Outlook is more than all the emails you send and receive, it is an organizer that allows users to have a custom setup to suit their needs. If you have recently transferred to a new device, or plan to give your existing one a factory reset, you should make sure that you transfer your Outlook settings as well.
Why Transfer Outlook Settings?
While you can always take the time to manually set up your Outlook settings referring to your previous Outlook setup, it is a long and tedious process. Instead, you can conveniently transfer your Outlook settings saving yourself the effort.
How to Transfer Outlook Settings to Another Computer
You can transfer Outlook settings to another computer using four main methods: exporting the Outlook profile via the Windows Registry Editor, copying your PST or OST data files manually, using Microsoft’s User State Migration Tool (USMT), or using a dedicated Outlook migration tool. Each method covers different components like emails, account credentials, rules, signatures, and calendar data, so choosing the right approach depends on what you need to move.
If you only need to move your emails and calendar items, copying the PST file is the fastest option. If you want a complete migration including account settings, send/receive groups, and custom rules, a registry export or dedicated migration software is recommended. The sections below walk through each method in detail.
How to Get Your Old Outlook Emails on a New Computer (PST File Method)
Outlook stores all your emails, contacts, calendar entries, and tasks in a Personal Storage Table file with a .pst extension. Moving this file to your new computer is the most direct way to get your old Outlook emails onto a new machine without any specialist software. OST files, used by Exchange and Microsoft 365 accounts, are locally cached copies and generally cannot be moved directly for those accounts, your data re-syncs automatically once you add the account on the new computer.
Where Does Outlook Save Account Settings and PST Files?
By default, Outlook saves PST files in the following locations depending on your Windows version:
- Windows 10 and Windows 11:
C:\Users\[YourUsername]\Documents\Outlook Files\ - Older Windows versions:
C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\
To find your exact PST file location, open Outlook, go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings, click the Data Files tab, and note the path shown next to your account.
Steps to Copy and Import the PST File
- Close Outlook on the old computer.
- Navigate to the PST file location shown above and copy the
.pstfile to a USB drive or external storage. - On the new computer, paste the PST file into a convenient location such as
Documents\Outlook Files\. - Open Outlook on the new computer and go to File > Open & Export > Open Outlook Data File.
- Browse to the copied PST file and click OK. Your old emails, contacts, and calendar items will now appear in Outlook.
Move Outlook Setting to New Computer Using Rikvr Outlook Backup and Migrate Software
Rikvr Transfer for Outlook is a great tool for transferring Outlook settings, attributes, and other important parts that cannot be transferred using conventional methods. The software simplifies the entire process of shifting outlook data to a new computer making it easier and giving less room for error. you can try it out for yourself using the instructions below-
Part 1: Creating a backup File on the old system
1. Close Outlook and related applications.
2. Open Rikvr Transfer For Outlook and click on Transfer Outlook.
3. Select the Backup option.
4. Choose Advanced backup.
5. Select Backup Now.
6. Create a new profile and click on Next.
7. A list of Outlook items will be displayed, ensure that all the Outlook settings are selected.
8. Select a destination location to save the destination location and click on Next.
9. After the backup file has been created, transfer it to the other system using a pen drive or any form of external storage.
Part 2: Transferring Outlook settings to the New Computer
1. Download, install, and launch RIKVR Transfer For Outlook on the new system.
2. Click on Transfer Outlook.
3. This time, select the Transfer option.
4. Using the Browse option, select the recently generated backup file and click on Next.
5. Ensure that all the Outlook settings are selected and click on Next.
6. After the transfer process completes, click on Finish.
How to export Outlook account settings and passwords
Outlook does not export passwords. That is the honest answer, and every tool that claims otherwise is either reading from Windows Credential Manager or prompting you to re-enter them on the other side. What you can export is everything else: server addresses, port numbers, encryption settings, your display name, and the send/receive group configuration.
The registry key that holds all of that is HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Profiles. Replace 16.0 with 15.0 for Outlook 2013 or 14.0 for 2010. Right-click the Profiles key, choose Export, and save the resulting .reg file to a USB drive or shared folder. That file contains every configured account’s server settings, folder mappings, and send/receive group definitions in a format you can import directly on the new machine. When people search for how to export Outlook settings, this is the registry key they need and most articles bury it or skip it entirely.
Passwords are stored separately in Windows Credential Manager under entries that begin with MicrosoftOffice16_ or similar. You can view them by opening Credential Manager from Control Panel, expanding Windows Credentials, and looking for Outlook-related entries. There is no native export for these. Your options are to write them down before you wipe the old machine, use a credential backup tool like ChromePass or CredentialFileView, or simply re-authenticate on the new computer. For Microsoft 365 accounts, re-authentication takes about 30 seconds because the account is verified against the cloud rather than a locally stored password.
If you are moving to a machine on the same local network, another option is to export only the .reg file and copy your PST, then manually add the account on the new computer using the server details the registry export reveals. It takes longer but gives you a clean profile with no registry artifacts from the old machine. I have seen corrupt profile keys cause Outlook to crash on launch after a registry import, especially when the source and destination machines were running different versions of Office.
How to Export Outlook Settings Using the Windows Registry Editor
The Windows Registry stores your Outlook profile configuration, account settings, send/receive groups, and custom rules. By exporting the relevant registry keys from your old computer and importing them on the new one, you can replicate your Outlook environment without reinstalling and reconfiguring everything from scratch. This method works on Windows 10 and Windows 11 and does not require any third-party software.
Step 1: Export the Registry Key on the Old Computer
- Press Windows + R, type
regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor. - Navigate to the following path:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook(replace16.0with your Office version number 15.0 for Outlook 2013, 14.0 for Outlook 2010). - Right-click the Outlook folder and select Export.
- Choose a save location, name the file (e.g.,
OutlookSettings.reg), and click Save. - Copy the exported
.regfile to a USB drive or cloud storage and transfer it to your new computer.
Step 2: Import the Registry Key on the New Computer
- Ensure Microsoft Outlook is installed on the new computer before importing.
- Copy the
.regfile to the new computer and double-click it. - Click Yes when prompted by User Account Control, then click Yes again to confirm the merge.
- Restart Outlook to apply the imported settings.
Note: The registry export transfers account configuration and profile settings but does not copy your email data. You will need to separately copy your PST file (see the next section) to move your emails, contacts, and calendar items. Always back up the registry before making changes to avoid system issues.
How to transfer Outlook to new computer Windows 11 using USMT
Microsoft’s User State Migration Tool captures Outlook profiles, account settings, signatures, send/receive groups, and PST file references in a single pass. It is the closest thing to a complete, hands-off migration you can do without third-party software, and it is already on every Windows 11 machine that has the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit installed.
To use it, you run ScanState.exe on the old computer to collect the data, then LoadState.exe on the new one to apply it. The command that captures Outlook settings specifically is:
ScanState.exe \\server\share\migration /i:MigApp.xml /i:MigDocs.xml /oMigApp.xml is the file that tells USMT to include Outlook profile data. Without it in the command, you will get a migration that moves your documents but leaves every Outlook setting behind. That is the step most guides skip, and it is where people end up repeating the whole process. On the destination machine, LoadState.exe reads the same store and writes the Outlook registry keys and data file paths back exactly as they were.
One real limitation: USMT does not transfer saved email passwords. Outlook will prompt you to re-enter credentials the first time you open it on the new machine. That is by design, not a bug. If you are migrating to a Windows 11 PC that is joined to the same Active Directory domain, passwords for Exchange accounts may carry across automatically because the credentials live in the domain, not the local profile.
Windows Easy Transfer, which older guides reference, was removed in Windows 10 version 1709. It does not exist on Windows 11. USMT is the supported replacement for anyone doing a Transfer Outlook to new computer Windows 11 migration at scale, and it is free.
Frequently Asked Questions About Transferring Outlook Settings
Can I transfer Outlook settings without third-party software?
Yes. You can transfer Outlook settings without any third-party software by manually exporting the relevant Windows Registry keys from your old computer and importing them on the new one. Additionally, you can copy your PST data file directly between computers. These free methods require a few extra steps but work reliably on Windows 10 and Windows 11 for most versions of Outlook 2016, 2019, and Microsoft 365.
How do I sync Outlook on two different computers?
If your email account uses Microsoft 365, Exchange, IMAP, or Gmail, your emails, calendar, and contacts sync automatically across computers once you add the same account in Outlook on each machine. There is no need to manually copy files, Outlook downloads the data from the server. However, local settings such as signatures, custom rules, and send/receive groups do not sync automatically and must be transferred manually or via a migration tool.
How do I import settings into a new Outlook?
To import settings into Outlook on a new computer, use the built-in Import/Export wizard: go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export, choose Import from another program or file, select Outlook Data File (.pst), and browse to your copied PST file. For account settings specifically, you will need to either re-add the email account manually or import a previously exported registry key, since Outlook’s Import/Export wizard only handles data files and not account credentials.
Does the transfer process work for Outlook on Windows 11?
Yes. All methods described in this guide like registry export, PST file copy, and migration software are fully compatible with Windows 11. The file paths for PST files and registry keys remain the same as Windows 10. If you are migrating to a new Windows 11 PC, ensure you are running the same or a newer version of Microsoft Outlook on the destination machine before importing any settings or data files.
To Conclude
I hope that you were able to easily move your Outlook settings with the help of this article, It is important to give proper attention to such transitions as they have long-lasting effects and it is always advisable to create an Outlook backup file before any important process to eliminate the risk of data loss.
