Gmail is ending mail fetching from other accounts: what now?

Many people read their old GMX, WEB.DE or T-Online address inside Gmail for years. Gmail regularly fetched the emails from there (“Check mail from other accounts”) or linked the other mailbox via Gmailify. That is ending: since spring 2026, new Gmail users can no longer set up either. If you already set it up, Google says you can keep using it until January 2027. After that, new emails to the old address no longer arrive in Gmail, and “Send mail as” with another provider’s address goes away too.

Important: your existing emails are not lost. What Gmail already fetched stays in Gmail. Everything else is still in the old mailbox.

Who is affected

You are affected if you added another mailbox in Gmail under Settings → Accounts and Import, for example your GMX address, or send emails from another provider’s address there. It’s best to switch before January 2027 so nothing gets lost. If you only read your emails in the provider’s own webmail, nothing changes for you.

Three ways forward

1. Set up forwarding at the old provider

Many providers can automatically forward incoming emails to another address. You usually find the setting in the webmail under “Settings” and “Forwarding”. New emails then arrive in Gmail again. Whether forwarding is free at your provider is stated in its help pages.

Forwarding doesn’t bring over the emails that so far only sit in the old mailbox.

2. Read both mailboxes in one app

The Gmail app on your phone and most email programs on your computer can show several mailboxes side by side. You simply add the old mailbox as another account. The emails stay at the old provider, but you see them in one place.

3. Move to Gmail completely

If you want to give up the old address anyway, move everything once:

1. Copy all old emails and folders to Gmail. Gmail itself offers a one-time import (Settings → Accounts and Import → Import mail and contacts). Or use a moving service like Mailovo: test for free first, and your old mailbox stays unchanged.
2. Keep bringing over new emails to the old address for a while. Mailovo includes 30 days of forwarding.
3. During that time, enter the new address everywhere: banks, shops, insurers and authorities. The address change checklist helps.

Afterwards you can close the old mailbox at your own pace.

What suits you?

• You keep using the old address, for example for clubs or family: forwarding, or both accounts in one app.
• You only want one address: move and enter the new address everywhere. It takes some time once, then it’s done.

For Gmail as the destination you need an app password. Our Gmail guide shows how. You find the preparation for your current provider in the guides, for example from GMX to Gmail or from WEB.DE to Gmail.