How to Set Up IMAP Gmail

If you're looking to access your Gmail account using a desktop email client like Windows Live Mail, this tutorial will walk you through the process of setting up IMAP4. This protocol allows you to access your Gmail email using standard desktop email clients and also email Apps on smartphones and tablets.

The default synchronisation policy appears to synchronize all messages. Once you've configured your server settings correctly, Windows Live Mail should start synchronizing with Gmail and downloading email messages according to the synchronisation policy.

To begin, you'll need to enter the server details for your Gmail account. This includes paying attention to your server security settings, ports, and SMTP authentication. Make sure to click 'Next' when finished, and you should receive a setup complete box.

The screenshot below shows the Gmail server settings, which are also available here:

To set up an account in Windows Live Mail, select the 'Accounts' tab and click 'Email'. Fill out your account details and check the manually configure server settings. In another screen that appears, you'll need to enter the Gmail server names and ports.

Once the Google account is set up, you can now setup an account in Windows Live Mail. You should receive an email from Google informing you that access to less secure apps has been enabled. Scroll down to the bottom to the Less Secure App box and turn on access.

To do this, go to the Sign-in Security section and click the arrow. In the IMAP access section, click on the enable IMAP radio button. Note that one time, this was enough, but Google has tightened security, and will block access to less secure clients, including Windows Live Mail.

To resolve this issue, you need to login to your Gmail account using your web browser and go to Settings. In this tutorial, we'll look at setting up Windows Live Mail to access Gmail using IMAP4 as it is the preferred access protocol.

This type of access uses secure HTTP as standard - https. Gmail is normally accessed using a browser i.e. Once you've configured your server settings correctly, you can click 'Get Mail' to download all of your Gmail mail. Click the Subscribe entry to subscribe to your Gmail mail.

Under that entry, there are three sub-entries. If you right-click on the Gmail main folder, you'll see an entry for Subscriptions. Account Name, User name, or Email address - these options will allow you to manage your subscriptions and access your Gmail email using Windows Live Mail.

By following these steps, you'll be able to set up IMAP Gmail in Windows Live Mail and access your Gmail account using a desktop email client.

How to set up imap gmail