4 ms·

I totally get that this is largely about losing a decade of "purchased" stuff that is tied to the email address, meaning you're being heavily steered into start

I totally get that this is largely about losing a decade of "purchased" stuff that is tied to the email address, meaning you're being heavily steered into starting paying for emails etc just to keep your purchased movies, apps, and so on. If you do decide to move away it may not be as bad as you expect for the everyday email, contacts, and calendar. In particular when it comes to your email you probably don't need to manually use IMAP. I've migrated thousands of emails between different providers a few times, the last one being GMail to O365 then on to Fastmail when I decided I preferred them. Each occasion only took quarter of an hour or so and didn't involve manual work or IMAP downloads. The not-so-secret secret is that many providers include the ability to import directly from other providers. In the case of Fastmail (which I've now used for years and totally recommend) their import options include IMAP but also include direct connections into GSuite to do it for you - in the background that option also uses IMAP as it happens, but other than providing the connection details they do the transfer server-to-server without your involvement. Then you can copy over contacts as Outlook CSV files (which are recognised by most services), and calendars by exporting then importing ical files (connecting calendars only works until the connection breaks, in this case by your G account being switched off).

hatch_q 5y ago
Users won't lose anything purchased - your google login will stay the same (Same as you can use your Yahoo e-mail as google login), you will just lose g suite domain hosting.
- kcartlidge 5y ago
  Doesn't affect me, but that's useful info for those caught up in this - thanks.
- neogodless 5y ago
  I'm not following your line of thought. G Suite domain hosting includes the email address and the user licenses (albeit free ones.) If you stop paying for G Suite (Google Workspace) the user licenses will be revoked. They will not be able to login to Google services, access Play Store / Music / Movies purchases, etc.
  - deadgiveaway 5y ago
    I don't think there's a "line of thought". This isn't a logic problem - it's a business decision. Whatever Google wants to happen will happens. And some people have interpreted the available information - or have spoken to google representatives - and been told that they'll be able to keep using "additional" services such as music, movies, youtube, photos. And - this being google - other people have been told the opposite.
    - autumnbuzz 5y ago
      The offical FAQ has been updated with this: "What happens to my additional Google services and paid content if I don’t want to pay for Google Workspace premium features? If you don’t upgrade to a Google Workspace subscription, you will not lose access to other Google Services, including YouTube, Google Photos, and Google Play, nor paid content, including YouTube and Play Store purchases." https://support.google.com/a/answer/60217?hl=en#zippy=%2Cwhat-happens-to-my-additional-google-services-and-paid-content-if-i-dont-want-to-pay-for-google-workspace-premium-features https://support.google.com/a/answer/60217?hl=en#zippy=%2Cwha...
      - deadgiveaway 5y ago
        Thanks for that. They really could have put this simple statement up at the start and avoided a lot of bad press. Also, they could have told their stuff who've been fielding questions online about this change online; it might have stopped a few of them from telling people they'd be losing all their Photos, paid-for content etc.
      - DreamFlasher 5y ago
        Thank you! Seems like they sometimes listen afterall. They now also added: "In the coming months, we'll provide an option for you to move your non-Google Workspace paid content and most of your data to a no-cost option. This new option won't include premium features like custom email or multi-account management. You'll be able to evaluate this option prior to July 1, 2022 and prior to account suspension. We'll update this article with details in the coming months."
deadgiveaway 5y ago
I have a number of users at user1/user2/etc@mydomain.com on G Suite. If I started to use Fastmail, could they all continue to use their existing email addresses at Fastmail to send/receive mail, access their historical emails (if I copy those across) etc using whatever client? And second question: if after this G Suite shutdown in May (or whenever) Gmail is stopped for these users they can presumably still link Fastmail to Gmail? Or would they have to use some other email client? Would they each get their own credentials for logging in or would I have to trust them with my "main" Fastmail credentials? I've never used another email provider before.
- kcartlidge 5y ago
  (I'm not affiliated with Fastmail, just a user of their services. Please do research to double-check stuff.) > I have a number of users at user1/user2/etc@mydomain.com on G Suite. If I started to use Fastmail, could they all continue to use their existing email addresses at Fastmail to send/receive mail, access their historical emails (if I copy those across) etc using whatever client? Fastmail supports multiple users per domain (and multiple domains btw). For those users it should only need the client updating with details of Fastmail's servers instead of Google's. Then it should work the same. > And second question: if after this G Suite shutdown in May (or whenever) Gmail is stopped for these users they can presumably still link Fastmail to Gmail? Or would they have to use some other email client? You'd not be using the GMail app at that point. You would either be using Fastmail's own app or a third party client such as the Outlook app (which is actually very good, only moderately tied to MS, and works with other email providers). If your users are using GMail on the web they'd switch to the Fastmail site instead and, personally, I think that wipes the floor with the mess that GMail has become. > Would they each get their own credentials for logging in or would I have to trust them with my "main" Fastmail credentials? I've never used another email provider before. From Fastmail's user configuration screen: "Each user has their own inbox and login". --- Whatever and whoever you choose, try it first whilst you've still got time. Pick up a really cheap domain name (a random one as it is a throwaway for testing) and start a trial account. Configure a few users, set up the app, and try it out. Transferring emails is quick with Fastmail, but I wouldn't do that for any kind of test as it is very easy to get a setting wrong and move them from GMail instead of copy them, which makes your trial somewhat more permanent unless you move them back.
kcartlidge 5y ago
Just to add, one of my golden rules for online stuff is to never use one of the ecosystem providers for my email or anything critical. I have accounts with MS, Google, and Apple, but my domains are elsewhere and my emails are with Fastmail. The reason is simple. There are too many tales of the ecosystem providers cutting off accounts with no reason and no recourse. If that happens I may well lose some purchases (which ought to be illegal, and I don't buy from the ecosystem providers anyway personally) but I will not be locked out of anything other than devices that need their account (iOS, Android, Azure, etc). Give one of these providers control over either your domains or your emails and you have a single point of failure for your whole online life (emails, banking, password resets, etc) and whose main concern is policing their obscure Ts & Cs for their other cloud properties. The risk is huge.

hatch_q 5y ago

Users won't lose anything purchased - your google login will stay the same (Same as you can use your Yahoo e-mail as google login), you will just lose g suite domain hosting.

kcartlidge 5y ago
Doesn't affect me, but that's useful info for those caught up in this - thanks.
neogodless 5y ago
I'm not following your line of thought. G Suite domain hosting includes the email address and the user licenses (albeit free ones.) If you stop paying for G Suite (Google Workspace) the user licenses will be revoked. They will not be able to login to Google services, access Play Store / Music / Movies purchases, etc.
- deadgiveaway 5y ago
  I don't think there's a "line of thought". This isn't a logic problem - it's a business decision. Whatever Google wants to happen will happens. And some people have interpreted the available information - or have spoken to google representatives - and been told that they'll be able to keep using "additional" services such as music, movies, youtube, photos. And - this being google - other people have been told the opposite.
  - autumnbuzz 5y ago
    The offical FAQ has been updated with this: "What happens to my additional Google services and paid content if I don’t want to pay for Google Workspace premium features? If you don’t upgrade to a Google Workspace subscription, you will not lose access to other Google Services, including YouTube, Google Photos, and Google Play, nor paid content, including YouTube and Play Store purchases." https://support.google.com/a/answer/60217?hl=en#zippy=%2Cwhat-happens-to-my-additional-google-services-and-paid-content-if-i-dont-want-to-pay-for-google-workspace-premium-features https://support.google.com/a/answer/60217?hl=en#zippy=%2Cwha...
    - deadgiveaway 5y ago
      Thanks for that. They really could have put this simple statement up at the start and avoided a lot of bad press. Also, they could have told their stuff who've been fielding questions online about this change online; it might have stopped a few of them from telling people they'd be losing all their Photos, paid-for content etc.
    - DreamFlasher 5y ago
      Thank you! Seems like they sometimes listen afterall. They now also added: "In the coming months, we'll provide an option for you to move your non-Google Workspace paid content and most of your data to a no-cost option. This new option won't include premium features like custom email or multi-account management. You'll be able to evaluate this option prior to July 1, 2022 and prior to account suspension. We'll update this article with details in the coming months."

deadgiveaway 5y ago

I have a number of users at user1/user2/etc@mydomain.com on G Suite. If I started to use Fastmail, could they all continue to use their existing email addresses at Fastmail to send/receive mail, access their historical emails (if I copy those across) etc using whatever client? And second question: if after this G Suite shutdown in May (or whenever) Gmail is stopped for these users they can presumably still link Fastmail to Gmail? Or would they have to use some other email client? Would they each get their own credentials for logging in or would I have to trust them with my "main" Fastmail credentials? I've never used another email provider before.

kcartlidge 5y ago
(I'm not affiliated with Fastmail, just a user of their services. Please do research to double-check stuff.) > I have a number of users at user1/user2/etc@mydomain.com on G Suite. If I started to use Fastmail, could they all continue to use their existing email addresses at Fastmail to send/receive mail, access their historical emails (if I copy those across) etc using whatever client? Fastmail supports multiple users per domain (and multiple domains btw). For those users it should only need the client updating with details of Fastmail's servers instead of Google's. Then it should work the same. > And second question: if after this G Suite shutdown in May (or whenever) Gmail is stopped for these users they can presumably still link Fastmail to Gmail? Or would they have to use some other email client? You'd not be using the GMail app at that point. You would either be using Fastmail's own app or a third party client such as the Outlook app (which is actually very good, only moderately tied to MS, and works with other email providers). If your users are using GMail on the web they'd switch to the Fastmail site instead and, personally, I think that wipes the floor with the mess that GMail has become. > Would they each get their own credentials for logging in or would I have to trust them with my "main" Fastmail credentials? I've never used another email provider before. From Fastmail's user configuration screen: "Each user has their own inbox and login". --- Whatever and whoever you choose, try it first whilst you've still got time. Pick up a really cheap domain name (a random one as it is a throwaway for testing) and start a trial account. Configure a few users, set up the app, and try it out. Transferring emails is quick with Fastmail, but I wouldn't do that for any kind of test as it is very easy to get a setting wrong and move them from GMail instead of copy them, which makes your trial somewhat more permanent unless you move them back.

kcartlidge 5y ago

Just to add, one of my golden rules for online stuff is to never use one of the ecosystem providers for my email or anything critical. I have accounts with MS, Google, and Apple, but my domains are elsewhere and my emails are with Fastmail. The reason is simple. There are too many tales of the ecosystem providers cutting off accounts with no reason and no recourse. If that happens I may well lose some purchases (which ought to be illegal, and I don't buy from the ecosystem providers anyway personally) but I will not be locked out of anything other than devices that need their account (iOS, Android, Azure, etc). Give one of these providers control over either your domains or your emails and you have a single point of failure for your whole online life (emails, banking, password resets, etc) and whose main concern is policing their obscure Ts & Cs for their other cloud properties. The risk is huge.