AOL Backup Tool: AOL Mail Backup to an Outlook PST on Windows

Mail that lives only at AOL, or one more copy at home

Webmail feels permanent because it has always been there. But an old mailbox exists in one place, on AOL's servers.

How it is today

Only on the AOL server

Two decades of correspondence hang on one account that you seldom open.

Forget the password or lose the recovery phone and it is all out of reach
AOL's inactivity rule decides how long an unused mailbox lives
Reading one old letter takes an internet connection and a working sign-in

VS

After one backup

Also on a disk you own

The mailbox stays where it was. You get a second copy next to you.

Outlook or Thunderbird shows everything with no AOL sign-in
Put it on another drive like any documents
A later run downloads only what came in since

Download

How to download and use the AOL Backup Tool for Outlook PST

1

Install it and name the program that will show the mail

Download the AOL backup tool and run the installer on Windows 10 or 11. Before you connect anything, decide which program will show this mail later. For Outlook that means PST. Thunderbird users take MBOX, and EML gives separate files. You will make that choice on the last screen, and one run writes one format.

2

Choose AOL Mail and sign in

Click Connect a mailbox and pick AOL Mail under Email service. An @aol.com address selects it for you once you leave the address field. The next field is named App password, and the name is literal. Your everyday AOL password will not work here. The link How to create one opens AOL's own instructions. Paste the code and click Connect.

3

Check the folder list

The Folders to back up panel lists what the mailbox holds, with a message count on every line. This is the first honest look at how much old mail is still there. Go through the list, untick the folders you do not want, and click Next: format.

4

Pick PST and start

The Save as screen has three cards. Click PST, or one of the other two. Save to shows where the files will go and how much room that drive has. Click Start backup. With PST the last stage reads Building the PST file and counts up to 100%. Then Open backup folder takes you to the result.

What the AOL Mail backup tool does

A PST that Outlook opens

AOL Backup Tool writes into the PST the subject, the body as HTML or plain text, the sender, the To, Cc and Bcc lines, the sent date and the attachments. Raw headers and the flagged and replied states are left out. Each following backup appends fresh mail to that PST. It is never split into parts. Since Outlook 2010 the default ceiling for one PST is 50 GB, so a very large mailbox is better saved as MBOX.

Back up AOL emails from every year, folder by folder

There is no date filter in the program, and for an old mailbox that is good news. The oldest email in a ticked folder is downloaded just like the one from yesterday. Attachments stay inside their emails. The folders you created long ago and forgot about are downloaded too, if you tick them.

Nothing changes at AOL

The program has no command that deletes, moves or uploads mail. An email you never opened is still unread in AOL when the run ends. Messages go from AOL to your disk and are not sent to SoftOrbits on the way. The app password is not saved either, so you enter it again the next time you start the program.

MBOX and EML as the other exit

MBOX gives one file per folder, the kind Thunderbird and Apple Mail read. With EML each email becomes its own file, named by its date and subject, and almost any mail program can show it. Both formats keep the email as AOL delivered it, with all headers and attachments.

Four reasons to back up an AOL mailbox

A dusty mailbox on a wooden post in an overgrown yard.

You cannot recall when you last logged in

The address is from another decade and you visit it twice a year, mostly to find one old message. Log in on the AOL website first and see that it still lets you in. Then make a complete backup that same day, while you remember how you got in.

A half-empty cardboard box of letters tied with twine in an attic.

Part of the old mail is already missing

Your Inbox held thousands of messages and now shows a handful. No backup program can bring back what AOL has already removed, and this one cannot either. It can save whatever is listed right now before more goes. The counters in the list tell you how much remains.

A binder of old letters placed on a new office desk.

You are switching to Outlook

A new job or a new PC came with Outlook, and the AOL era should come along. Build the PST, then in classic Outlook choose File, Open & Export, Open Outlook Data File. Your old mail appears in the left pane beside the work mailbox.

A sealed box handed through a side window next to a closed front door.

Outlook refuses your AOL login

You type the correct password and Outlook still reports that it cannot log on over IMAP. You do not have to win that fight to get the old mail out. The backup tool connects by itself with an app password and gives Outlook a finished PST.

Who needs AOL Backup Tool for Outlook PST

Long-time AOL users who hardly ever log in

You got the address in the dial-up days, and it holds receipts, family photos and notes from people you can no longer write to. One pass saves all of it to your disk. Return in a few months, sign in with an app password, click Download new emails, and the archive is current again.

Grown children sorting a parent's mail

Mom or Dad wants the old emails kept, and you are the relative who is good with computers. Sit down together. The owner creates the app password, you do the clicking. For a Yahoo address in the same house, see the Yahoo Mail backup tool walkthrough.

Anyone leaving AOL webmail for Outlook

Your daily mail runs in Outlook now, and AOL is where the earlier conversations stayed. We think the PST route beats re-adding the mailbox, because it does not depend on Outlook and AOL agreeing with each other. Keep both for a while and decide afterwards.

Try it on your own AOL mailbox first

The trial does not expire. Its limit is counted per folder, so the more folders you tick, the more saved emails you get to inspect.

What happens	Trial	With a license key
From each folder you tick	25 most recent emails	The whole folder
Choice of PST, MBOX or EML	✓	✓
Emails the trial has saved	Stay on your disk	Skipped, the others are downloaded
The key is for the whole program, not for AOL alone. It is tied to the computer where you activate it, and activation needs an internet connection.	Download	Buy now From $ 4.99

Buy now

From $ 4.99

Download

The key is for the whole program, not for AOL alone. It is tied to the computer where you activate it, and activation needs an internet connection.

Email Backup Software & Mail Archiving Tool to PST and MBOX

Price

from $ 4.99 / month

Version

3.3

File Size

67.7 Mb

Last updated on

21/08/26

Trial: 25 latest emails from every folder, all 3 formats, no time limit

System Requirements

Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 (32/64 bit)
Intel i3, AMD Ryzen 5 or above
4 GB of RAM or above
NVIDIA® GeForce® series 8 and 8M, Intel® HD Graphics 2000, Quadro FX 4800, Quadro FX 5600, AMD Radeon™ R600, Mobility Radeon™ HD 4330, Mobility FirePro™ series, Radeon™ R5 M230 or higher graphics card with up-to-date drivers
1280 × 768 screen resolution, 32-bit color
1 GB of free hard disk space or above

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I back up my AOL emails?

Install the program, click Connect a mailbox and choose AOL Mail. Sign in with your full address and an app password. Tick the folders you want, then pick a format on the next screen and click Start backup. Unless you set another place, the files land in Documents, in the Email Backup folder, under your address. If the line drops, the run does not end. The program reconnects on its own up to 5 times, and a stopped run continues later from the same email.

How far back does AOL keep emails?

The help page we read does not give an age limit for a single email. The deletion rule described there is about a mailbox nobody signs in to, not about how old a message is. To learn how far back your own mailbox goes, connect it and look at the email counts in the folder list. Whatever is still on the server on that day is what the backup takes, down to the oldest message.

Is AOL shutting down old email accounts?

We do not speak for AOL and do not know its plans. Here is what its help page Empty Mailbox in AOL Mail says. If you have not signed in to AOL Mail for 12 months or more, your mailbox is considered inactive. An inactive mailbox stops receiving new emails, and everything in it is permanently deleted, contacts and settings included. So the account in danger is the one nobody opens. Sign in from time to time, and keep a copy of the mail on your own disk.

Why did all of my AOL emails disappear?

We cannot see your account, so here are the usual suspects. The first is the inactivity rule from the answer above. The second suspect is an older mail program on some device that was set to download messages and remove them from the server. The third is that the emails sit in another folder, or someone with access removed them. A backup made today does not bring deleted mail back. It saves what remains, and because the tool only reads, it cannot make things worse.

Can I keep my AOL email without paying for it?

The answer depends on AOL, and its plans change. Check your account page at AOL to see what applies to you. The copy on your disk does not depend on any plan. PST, MBOX and EML files stay readable if the terms change or if you close the account one day.

Why can't I get my AOL Mail on my computer?

Short answer: most often it is the password. Long answer: AOL does not let third-party apps in with your regular password. Its help page says such an app may need a special code that gives it permission to access the account. That code is the app password. After the sign-in is refused twice in a row, check the code before you try again. The program warns that a mail server may block your IP address for up to 24 hours after repeated failures. Check the PC as well: the program needs 64-bit Windows 10 or 11.

How can I export AOL emails as PDF files?

Not with this program. Its AOL mail export writes PST, MBOX and EML, and PDF is not among them. A handful of emails can go the manual way. Save them as EML, open one in a mail app and print it to Microsoft Print to PDF, the printer that Windows already has. For a whole mailbox we would not go to PDF at all. You cannot sort a pile of PDF pages by sender or reply from them, and attachments turn into a separate problem.

Can it read mail that AOL Desktop Gold saved on my PC?

No. The program downloads what the AOL server shows over IMAP and nothing else. Mail that exists only inside the AOL Desktop software on a computer, such as an old Personal Filing Cabinet, is out of its reach. If the same messages are also in your online mailbox, they are saved like any other email. Contacts and the calendar are not saved either.

How do I open the AOL backup if I do not have Outlook?

The PST made here is a regular Outlook data file, so a program that reads PST can show it. Our PST viewer that works without Outlook is built for exactly this case. If Outlook is not in your plans at all, MBOX for Thunderbird or a folder of EML files is the more direct choice.

Download AOL Backup Tool for Outlook PST and Keep Your Old AOL Mail