How to Set up Gmail in Newer macOS Versions
Setting up a Google account in newer operating systems (after OS X Mountain Lion and Lion) uses automatic configuration. Here’s how it works.
Setting up Gmail in OS X Mountain Lion and OS X Lion
Setting up Gmail in OS X Mountain Lion and OS X Lion differs slightly from later versions of the operating system.
If You Use Older Versions of OS X
If you use OS X Snow Leopard or older, set up Mail to access your Gmail account from within the Mail application instead of from System Preferences.
Manually Set up Mail for a Gmail Account
Old versions of Mail (2.x and earlier) didn’t have an automated method for setting up a Gmail account. You can still create a Gmail account in Mail, but you need to set up the account manually, just as you would any other IMAP-based email account. The settings and information you need are:
Account type: IMAP Email address: [gmailusername]@gmail.com Password: Your Gmail password Username: Your Gmail address without the “@gmail.com” Incoming Mail Server: imap.gmail.com Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): smtp.gmail.com
After you enter this information, Mail can access your Gmail account.
How to Access Gmail in the Mail Application
After you set up your Gmail account, open the Mail application on your Mac. In the left column, under Inbox, you’ll see your Gmail account listed along with Mail and any other mail accounts you’ve entered. Select your Gmail account to read and reply to your Gmail. Gmail is not the only popular email account that you can use with Mail. You can use Yahoo and AOL mail accounts in Mail using the same method.
More on Setting up Gmail in Apple Mail
Users may use a Gmail account when they’re on the road or accessing email from a web browser and use Apple’s Mail application on their Mac computers. It’s convenient to check all your email accounts in one place, so many people add their Gmail account to Mail. Creating a Gmail account in Apple Mail is straightforward. Gmail uses standard mail protocols, and Apple Mail supports Gmail server communication. You can add a Gmail account the same way you’d add any POP or IMAP account you currently use. Most versions of macOS have an automated system that creates Gmail accounts for you. You can create a Gmail account either directly in Mail or from System Preferences. The System Preferences option is a handy way to keep all your social media and email accounts together so you can easily make changes that are automatically reflected in any app that uses them. The two methods for setting up a Gmail account are nearly identical and end up creating the same data in both Mail and System Preferences. The Gmail account makes use of IMAP because Google recommends IMAP over POP. If you would rather use Gmail’s POP service, you can find the needed information in the Gmail POP3 Setting guide. You must also use the manual setup process.
