Migrate Your Email Support

Converge Team

• Updated March 12, 2026

How to migrate your email support workflows, templates, and history from Hiver without losing data.

Migrating Email Support from Hiver

Hiver's email handling is fundamentally different from most helpdesk platforms — it works as a native Gmail (and Outlook) extension, turning your existing email accounts into shared mailboxes. Migration means moving away from this Gmail-native model, and your approach depends on whether you want to keep using Gmail or switch to a different email routing method.

How Hiver Handles Email

Unlike forwarding-based helpdesks, Hiver installs as a Chrome/Firefox extension and a Gmail add-on that adds shared mailbox functionality directly inside your Gmail interface. Shared inboxes (support@, billing@, etc.) are regular Gmail accounts that Hiver layers on top of — adding assignment, status tracking, tags, collision alerts, notes, and SLA monitoring. When you stop using Hiver, the emails remain in Gmail. You lose the Hiver layer (assignments, statuses, notes) but keep all raw email data.

Option A: Keep Gmail, Add New Platform

If your new platform supports Gmail integration (e.g., via service account with domain-wide delegation), you can connect the same Gmail accounts directly. Disable the Hiver extension for your team, then configure your new platform's Gmail connection. This approach preserves your email addresses and requires no DNS changes. Your team stops seeing Hiver's overlay in Gmail and starts managing emails through your new platform's interface instead.

Option B: Switch to Custom Domain Email

If you want to move away from Gmail entirely, set up custom domain email routing on your new platform (e.g., via Mailgun inbound routing). This requires DNS changes: update MX records for your support email subdomain to point to your new email provider. Allow up to 48 hours for DNS propagation. During the transition, keep the Hiver extension active so no emails are lost while DNS changes propagate.

Migrate Templates and Shortcuts

Hiver's Templates feature stores canned email responses shared across the team. These can't be bulk-exported — copy each template's content manually and recreate them as Quick Replies on your new platform. If you use Hiver's Views (custom filter combinations), document each view's filters (status, tags, assignee) so you can recreate equivalent filtering. Also document any auto-responder configurations for business hours and off-hours messages.

Important: Hiver Imports Are Limited

Hiver allows importing up to 50 emails when setting up a new shared inbox. For larger imports, you need to contact Hiver support. When migrating away, this isn't a concern — but be aware that your new platform starts fresh. New conversations will flow into your new platform once email routing is configured. Your Hiver/Gmail archive serves as historical reference.

Note: After removing the Hiver extension, your Gmail account returns to standard Gmail functionality. All emails, labels, and filters remain intact. The only things you lose are Hiver's overlay features: shared assignment, status tracking, collision alerts, notes, and SLA monitoring on those conversations.