Is there any need to introduce ‘Gmail’ and Microsoft Outlook like why they’re popular among most of the world population? Of course not! So, let’s straightaway come to the point.
For many years, Microsoft and Gmail were seen as two independent entities putting themselves against each other but soon they realized that they must work in harmony to foster productivity and make life easier for all ‘especially employees’ who depend on both Outlook and Gmail for their daily work like managing emails, appointments, and meetings etc.
Thus, G Suite Sync was introduced. This feature allows Gmail users to add their respective accounts in Microsoft Outlook so that they can simply manage both their email accounts from one single platform without breaking a sweat!
Besides that, these are also the reasons why majority of Gmail and Outlook users decide to ‘Configure Gmail in MS Outlook’—
- Using MS Outlook you can check your emails in Offline mode and this you cannot do with Gmail’s webmail platform. Basically, you cannot work in Offline mode with Gmail but with MS Outlook, it is possible.
- Then, compared to Outlook, it’s a bit tricky to organize messages and emails in Gmail.
- Last but not least, managing multiple email accounts with Gmail is not at all easy but this you can do without any hassle with Outlook.
So, with that said, if you also decide the same and wondering how to setup Gmail in Outlook’s desktop email client then, let us tell you that these are the steps you need to follow to “Set up Gmail in Microsoft Outlook”—
Albeit, the process of configuring Gmail in Outlook is very simple but as you see, it’s lengthy enough. So, you have to follow the entire process systematically otherwise, you won’t be able to configure Gmail in Outlook.
Now, having that in mind, let’s begin—
Step 1: Prepare your Gmail Account for Microsoft Outlook
This step requires you to sign-in to your Gmail account to enable IMAP/POP protocol and allow access to less secure apps so that you allows Outlook to connect with your Gmail account to download as well as send messages!
Firstly, Sign-In to Your Gmail Account
Get into your Gmail account that you want to add or sync with Outlook and to do so—
- Visit the Gmail Login Page using your web browser.
- On the same, enter your ‘Gmail account ID’ and click on the ‘Next’ button.

- Then, as asked, enter your ‘Gmail account Password’ and again, hit the ‘Next’ button.

- Now, click on the ‘Sign-in’ button to login to your Gmail account.
Secondly, Enable POP/IMAP Protocol for Your Gmail Account
Once you get access to your Gmail account, check whether the “Enable IMAP” or “Enable POP for all mail” option is enabled or not! If not then, you won’t be able to sync Gmail with Outlook until and unless you turn on POP/IMAP access in your Gmail account via these steps—
- Click on the ‘Gear-like icon’ from the top-right corner of your Gmail account.

- Then, select its ‘Settings’ option from the menu that appears.
- On the settings page, click on ‘Forwarding and IMAP/POP’ tab to open the same.
- Under it, locate the ‘IMAP Access’ section and click on it to select the ‘Enable IMAP’ option.

- Once you’re done, just click on the ‘Save Changes’ button to apply the made changes.
[Note: You can also configure Gmail in Outlook by ‘Enabling POP Access for all mail’ option in the same above manner as all you have to do is select ‘POP Access’ instead of ‘IMAP Access.’]

Thirdly, Allow Access to Less Secure Apps
As by default, the option of “Allow Less Secure Apps” is turned off by Google to secure your Gmail account from those apps and devices that use ‘less secure sign-in technology’ so, you’ve to turn it on to access Gmail easily from Outlook. Thus, to allow less secure app access—
- Head towards the ‘My Account’ option of your Gmail account.
- Inside the My Account section, you’ve to select the ‘Security’ option.
- Following that, you’ve to simply toggle the switch of ‘Allow less Secure Apps’ to turn it ‘ON.’
[Note: Alternatively, you can also click on this link “https://myaccount.google.com/lesssecureapps?pli=1&rapt=AEjHL4NUE5zizC9FuNouH5ZXpb8ZTy3eHTYF_lAShi5ugIDyTFvWvNA9AFlgH43cY_ej1KcmRMTxSRdQ9UoUsZ1uAgWimL9uJw” to ‘Allow Less Secure App Access.’]

Step 2: Get an App-Specific Password for Your Gmail Account
MFA i.e., Multi-Factor Authentication or 2FA i.e., 2-Factor Authentication, is nowadays essential to keep your email account data stored in SaaS applications like G suite and Microsoft secured. So, in case you’ve enabled 2FA for your Gmail account then, you’ll need to obtain an app-specific password to setup your Gmail account in Outlook application and therefore, to do so—
- Click on the ‘Profile Icon’ from the top-right corner of the inbox page of your Gmail account.

- Then, click the ‘Manage Your Google Account’ option from the menu that appears.

- Next, you’ve to locate the ‘Security Tab’ on the left side of the window and select the same.

- After this, turn on ‘2-Step Verification’ which is inside the ‘Signing in to Google’ section.

- In continuation, you’ve to click on ‘App Passwords’ and in the app password window, select the ‘Other’ option from the drop-down menu.

- Following that, type ‘Outlook’ and hit the ‘Generate’ button.

- In doing so, when Google generates an app password, click ‘Done’ and note this password somewhere as you need this while connecting your Gmail account to Outlook.
Step 3: Keep the Gmail Server Settings for Outlook Handy
To sync your Gmail account with Outlook desktop client, you need to use the following Gmail server settings—