Recover IMAP emails using Time Machine backup.
Recover IMAP emails using Time Machine backup.
I'm helping your mother recover her deleted emails. She uses Apple Mail with IMAP and has a backup in Time Machine. You've tried offline mode, copying the folder to another account, and using the Import feature, but nothing appears. You're considering moving everything online to On My Mac and restoring from backup, hoping the server will sync again. Any tips or alternatives would be appreciated.
Hey there, cmodriscoll. Thanks for joining the discussion, even if it’s your first time on this forum. I’ve always been a bit cautious about using backup formats, especially since different apps can make some of them trickier to handle. I created an email backup solution – actually there are two versions. They’re not completely free, but they’re quite affordable. My goal was to handle my own backups first, and then see if it could serve the public. EmailBackup (the name is pretty original) automatically retrieves a full backup via IMAP from an account and saves the emails in plain JSON format. This makes it robust enough for anyone to build a restore function, though EmailBackup itself can also recover backups without any extra work. Essentially, it creates a snapshot of your emails and keeps them on your machine. There’s also a Linux version you can set up on a server for remote backups. EmailBackup even lets you convert JSON files into EML files, which most email clients can read. You don’t have to go through that step – you can simply view a backed-up email directly inside the app, including attachments. The main purpose of an email backup is to maintain a complete copy, let you restore from it, and view emails instantly when needed.
I also made EmailSync, which copies an IMAP email to another address – similar to a backup but for sending. You can check out the demo here: https://rcloudsystems.com/live/emailbackup-2/. You can try the app before purchasing; it lets you test up to 100 emails. To get started, just sign up for an account and visit the downloads page.
If you run into any problems, feel free to reach out here or use the support system. EmailBackup costs $5 per year and works on Windows or a Linux web hosting setup that supports PHP. More info: https://rcloudsystems.com/live/coupon/eb-linusforums/
I hope this helps protect your important messages!