Article

How to Migrate From Gmail's Mail Fetcher to Pop3Fetch

April 2026 · 3 min read

Gmail's built-in mail fetcher is gone. Pop3Fetch is the closest direct replacement — same automatic importing, same header preservation, faster sync. Here's how to get set up in about 2 minutes.

What you'll need

Before you start, have these ready:

Common providers: IONOS (imap.ionos.com), Yahoo (imap.mail.yahoo.com), Outlook (outlook.office365.com), GoDaddy (imap.godaddy.com). Pop3Fetch has quick-fill buttons for these on the setup page.

Step-by-step setup

1

Sign in with Google

Go to app.pop3fetch.com and click "Sign in with Google." Use the same Gmail account you want emails to arrive in. Grant the requested permissions — Pop3Fetch only needs write access to add emails to your inbox.

2

Choose your plan

Select Basic (5-minute sync) or Pro (1-minute sync + manual sync + Gmail labels). Both include a 7-day free trial — your card won't be charged until day 8.

3

Add your external account

Click "Add account" and enter your IMAP server, port (993), email address, and password. Click one of the provider buttons at the top for automatic server settings. Pop3Fetch tests the connection before saving.

4

Done — emails start arriving

Pop3Fetch begins syncing immediately. New emails sent to your external address will appear in your Gmail inbox within minutes. The dashboard shows the last sync time for each account.

Tip: Pop3Fetch only imports emails that arrive after you connect — it won't flood your Gmail inbox with historical messages. If you want to import older emails too, use a desktop client like Thunderbird for a one-time historical import.

Setting up "Send mail as" for replies

For a complete unified inbox, you'll also want to set up Gmail's "Send mail as" feature so you can reply from your external address without leaving Gmail.

Read our full step-by-step guide with screenshots →

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