Gmail for Outlook – A Beginners Guide

Gmail for Outlook – A Beginners Guide

/ Andrew Holdeman

Since Microsoft and Google teamed up, a few perks have become available to Gmail account users. First, you can now access your Gmail account from Microsoft Outlook.

This means you can manage all your emails from one place without switching back and forth between different tabs. Additionally, you can check your emails in offline mode, which will help you stay up to date, which is something you can’t do with Gmail on the web.

If, for some reason, you cannot load your Gmail account before connecting it to Outlook, click here to view Techloris’s page troubleshooting that particular issue. “Not loading” will involve the inability to send messages, add Gmail contacts, or just not being able to open your Google accounts.

What is Gmail?

what is gmail

In case you’ve never had to add a Gmail account, this is a brief description of what it offers.

A Gmail account is a free, search-based email service offered by Google, and it’s available anywhere in the world as long as there is an internet connection. Gmail has over 900 million active users worldwide.

One of the perks of using a Gmail account is that it offers a lot of storage space – up to 15GB. That’s much more than most other email providers offer. Gmail also provides a powerful search engine that makes it easy to find emails, even if buried deep in your inbox.

  • Extra features that are worth mentioning include the ability to:
  • Add multiple email addresses to your account
  • Create custom filters to sort incoming messages automatically
  • Use labels to organize your messages
  • Create and use chatbots to help manage your inbox

What is Microsoft Outlook?

Outlook is a powerful email client that offers many features and benefits to its users. Some of the critical benefits of Outlook include the following:

  • You are provided easy access to email, contacts, calendars, and tasks. This makes it easy to manage your communications and stay organized.
  • It has a powerful search feature that makes it easy to find emails, contacts, and calendar events. You can even search for text within attachments.
  • Flagging emails for follow-up and color coding them based on importance or category is offered to you. This helps you keep track of important emails and avoid clutter.
  • You can view several preview pane options to view emails in various ways. You can also customize the look and feel of Outlook to match your personal preferences.
  • Outlook provides 99 gigabytes of archiving space, so you can store large quantities of email without running out of space. You can also set automatic replies to help manage your inbox while away.

These are just a few benefits that Outlook offers its users. If you’re looking for an efficient way to manage your email, contacts, calendars, and tasks, Outlook is a great choice.

How to Connect Your Gmail Account to Outlook

For most email integrations (such as mail and Windows computers), you can log in to your new account and additional Gmail accounts inside the other compatible mail app. For some reason, Outlook mobile or PC doesn’t make this easy, but we do.

The first thing you’ll want to do is to set up your Gmail account. Open your Gmail inbox page, click the gear icon and choose “settings.”

gmail settings
gmail forwarding

Once you reach the settings menu, you’ll see an index at the top of the screen. One heading reads “Forwarding and POP IMAP.” Click on that. Clicking this will take you to the IMAP setting choices and more.

Once you’re at the POP IMAP account settings, find IMAP access. (allowing access from another Gmail account client that is using IMAP). You’ll then see the options to enable IMAP or disable it; choose to enable IMAP.

gmail imap setting
save settings

After completing that step or altering any of the default settings on that page, you will manually save the changes. Once you click save, you don’t have to repeat the steps through Google Workspace.

You will return to your inbox page when you are finished there. This time, you will select your Google account option after clicking on your profile icon in the upper-right corner. Once you’re at your Google account settings, click the “Sign in and Security tab.”

google account
sign in security

After you select security, you will scroll to the very bottom of the page. The last option on the very bottom reads “Allow less secure Apps” make sure you switch it ON.

Yes, this will mean that your email account will have a lesser security system. This feature is available to change because the default setting OFF will only allow your Google account permissions window to run smoothly on apps that support Microsoft.

The feature ON will also allow integration with Gmail to Outlook mobile. If you cannot change the feature, it might be because you still have Gmail two-factor authentication activated.

Also mentioned, Google will give you a warning message letting you know that it will open less protected apps without prior warning. This is expected behavior from your Google Workspace.

Connecting Gmail to Outlook

After choosing “Allow less secure Apps” to be ON, you will exit your Gmail window. Next, you will launch Outlook account settings to connect Gmail to Outlook.

Once you’ve opened up Microsoft Outlook and signed in, you will have seven tabs at the top of the page. At the very left, select file; this will then take you directly to “account information” for Outlook.

outlook setting 1

Once you’ve reached the Microsoft Outlook settings page, click the initial account setting option. This will activate drop-down lists underneath the account icon. You will select account settings (again). This will take the user to the file and data settings for the account.

account settings 1

After you click on both account setting options, you will land on the account properties and details page.

In the top left, choose “New File.”

selecting google account

The next screen will have you type in your username for your Gmail account.

entering email information

The next screen will have you type in your Gmail app-specific password, like the previous screen.

enter gmail password

After you have typed in your Gmail password, if you have previously set up your security, you will receive verification codes in your email confirming that this is you logging in.

You should see your Gmail account added to the Outlook app and Outlook mobile.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I can’t log into my Gmail account?

Fortunately, Techloris has a page dedicated to this problem. Click here to view our troubleshooting solutions. Not being able to log in consists of having access denied after typing in the correct app password, not having successful two-factor authentication, or just being unable to access any of your Google apps.

Can I install Outlook Mobile on my mobile device?

If Outlook isn’t already preloaded to your device with a registered mobile phone number when you purchased it, you can find it on the app store for Apple or Android. Once you download Outlook, sign in using your email account login.

Is Gmail able to connect to Outlook 365 and Microsoft 365?

Yes, you can connect Gmail to both of these; you will have to go through a Google Password two-factor authentication with each of these to link your Gmail account. This will require you to revisit the Google Workspace like the steps above.

How many accounts can I add to Outlook?

Whether it’s your first Gmail account or tenth, there isn’t a limit to how many you can add to Outlook. You might have to go through a different login process for each email service you connect to.

How can I set up Outlook Mobile with my Gmail accounts?

If outlook mobile doesn’t let you connect the two email account services by just logging in, following the steps in this article will likely solve the issue and sync your Gmail account to Outlook.

Can I connect any email provider account to Outlook?

Yes, you can connect most email provider accounts to Outlook, including Gmail, Yahoo, and other popular services, as long as they support IMAP or POP protocols.

Andrew Holdeman
Meet the author

Andrew has extensive experience with a wide range of writing platforms and automation systems. He has spent over 6 years creating content and troubleshooting for various companies. He also enjoys spending time with his family and his fiancé, while staying active and healthy.