Guide
Preparing for a service migration before it is forced on you
Services sometimes announce a migration to a new system, a merger, or a major change well before it happens, and that advance notice is the best opportunity to prepare that you will get.
Read the actual migration notice, not just the headline
Migration announcements often include specific details about what will and will not transfer automatically, buried below a reassuring headline that does not tell the whole story.
Export a copy before the migration, not after
Taking a full export of your data before a migration happens gives you a known-good fallback, independent of whether the migration itself goes smoothly or not.
Verify after the fact, while you still can
Once a migration completes, checking that everything important actually arrived intact — while the old system or export is still available for comparison — catches problems before that window of comparison closes.
Questions people ask
Should I trust a service's claim that a migration will be seamless?
It is reasonable to expect good faith, but keeping your own independent copy beforehand costs little and removes the need to simply trust the process.
What if I miss the window to export before a migration?
Some migrations still allow a grace period afterward, but assuming you will have one is riskier than acting during the original notice period.