Google Workspace Gmail Cannot Connect to Third-Party Email Clients

This article helps troubleshoot issues that occur when adding a Google Workspace Gmail account to a third-party email client, such as Microsoft Outlook or Apple Mail. 

Symptom or issue 

You cannot add a Google Workspace Gmail account to a third-party email client. 

During the account setup process, you may experience one or more of the following: 

• The account cannot be added successfully.  
• The email client repeatedly prompts for your username and password.  
• The email client requests manual IMAP or SMTP server settings instead of redirecting to the Google sign-in page.  
• Authentication fails even though the correct credentials are entered.  
• The email client displays a sign-in or authentication error.  
• Outlook displays an error similar to:
  • Problem Connecting to Server  
  • An encrypted connection to your mail server is not available. Click Next to attempt using an unencrypted connection. 

Cause 

Beginning 1 May 2025, Google Workspace no longer supports less secure authentication methods that require signing in using your Google Workspace username and password. 

Third-party email clients must support OAuth authentication to connect to Google Workspace Gmail accounts. If the email client does not support OAuth or attempts to use legacy authentication, the account setup will fail. 

In addition, IMAP must be enabled by the Google Workspace administrator to allow third-party email clients to access Gmail. 

Solution 

Follow these steps to identify and resolve the issue. 

1. Verify that the email client supports OAuth 

Google Workspace requires OAuth authentication for third-party email clients. 

When adding your Gmail account, a supported email client should redirect you to the Google sign-in page to authenticate and authorize access. 

Your email client may not support OAuth or not using OAuth for the account configuration if you experience the following: 

• The email client prompts you to enter your email address and password without redirecting to Google sign in page. 
• Requests manual IMAP or SMTP server settings during setup. 
• Does not display a Google authentication window. 

The latest versions of Outlook, Apple Mail, and Samsung Mail support OAuth. We and Google recommend using them instead of the classic or older versions. 

2. Verify that IMAP is enabled 

If you are a Google Workspace administrator, confirm that IMAP is enabled for users in the Google Admin console. 

If IMAP is disabled, third-party email clients cannot connect to Gmail using IMAP.  

3. If the issue persists 

If the email client supports OAuth, IMAP is enabled, and the account still cannot be added: 

• Verify that the email client is fully updated.  
• Confirm with the email client vendor that the application supports OAuth for Google Workspace accounts.  
• Contact the email client vendor's support team if the application does not redirect to the Google sign-in page during account setup.