Unable To Configure Gmail In Different Outlook Versions? Read This Comprehensible Guide

Are you unable to configure Gmail in Outlook? You need to be extra cautious because this situation can put your crucial data at stake. So, if Outlook cannot connect to Gmail, you need to try some corrective measures which we have mentioned below. Read all the provided methods and use them one by one so that you can fix the Gmail and Outlook configuration issues. One main symptom of the Gmail and Outlook connection issue is the repeated denial of username and password, no matter how many times you’ve entered it correctly.

How to Fix “Unable to Connect Gmail in Outlook?”

We have the best solutions for you, but make sure you know how to connect Outlook to Gmail. 

After that, try the below-listed solution. 

Solution 1: Enable IMAP Settings on Gmail 

Though you can use the POP protocol, it is usually not recommended as it is an outdated protocol and has rigid sync capability. Therefore, using IMAP over POP will give you more benefits such as flexibility of managing your account on different devices, and better server sync. To exemplify, with IMAP everything remains up to date, such as while using Gmail in Outlook, IMAP will mark the read emails on Outlook just as they are on Gmail so that no confusion happens. But with POP, you will get the least convenience hence it is worth ditching.

However, Gmail uses IMAP for every email account thus enabling it is not always necessary but if you enable it manually you will be sure that it’s working for you. If it won’t be enabled, you will certainly face difficulty in using Gmail with MS Outlook. So, if you are unable to use Gmail on Outlook, make sure IMAP is enabled on Gmail.

To Enable the IMAP on Gmail, you need to follow these steps:

1. Open your browser, go to Gmail.com and sign into your account.
2. Now, go to Settings by clicking on the gear icon from the top-right corner. And then “See All Settings”. 

3. Access the “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” tab.

4. In the “IMAP Access” menu select “Enable IMAP”.

5. Click on Save Changes.

Solution 2: Check Gmail SMTP & other settings in Outlook

1. Go to Managed Connected Accounts option in Outlook.com
2. Now, make sure that you are providing correct information. Use the table given below to match the Gmail SMTP settings on Outlook.

Incoming mail (IMAP) server	imap.gmail.com Requires SSL: Yes Port: 993
Outgoing mail (SMTP) server	smtp.gmail.com Requires SSL: Yes Requires TLS: Yes (if available) Requires Authentication: Yes Port for SSL: 465 Port for TLS/STARTTLS: 587
Full name or display name	Your name
Account name, username, or email address	Your full email address
Password	Your Gmail password

Solution 3: Enable Folders

Outlook needs certain permissions to access your Gmail folders. Therefore, you must allow Gmail to access the folders that are meant to use in IMAP.

1. From your browser, sign in to Gmail.com.
2. Access the Settings by clicking on the gear icon from the top-right corner.

3. Click on the “Labels” tab.

4. Now, select “Show” option, if it is not already selected for Inbox, Sent Mail, Trash, and All Mail.

5. Also, make sure that you select Show in IMAP for all other labels which you want to use in Outlook.

Solution 3: Allow Less Secure Apps for Gmail 

The security settings have an important role to play if you are not able to configure Gmail on Outlook. Just try these steps:

1. Open your Gmail account from the upper right corner, click on the “Profile picture” to access “My Account” or “Manage your Google Account”. 

2. Now, select “Sign-in & Security” from the left menu and then select “less secure apps access”.

3. Look for “Allow less Secure Apps” to enable this feature.

4. Click on Save Changes.

This is it!

Solution 4: Create an App Password

Using an app password over your Outlook login password is advised as it help you avoid the configuration issues that happen while setting up Gmail on Outlook. To create an app password, try the below given instructions. But before that make sure you have Gmail two-step verification on, you can enable it using this link: https://myaccount.google.com/signinoptions/two-step-verification/enroll-prompt

Now, you need to follow these steps:

1. Open your Google Account.
2. Now, click on the “Security” menu from the left menu.
3. Scroll down to find “Signing in to Google” and select “App Password”.

4. You will be asked to enter your Gmail account password.
5. Now, select “Mail” from the drop-down menu and also choose “device”. 

6. Now, click on Generate.
7. Copy the 16-digit password and use it to access Gmail on Outlook.

Solution 5: Re-Configure Gmail in Outlook 

• Configure Gmail in Outlook 2019:

Important Note: Having two-factor authentication is quite important as we mentioned above, else you may end up having connection errors while configuring Gmail to Outlook. 

Now, let’s begin with Outlook 2019 with Gmail. Do this, if you are not able to use Gmail on Outlook. Try these steps:

1. Open Outlook, click on File option.
2. Select Add Account. 
3. In the next window, you need to provide the Gmail address. First type your Gmail address, as user@gmail.com. The email address should be complete. 
4. Click on “Connect” and till it takes information.
5. A new window will open for “Password”. Here, use the two-factor authentication password/app password. You are advised to use the one-time-use password instead of using the primary account password.
6. Allow Outlook to access your Gmail account.

• Configure Gmail in Outlook in 2016

If you are using Outlook 2016, you can’t use the app password as it doesn’t support two-step verification, 2FA. The account setup process is not entirely different from that of Outlook 2019. However, you can get the app-specific password. 

Important Note: If you are not able to access Outlook 2019, you can have an app-specific password and use it instead of using the sign-in process. 

If Outlook is not connecting automatically, you can add details manually. To set up manually, try with the following steps:

1. Open Outlook, click on File.

2. Now, click on Add account.

3. Click Manual Setup or additional server types and then Next.

4. Now, select POP or IMAP and click “Next”. 

5. Type in your name first and email address. Enter imap.gmail.com in the incoming mail server, and smtp.gmail.com in Outgoing mail server (SMTP). Click on More Settings.

6. Now, do not select the option Require logon using Secure Password Authentication (SPA) as this option is not supported by Gmail, because it is a proprietary Microsoft protocol based on NTLM authentication.
7. In the “Outgoing Server” select “My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication.”

8. Now, in the Advanced Tab, select SSL so that encryption is enabled for the Incoming server (IMAP). Enter 993 for IMAP, and select TLS for the outgoing SMTP server and enter 25 to 587 in the port number. Click OK.

This is it. If you are having a connection issue, try using the app password. 

Solution 6: Check the Connectivity for Gmail TCP Ports

If you are facing issues while connecting Outlook to Gmail, make sure that your computer and internet service provider is not blocking the network ports that are used for accessing Gmail. 

You can check ports on Windows 10, use the Test-NetConnection PowerShell cmdlet in PowerShell. Then, you have to check the availability of Gmail servers as IMAP over SSL (993) and SMTP over TLS (587).

To launch the elevated PowerShell, click Win+X – Windows PowerShell (Admin) and run the command: 

• Test-NetConnection imap.gmail.com -port 993
• Test-NetConnection smtp.gmail.com -port 587

If you receive TcpTestSucceeded = False in returns, the Gmail account is blocked by a firewall. So, check the Windows Firewall or third-party antivirus settings of your device and make sure that there is no network filtering option available. Allow the outlook.exe process to make sure that outgoing traffic is directed over TCP ports 993 and 587. If any of the ports are blocked, contact your Internet service provider as some network equipment may be blocking the ports.

Solution 7: Fix Revoked Gmail Access in Outlook

If you have canceled Gmail account access, you won’t be able to access Gmail on Outlook. In this case, you need to re-establish the connection between Gmail on Outlook. This is how you un-revoke Outlook Gmail account access.

1. Open Outlook and go to File and then Account Settings>> Manage Profile.

2. Then, select Email Accounts.
3. Now, click on Account Settings, and select the Email tab and then click New.
4. Type in your email account details such as username, email address, and app password. Click “Next” and let Outlook establish the connection.
5. A new window will open for Gmail account verification. Type in your primary password and two-step verification. 
6. Click Done. 

Solution 8: Other Ways to Restore Outlook Access to Gmail

Though, the above-stated methods are enough to connect Gmail with Outlook and fix the configuration issue. So, try the steps given below and fix Gmail is not configuring with Outlook. The below-given tips so that you can easily set up Gmail with Outlook.

• Do not select Enable connected experience from Outlook settings and go to Outlook > File > Office Account > Account Privacy > Manage Settings and restart Outlook. 
• Now, change the IMAP server by accessing Account Setting for imap.gmail.com to imap.googlemail.com and the Outgoing server from smtp.gmail.com to smtp.googlemail.com.
• Then, restrict the simplified account creation in Outlook 2016, Outlook 2019, and Outlook for Office 365 and create a new DWORD (32-bit) parameter called DisableOffice365SimplifiedAccountCreation, from the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\setup. Change the value of the parameter to 1. And, then use the below-given command:

REG ADD HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Setup /v DisableOffice365SimplifiedAccountCreation /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Now, open the Command Prompt with the Administrator privileges and execute the above-given command.

• Now, to disable the Outlook add-ins by opening File>> Add-ins.
• For creating the Outlook configuration, open Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles > Add. Then, open Outlook and try to set up your Gmail account.

With all these methods, you can fix the problems you are encountering while configuring Gmail with Outlook. After a successful configuration, you can access emails and synchronize the data. The synchronization may take some time and it depends upon the mailbox size.

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