My Post Yahoo Transition Results

I have 3 Cox email addresses. Prior to the transition, I used Outlook 2022/O365 to access 1 email address and another email client called "eM Client" to access the 2nd email address. I never used Cox' webmail portal to access, send and receive my emails. I only worked on 2 of the 3 accounts last night after getting an email from both cox and yahoo saying it was time to change. 

1. I clicked the link in the received email which took me to yahoo's web email site/login. I used my cox email and existing cox password.
2.  It logged me in and then asked me to make a new password immediately without first seeing the Inbox. The new password was accepted and moved forward logging me in.
3. Then it asked me a few "do you want personalize your environment" questions which I skipped.
4.  Then I was at my Inbox

Upon first entry into the new Inbox via Yahoo, all of my emails were there. Also present were my pre-existing folders that I had created under cox' control and the emails that had been in those folders just prior to the transition. What was missing were all of my "rules" and filters. So even though my folders were there, I was going to have to redo my rules in Yahoo. Your filter rules do not migrate over. 

I spent time in the yahoo web portal and it seemed fine for what it was. It has a good bulk email filter built in and marking email as spam is simple and effective. Better than my experience with Cox. However I was quickly turned off by the fact that I was going to have to build out all of my rules again - I probably had over 100. Yahoo has a rules/filter maximum of 500. 

HERE IS WHERE IT ALL WENT WRONG. 

I went back into Outlook where Email Account #2 lives. All of the emails and folders were still there but the account settings had Cox' SMTP/IMAP configs. I was curious if I could still use Outlook and not Yahoo's portal. I went into the email settings and moved them over to Yahoo's. I made sure to give it the new password and used port 465 with all of the boxes checked. It connected without issue and started to sync. Then at the end of the sync ALL OF MY CUSTOM FOLDERS WERE GONE. Not only the folders, but any emails that were in those folders were gone too. The only emails left were those that happen to be sitting in the "Inbox" main directory but not anything that was in a subfolder under InBox. 

Even more interesting is the fact that all of my Rules/Filters in Outlook are still present. So as it downloads more email, I get Outlook errors regarding the fact that there is no longer a folder to move an email too that matches the rule it finds. So your rules in Outlook remain but after syncing the folders disappear, even though they had made the initial migration when you opened your InBox in Yahoo. 

GOOD NEWS THOUGH.....

After crying at Oulook that no longer had my folders and emails, I logged back into Yahoo via the webportal. EVERYTHING IS THERE!  My custom folders, the emails in them, everything. So it looks like for those of you in a similar spot, in Outlook after the sync, you will need to recreate your customer folders using the exact spelling and capitalization that you had before so that the filter rules can apply correctly. 

It is going to take a chunk of your day per email address to bring yourself back to a functional state. Everything I did was at a desktop computer with multiple monitors and space to manipulate lots of windows. Do not do this on a cell phone or tablet. I do not have any insight on the Yahoo app and have no plans to use that. 

Thunderbird and other email clients may produce a different result and experience for some of you.

Best Wishes to you all during this transition time.