Alias domain promote to primary

How do I swap the primary and alias domains?

Occasionally it is necessary to change from using the primary to an alias domain. There are two ways to accomplish this: 

Option 1 – change the “from” address for each mailbox using the Persona feature in Zimbra webmail preferences. 

Option 2 – move each mailbox from the primary to the alias domain. Note – whilst you are performing the below procedure mail may bounce.

This guide assumes that both primary and alias domains have MX records already pointing to Zimbra. 

Primary domain: domainA.com
Alias domain:      domainB.com

  • Delete domainB.com – the alias domain.
  • Provision domainB.com as a Zimbra domain.
  • Move mailboxes from domainA.com to domainB.com by logging into Zimbra admin using an account which has permission on both domains. Edit the domain for each mailbox – this effectively moves it from one domain to the other.
  • Perform the same procedure for distribution lists and resources.
  • Check that all mailboxes, aliases, distribution lists and resources have been moved to domainB.com – domainA.com should be empty.
  • Delete domainA.com.
  • Provision domainA.com as an alias of domainB.com.

After the change, users should login to Zimbra using their domainB.com email address. Make sure all devices are updated with the new username. 

NB – in our experience IMAP, Mobile and Outlook Connector clients do not need to perform a complete re-sync of the mailbox after performing the above procedure.