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Migrate from iCloud Mail to MailSprout

This guide is for iCloud+ users with a custom domain attached (e.g. you@yourdomain.com routed through iCloud Mail). If you only use @icloud.com, @me.com, or @mac.comaddresses, there is no domain to point at MailSprout; this guide doesn't apply.

Before you start

  • Your Apple ID sign-in.
  • A MailSprout account already created with the same address (create it in the dashboard).
  • Your domain still configured under iCloud+ Custom Email Domain. We change DNS last.
1

Create the destination account in MailSprout

In your MailSprout dashboard, open the domain and click Add account. Type the same name (the bit before the @) you have at iCloud. Go to the account page in your MailSprout dashboard. In the Bring over old emailsection, you'll find the destination server credentials you need.

MailSprout shows you a strong password once. Save it.

2

Generate an Apple app-specific password

iCloud blocks third-party IMAP logins from standard passwords. You need an app-specific password, and your Apple ID must have two-factor authentication enabled (most do by default these days).

  1. Sign in to appleid.apple.com (opens in a new tab).
  2. Open Sign-In and Security → App-Specific Passwords.
  3. Click +. Label it MailSprout migration and confirm.
  4. Copy the password Apple displays. Apple won't show it again.
See Apple's official App-Specific Passwords help
Apple keeps this page in sync with the current appleid.apple.com flow.
3

Run the migration with imapsync

Open imapsync.lamiral.info/X/ (opens in a new tab) and fill in your credentials.

Source (iCloud Mail)

  • Host: imap.mail.me.com
  • Port: 993 (SSL)
  • User: your full Apple ID address (often an @icloud.com or your custom-domain alias)
  • Password: the app-specific password from Step 2

Destination (MailSprout)

  • Host: fusion.mxrouting.net
  • Port: 993 (SSL)
  • User: the same email address
  • Password: the MailSprout password from Step 1

Click Start. iCloud Mail tends to be slower than Google or Microsoft on IMAP; plan on 40-60 minutes for a 10k-message mailbox.

iCloud aliases (your custom-domain address and your @icloud.comaddress often share the same mailbox) all come over together. They're one IMAP login, one sync.
4

Verify the migration looks right

On your iPhone, open the MailSprout account page and scan the QR code with the Camera. Tap Install on the profile. Apple Mail will show the imported folders.

Do this before changing DNS. iCloud is still receiving live mail; you can re-run imapsync if anything went wrong.

5

Cut over MX records

Open your registrar's DNS panel and replace iCloud's MX records with MailSprout's. Old iCloud MX records look like mx01.mail.icloud.com and mx02.mail.icloud.com. Remove those; add fusion.mxrouting.net (priority 10) and fusion-relay.mxrouting.net (priority 20), plus the SPF/DKIM/DMARC records from your MailSprout dashboard.

6

Run imapsync one more time

About an hour after the MX change, re-run imapsync. It only copies new messages; catches anything that arrived at iCloud during DNS propagation.

7

Remove the domain from iCloud+ Custom Email

On icloud.com/icloudplus/customdomain (opens in a new tab), remove the domain. This stops iCloud from claiming it. iCloud+ itself can stay subscribed if you use other features (Hide My Email, iCloud Drive, etc.); removing the domain is just cleanup.

Troubleshooting

imapsync authentication fails against iCloud.
Make sure you signed in to appleid.apple.com (opens in a new tab) and generated a fresh app-specific password. If 2FA is off entirely (rare in 2026), Apple won't let you create one. Enable 2FA first.
Does this work for @icloud.com / @me.com / @mac.com addresses without a custom domain?
No. MailSprout works on domains you own. iCloud's free addresses are on Apple's domain; you can't take them with you. This guide is only for custom-domain users.
Will Hide My Email aliases come with me?
No. Hide My Email is an Apple-side forwarding feature that doesn't live in IMAP. Email already received via Hide My Email is in your iCloud inbox and willmigrate; new aliases can't be recreated on MailSprout. Once on MailSprout you can create as many real addresses as you want on your own domain, which is the point.

Set up your domain first

GoDaddy→

The #1 registrar by market share. Most small businesses start here.

Namecheap→

Popular among indie founders and developers.

Cloudflare→

Power-user favorite. DNS panel is the cleanest in the business.

Porkbun→

Indie-hacker darling. Fast, cheap, fair pricing.

Squarespace Domains→

Includes former Google Domains customers who got migrated here.

Hover→

Long-time favorite of founders and writers.

Stuck on a step?

Email support@mailsprout.io with the step number and a screenshot. We reply same day.