Transfer non-iCloud email accounts from MacOS Mail and previous iPhone into new iPhone 16 Pro?

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Transfer non-iCloud email accounts from MacOS Mail and previous iPhone into new iPhone 16 Pro?

Is it possible to import into my iPhone 16 Pro (iOS 26.4) all the non-iCloud email accounts, their rules and configurations from Mac OS Mail? My previous iPhone SE 2nd Gen (iOS 18.7.1) has these accounts in iOS Mail that I manually entered but not all of them have transferred across during the iPhone SE to iPhone 16 Pro transfer that is triggered by making them touch and stay close together. My MacBook Pro 16" M1 Max (MacOS 15.7.7) and both iPhones are all signed into the same iCloud/Apple ID account and wireless network. My MacBook Pro Mail and previous iPhone SE Mail have these non-icloud email accounts and related Mailboxes setup already and working fine, but I would preferably not have to find out, and type in, all the details, as I had to do for the iPhone SE into my new iPhone 16 Pro. Some of the email accounts have transferred but not all of them. Any advice would be appreciated.

iPhone 16 Pro

Posted on May 26, 2026 10:59 PM

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Answer 1

May 27, 2026 11:49 AM in response to dust25

I'm not expert on this, but whenever I've switched iPhones, my extra email accounts have come along to the new one with the iCloud Backup. I haven't tried to set up a new phone without iCloud-- well, not for a few years.

Since you have a Mac, you can pug the phone in and do a backup on the Mac as well as at iCloud. The backup to the Mac is more comprehensive.

How to back up your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with your Mac - Apple Support

Of course, you can try a method, and if you don't like it, just reset the new phone and try a different method.

Let us know what you do…

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Answer 2

May 28, 2026 7:50 AM in response to dust25

I think it may depend on the email account. If I recall correctly, my Gmail account transferred the last time I switched phones but my work email did not. I had to enter that manually and go through the authentication process my employer requires. But since adding an email account manually takes about 30 seconds, I never really worry about it.

I don't use any @icloud.com addresses.

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Answer 3

dust25 Author

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May 27, 2026 2:05 PM in response to Richard.Taylor

Thank you for your advice. I hadn't considered using the Finder backup that I have, because, like you, I use iCloud and had assumed that it would transfer this type of information across. I'll let you know how I get on!

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