emails from our server unless configured otherwise).

  • CalDAV: For calendar data.

  • CardDAV: For contacts.

  • MAPI: For Outlook or compatible clients.

• Follow your new provider’s import instructions, which may involve:

  • Setting up an email client with our server details as the source.

  • Using their migration tools.

  • Manually exporting/importing via files.

• Contact your new provider’s support for detailed migration steps or issues.

Additional Tips

• Minimize Downtime: Deactivate your AfterNorth account only after confirming the new provider is fully functional.

• Backup Data: Use email clients or export features to back up emails, contacts, and calendars.

• Timeline: Migration may take some time, depending on DNS propagation and the email data volume that needs to be transfered.

• Support: For setup or migration issues, contact your new provider’s support team. For AfterNorth-specific questions (e.g., DNS updates we manage or AfterNorth server settings informationj), reach out to us at using the form on this page.