You can manage your Gmail directly inside Microsoft Outlook, which is handy if you use Outlook for work and prefer one place for all your email. The setup takes about five minutes.

Part 1: Prepare Gmail

Enable IMAP in Gmail

  1. Sign in to Gmail in a browser.
  2. Click the Settings gear > See all settings.
  3. Go to the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
  4. Under IMAP access, select Enable IMAP and click Save Changes.

Create a Google App Password

If two-factor authentication is turned on for your Google account (and it should be), you cannot use your regular Google password in Outlook. You need an App Password instead.

  1. Go to myaccount.google.com > Security.
  2. Under How you sign in to Google, click 2-Step Verification.
  3. Scroll to the bottom and click App passwords.
  4. Under Select app, choose Mail; under Select device, choose Windows Computer.
  5. Click Generate. Copy the 16-character password shown — you will need it in the next step.

Part 2: Add the Account in Outlook

  1. Open Outlook and go to File > Add Account.
  2. Enter your Gmail address and click Connect.
  3. If Outlook asks which type of account, choose IMAP.
  4. Use these settings:
    • Incoming (IMAP): imap.gmail.com, port 993, SSL
    • Outgoing (SMTP): smtp.gmail.com, port 465, SSL (or port 587, TLS)
  5. When prompted for a password, paste the 16-character App Password you generated above.
  6. Click Connect. Outlook will verify the settings and add the account.

Your Gmail inbox should appear in Outlook's left pane within a couple of minutes as it syncs. If you run into trouble, ask us with any error messages you see.