How to Access Gmail with Outlook Using IMAP

IMAP lets you get your emails and use Gmail's features in Outlook

By

Heinz Tschabitscher

Updated on February 12, 2021

Reviewed by

Ryan Perian

MS Office

What To Know

File > Add Account. Enter an address, and press Connect. Enter your password, and press Connect. Press Done.
Outlook 2013: File > Info > Add Account. Enter your name, Gmail address, and password. Press Next. Press Finish.

This article explains how you can set up Outlook to access your Gmail account using the Internet Messaging Access Protocol (IMAP). Instructions in this article apply to Microsoft Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and 2007.

Prepare to Connect Your Gmail to Outlook

Before configuring Outlook to connect to Gmail, you must first enable IMAP on your Gmail account. If you have set up two-step verification for your Gmail account, you must also generate an app password in Gmail. You'll use this specialized password instead of your Gmail account password whenever configuring Outlook's settings.

How to Set Up Gmail in Outlook 2019, and 2016

Adding a Gmail account to Outlook is a quick and simple process:

If you're using MS 365, it has been updated to make adding Gmail accounts easier.

Select File.
With Info selected in the left pane, select Add account.
Enter your Gmail address and select Connect.
Enter your Gmail account password in the Password field and select Connect.

Remember, if your Gmail account uses 2-step verification, you will need to enter the app password you generated in the Password field.
If the connection to your Gmail account is successful, you will see your Gmail address under IMAP. Select Done.

How to Set Up Gmail in Outlook 2013 and 2010

The process for adding email accounts to Outlook 2013 and 2010 are similar to each other. The screenshots below are from Outlook 2013; screens in Outlook 2010 will vary slightly, but the layout and function are the same.

Select File > Info and select Add Account.
Enter Your Name (the name you want to appear on messages others receive from you), your Gmail E-mail Address, and your Gmail account Password, then select Next.

If your Gmail account uses 2-step verification, don't forget to generate a Gmail app password to use in the Password field.
Outlook will perform a series of tests to verify the connection to your Gmail account. If all tests are successful, your Gmail account is configured and ready to use. Select Finish.

How to Add Gmail to Outlook 2007

To set up a Gmail account in Microsoft Outlook 2007:

Select Tools > Account Settings from the menu in Outlook.
Select the E-mail tab, then select New.
Check the box beside Manually configure server settings or additional server types, then select Next.
Make sure Internet E-mail is selected, then select Next.
Enter your name and email address under User Information.
Select IMAP under Account Type.
Enter imap.gmail.com for the Incoming mail server.
Enter smtp.gmail.com for the Outgoing mail server (SMTP).
Enter your Gmail address and password under Logon Information.

If you have Gmail's 2-step verification enabled on your account, create and use an app password for Outlook 2007.
Select More Settings.
Select the Outgoing Server tab and make sure My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication is checked.
Select the Advanced tab and choose SSL from the drop-down menus under Incoming server (IMAP) and Outgoing server (SMTP).
Enter 993 in the Incoming server (IMAP) field and 465 in the Outgoing server (SMTP) field, then select OK.
Select Next.
Select Finish.

Connect Gmail to Outlook With POP Instead of IMAP

As an alternative to IMAP, you can set up Outlook to use POP to connect to Gmail; however, POP doesn't give you the same features available with IMAP. Instead, it simply downloads your new messages from your account into Outlook.

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