How to Migrate a Mastodon Account to a New Instance

Moving your Mastodon account from one instance to another allows you to keep your followers and profile history without starting from scratch. The migration process uses Mastodon’s built-in account relocation feature, which transfers your followers, profile metadata, and a redirect notice to your new account. This article explains the prerequisites for migration, provides step-by-step instructions … Read more

Mastodon ‘Move Account’ Stuck on Pending: Fix Steps

You started moving your Mastodon account to a new instance, but the process shows “Pending” and never completes. This usually happens because the old instance cannot confirm the new account ownership or the new instance rejects the migration request. The move account feature requires a handshake between two servers: the old instance must verify a … Read more

How to Verify a Mastodon Account Migration Completed Correctly

After moving your Mastodon account to a new instance, you need to confirm that followers, follows, and other data actually transferred. Many users assume the migration worked automatically, but partial failures can leave followers behind or break the redirect from your old profile. This article explains exactly which settings to check and what the migration … Read more

Mastodon Migration Followers Not Transferring: Common Causes

You have set up a new Mastodon account and initiated the migration process from your old instance. But after following all the steps, you see that your followers have not moved to your new profile. This can be frustrating because the migration feature is designed to transfer your follower list automatically. The core reason followers … Read more

Mastodon Migration Cooldown Period: How Long to Wait Between Moves

When you move your Mastodon account from one instance to another, you trigger a follower migration handshake. After the move completes, you cannot perform another account migration immediately. Mastodon enforces a cooldown period to prevent abuse and give the federation time to propagate the changes. This article explains exactly how long the cooldown lasts, what … Read more

How to Migrate a Mastodon Account Without Posting From the New One First

When you move your Mastodon account to a new instance, the standard migration process requires you to have at least one post on the new account before the old account can redirect followers. This requirement exists because Mastodon uses the first post timestamp to verify that the new account is active and under your control. … Read more

Mastodon Old Posts Not Carrying Over After Migration: Workaround

When you move your Mastodon account to a new instance, your followers, profile picture, and header image transfer automatically. But your old posts — toots, replies, boosts, and media — stay behind on the original server. This is a deliberate design choice by Mastodon. The platform does not move post history between instances because of … Read more

How to Plan a Mastodon Migration With Minimal Downtime

You want to move your Mastodon account from one instance to another without losing followers or being offline for hours. The migration process requires careful timing because your old instance must remain accessible for up to 30 days to redirect followers. This article explains how to prepare your new account, schedule the move, and handle … Read more

Mastodon Migration vs Account Deletion: Which to Choose

You want to leave your current Mastodon instance but keep your followers and posts. Or you want to delete your account entirely. Mastodon offers two distinct paths: account migration and account deletion. Each serves a different purpose and has different consequences for your data and connections. This article explains the exact differences between migration and … Read more