Set up IMAP and change your SMTP settings to read Gmail messages in other mail clients, like Microsoft Outlook and Apple Mail. When you use IMAP, you can read your Gmail messages on multiple devices, and messages are synced in real time. You can also read Gmail messages using POP. Important:
To avoid temporarily locking yourself out of your account, make sure you don't exceed 2500 MB per day for IMAP downloads and 500 MB per day for IMAP uploads. If you're setting up a single IMAP account on multiple computers, try taking a break between each setup. Use the table below to update your client with the correct information. For help updating your
settings, search your email client's Help Center for instructions on setting up IMAP. imap.gmail.com Requires SSL: Yes Port: 993 smtp.gmail.com Requires SSL: Yes Requires TLS: Yes (if available) Requires Authentication: Yes Port for SSL: 465 Port for TLS/STARTTLS: 587Step 1: Check that IMAP is turned on
Step 2: Change SMTP & other settings in your email client
Incoming Mail (IMAP) Server
Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Server
Full Name or Display Name
Your name
Account Name, User name, or Email address
Your full email address
Password
Your Gmail password
Troubleshoot problems
I can't sign in to my email client
Important: If you can't sign in to your email client, you might see one of these errors:
- "Username and password not accepted"
- "Invalid credentials"
- You're asked to enter your username and password over and over
Step 1: Check your password
If you have these problems or can’t sign in, first check to make sure you’re using the right password.
Step 2: Try these troubleshooting steps
- Update your email client to the latest version.
- Use an App Password: If you use 2-Step Verification, try signing in with an App Password.
- Important: If you sign in with OAuth, use your regular Google password.
- Allow less secure apps: If you don't use 2-Step Verification, you might need to allow less secure apps to access your account.
- If you recently changed your Gmail password, you might need to re-enter your Gmail account information or completely repeat your Gmail account setup on your other email client.
- The email client's sign-in method might be insecure. Try signing in directly on the Gmail app.
- Make sure your mail app isn't set to check for new email too frequently. If your mail app checks for new messages more than once every 10 minutes, the app’s access to your account could be blocked.
"Too many simultaneous connections" error
You can only use 15 IMAP connections per account. If you have many email clients getting messages from Gmail at the same time, you may see the "Too many simultaneous connections" error.
If you use multiple email clients or devices for the same Gmail account, try closing or signing out of some.
Security certificate CN error
Try the options below if you see this error: "The server you are connected to is using a security certificate that could not be verified. The certificate's CN name does not match the passed value."
- Make sure you've set up your mail client for IMAP and not POP.
- Check your Incoming Server setting to make sure it says imap.gmail.com and not pop.gmail.com.
My email client is crashing, or emails are taking too long to download
You might be downloading too many emails at one time.
To fix this:
- Update your IMAP settings so you don't sync certain folders.
- Remove your Gmail account from your email client, then try adding it again.
- In your Gmail IMAP settings, set IMAP to only sync folders with 10,000 emails or fewer.
Related resources
- Prevent mail to Gmail users from being blocked or sent to spam
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In order to handle email uniformly across networks like the Internet, the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) was designed and is the standard protocol used for email exchange. At the server level, SMTP is responsible for both sending and receiving email between relay hosts that route the mail through the network to its destination. At the client (user) level, most people associate SMTP with sending mail only, and the address of the outgoing mail server is often smtp.[thedomain].com. The incoming mail server address, however, might be named after a retrieval protocol, such as Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3), pop3.[thedomain].com, or Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), imap.[thedomain].com.
Incoming mail servers can be named according to the retrieval protocol used.Internet Service Providers (ISPs) commonly provide its customers with a POP3 address. Authentication is required to collect mail from an incoming mail server and takes the form of the email address and associated password. This might be a proprietary password used just for mail, or the password assigned to the account. Only one client can access a POP3 mailbox at a time, and once mail is collected, it is automatically deleted off the server.
SMTP is a protocol for sending and receiving email.While POP3 is efficient, it isn’t always handy. The IMAP protocol allows mail retrieval from the server while leaving copies behind. This is convenient for people who collect mail from multiple clients or locations. For example, using IMAP, the user can collect personal email while at work to keep up to date on things, then can delete it off the work machine and collect it again from home to reply. The home email client can then be configured to delete the mail off the server.
Those who use personal digital assistants (PDAs), cell phones, and other personal electronics with email access and IMAP support will also appreciate being able to check mail without having the process delete the mail from the server. Though some mail can be quickly answered using a thumb keypad, longer replies are more conveniently typed from a standard computer at a later time. Using the IMAP protocol, mail on the incoming mail server can also be tagged or flagged to indicate various states or conditions. For example, collected mail can be tagged as having been read.
POP3 is most often associated with ISP mail service, while IMAP is typically used by Web-based email services. IMAP flexibility can be used with most POP3 accounts, however by utilizing an IMAP-supported email client. Most popular email clients today support both POP3 and IMAP protocols.
Only one client can access a POP3 mailbox at a time, and once mail is collected, it is automatically deleted off the server.