Top Ways to Convert Outlook PST Files to MBOX Format

Written By Annu Seepal
Published on August 14th, 2021
Updated on May 16, 2022

PST files are not a very common file format used by many users. Therefore users plan to switch the PST files into different file formats and email clients. There are various reasons for Users to convert Outlook files to Thunderbird. In this blog, we will discuss reasons to convert PST files to MBOX, Some limitations, and methods to solve the issues related to the conversion of files.

Now, let’s discuss some of the key issues – why users prefer to convert PST files to MBOX format. Also, you can convert PST to MSG file format easily.

Table of Contents

Why Do We Need to Convert PST to MBOX?

As there are multiple reasons why users want to convert PST files to MBOX Thunderbird. Some of the reasons behind the conversion are discussed below:

One of the main reasons is when a user switches from one organization to another.
There might be a chance that PST files may get damaged or corrupted, so users need to convert the PST files into different file formats.
Most of the time, users have to stick to the windows operating systems while converting the email client’s mails from windows email client to macOS, rather than MBOX file format can be accessed from any of the working devices.
One of the core reasons is that the PST file format is supported by Microsoft Outlook only.

In the above phrase, we have discussed the reasons to export PST to the MBOX file. Now, we will elaborate on a few methods to convert PST file to MBOX file format.

2 Free Methods to Convert PST to MBOX Format

There are several tricks to export or backup the PST file into MBOX format. In the below steps, we will be dealing with one of the vital manual procedures to solve the conversion process of PST files. Follow the steps in a proper sequence.

Step 1: Export Outlook PST File

Launch the desktop-based Outlook application on your system and navigate to the File tab.
In the Open & Export tab, click on the Import/Export Icon.
Now, choose the Export a File option in the Import and Export Wizard. Press Next.
After that, choose Outlook Data File (.pst) and press the Next button.
Click on the Browse button to choose the PST file and press the Open button.
At last, choose the optional features and press the Finish button.

Using the above methods, you have successfully exported the PST file from Outlook. Now, in the next method, you have to import that PST file into the Thunderbird file format.

Step 2: Import PST File into Thunderbird Account

Now, here you have to import the exported PST file into the Thunderbird Mail account. Perform the below-listed steps in a stepwise manner.

Launch the Thunderbird Mail application on your system or PC.
Locate to Display the Thunderbird Menu and click on the Tools option.
Now, select the Import option and click on it.
After that, Choose the Items you want to import and press the Next button.
In the next wizard, select Outlook and tap on the Next button.
Finally, your Outlook PST files have been successfully imported into the Thunderbird as MBOX format, and then hit the Finish button.

After reading the above steps, the manual approach seems to be easy, but it requires basic technical knowledge. Users may convert the files sometimes, it may not give perfect results. So in the next context, we will discuss some of the limitations of the manual approach.

The process is very lengthy and takes a lot of time.
It converts PST to MBOX files without attachments.
Sometimes it may give inappropriate results.
Users must have some basic or prior technical knowledge.
Most of the time, if the user is not used to it, they forget some steps.
There is a need for a guide to complete the process.

As we can see, there are a bunch of issues in converting the PST files using manual methods. Therefore, most of the users prefer to go for a better approach to convert PST file to MBOX, and the best approach is using the Third-party tool or Professional methods.

Automated Approach to Convert PST Files to MBOX

To overcome all the above limitations, we have introduced the Cigati PST to MBOX Converter that converts PST files to MBOX, EML, EMLX, MSG, PDF, CSV, GIF, etc. It also migrates PST files to different email clients such as Gmail, Office 365, Yahoo, Outlook, Thunderbird, IMAP, Zoho Mail, etc. The software is also loaded with multiple advanced features that provide a smooth and productive experience to the users.

Final Verdict

In the above blog, we have described both the primer method and the Professional method to Convert PST to MBOX. However, the manual approach has some complications. So, we recommended users go for the automated tool. We hope you must have found it sound full and had solutions to your query. Thank you for reading this post.

About The Author:

Annu Seepal

Annu Seepal is a technical content writer who writes technical content articles that want to see their Google search rankings surge. Her articles have appeared on a number of article sites. She contributes practical solutions about MS Outlook, Data Recovery, Email Management, and more.