Set Up Gmail in Another Email Client: IMAP and POP Server Settings That Work

You want to read and send your Gmail from Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, or another program, but the setup fails or the server settings aren’t obvious.

Why: Gmail supports two ways for outside programs to connect: IMAP (recommended — keeps everything in sync across devices) and POP (older — typically downloads mail to one device). Two modern gotchas trip people up: since January 2025 IMAP is always on (there’s no enable/disable switch anymore), and if you use 2-Step Verification you can’t type your normal password into older apps — you need a 16-digit app password instead.

Fix 1: Use IMAP (recommended) with the correct server settings

IMAP keeps your inbox, sent, and folders identical everywhere. Enter these in your mail program’s manual/advanced setup:

Setting	Value
Incoming server (IMAP)	imap.gmail.com
Incoming port	993
Incoming security	SSL/TLS required
Outgoing server (SMTP)	smtp.gmail.com
Outgoing port	465 (SSL) or 587 (TLS/STARTTLS)
Outgoing security	SSL/TLS required, authentication on
Username	your full address, e.g. you@gmail.com
Password	your Google password — or an app password (see Fix 3)

Two tips Google recommends:

• Don’t tell the client to save sent messages on the server — Gmail copies them to Sent automatically, so you’d get duplicates.
• Don’t enable the client’s junk/spam filter — Gmail already filters spam before it reaches the client.

Fix 2: Use POP only if you specifically need it

POP downloads mail to one device. You must first turn it on in Gmail:

1. Settings gear → See all settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP.
2. Under POP Download, choose Enable POP for all mail (or for mail that arrives from now on).
3. Pick what Gmail does with its copy (keep in Inbox, archive, or delete), then Save Changes.

Then configure the client:

Setting	Value
Incoming server (POP)	pop.gmail.com
Incoming port	995
Incoming security	SSL/TLS required
Outgoing server (SMTP)	smtp.gmail.com
Outgoing port	465 (SSL) or 587 (TLS)
Username	your full Gmail address
Password	your Google password — or an app password

Fix 3: If sign-in is rejected, use an app password

If your password is correct but the client says it’s wrong, your account almost certainly has 2-Step Verification on — older programs can’t complete the second step, so they need an app password:

1. Confirm 2-Step Verification is on (myaccount.google.com → Security).
2. Go to myaccount.google.com/apppasswords.
3. Type a name (e.g. “Thunderbird”) and click Create; copy the 16-digit code.
4. In the mail client, paste that 16-digit code as the password (no spaces needed).

Where the program offers it, “Sign in with Google” (OAuth) is the safer, preferred option and skips app passwords entirely.

Worked example: add Gmail to Outlook via IMAP

1. File → Add Account → type your Gmail address → Connect.
2. If a Google sign-in window appears, sign in and approve — done.
3. If Outlook asks for server details instead, choose IMAP and enter the Fix 1 table: incoming imap.gmail.com / 993 / SSL, outgoing smtp.gmail.com / 465 (or 587) / SSL.
4. For the password, use your app password from Fix 3 if 2-Step Verification is on.

FAQ

IMAP or POP — which should I pick? IMAP, almost always. It syncs across devices; POP tends to pull mail off the server onto one machine.

There’s no “Enable IMAP” button anymore. Correct — since January 2025 IMAP is always on, so you can skip straight to entering the server settings.

Will my app password stop working? Yes, if you change your Google Account password — that revokes all app passwords. Just generate a new one.

Sources: Gmail Help — Read Gmail messages on other email clients using POP, Gmail Help — Add Gmail to another email client, Google for Developers — Gmail IMAP, POP, and SMTP