Gmail offers IMAP, POP, and SMTP protocols for non-Gmail clients that use standard SASL (Simple Authentication and Security Layer), through IMAP [Authenticate], POP [Auth], and SMTP [Auth] to authenticate users.
Table of Contents
What are IMAP and POP?
IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. IMAP can be used to change SMTP settings and read messages from Gmail in other mail providers like Apple Mail or Microsoft Outlook. Using IMAP, Gmail messages can be read on multiple devices including Macs, desktops, or smartphones without downloading them.
POP stands for Post Office Protocol. With POP you can download all your mails from the email service to your Mac or PC and read them. The emails are deleted from the mail client once they are downloaded and can only be accessed from where they are stored. i.e your PC.
Incoming Connections to Servers
Below are the incoming servers for IMAP, POP, and SMTP:
IMAP server – Imap.gmail.com:993
POP server – pop.gmail.com:995 (SSL required)
SMTP server – smtp.gmail.com (TLS required)
IMAP/POP Server Sessions
Although Gmail supports non-Gmail clients, the server session time for IMAP, and POP3 are limited. The Gmail POP sessions have a limit of 7 days which means the session will expire after this time and you will get a message saying “session expired”. The Gmail IMAP sessions expire after 24 hours. If you authenticate a session using OAuth credentials, the limit is around the validity period of the access token which is usually one hour.
How to Enable IMAP / POP3?
1. Go to Settings (Click on the gear icon and click on “see all settings”)
2. Click on “Forwarding and POP/IMAP”
3. Enable “POP Download” or “IMAP Access”
Enable 3rd Party Mail Clients
Gmail sometimes blocks 3rd party less-secure mail clients like outlook or thunderbird. You can enable “Less Secure Apps” from your account settings. For this follow these steps:
- Go to My Account
- Go to Sign-in and security
- Click on “Connected Apps and Sites”
- Click on “Allow Less Secure Apps”
Setup Gmail POP3 Server
If you have enabled the POP3 server, enter the following information to set it up:
- Server: pop.gmail.com
- Encryption / Authentication: SSL
- Port: 995
- Username: Your Gmail Address
- Password: Your Account Password
For more details, click here
Setup Gmail IMAP Server
If you have enabled the IMAP server, enter the following information to set it up:
- Server: imap.gmail.com
- Encryption / Authentication: SSL
- Port: 993
- Username: Your Gmail Address
- Password: Your Account Password
For more details, click here
Note: You can also enable and set up both servers simultaneously.
Setup Gmail SMTP Server
You can enter following information to setup SMTP server in your mail client:
- Server: smtp.gmail.com
- Encryption / Authentication: SSL (or StartTLS)
- Port 465 (or 587)
You have now successfully enabled the forwarding of emails and POP/ IMAP access configured on your Gmail account. You can also disable the POP/IMAP by clicking on “Disable IMAP” and save settings.
