If you’re new to Google Apps for Work and you’re wondering how to set up your email account(s), here’s a quick rundown of the settings you’ll need to configure if you’re wanting to use a 3rd party email client like Outlook or Apple Mail.
Google Apps Email Settings for IMAP Accounts
This is the preferred method for setting up Google Apps email. Before you change the settings in your email client, be sure to enable IMAP in your Google Apps Gmail account.
Incoming Mail (IMAP) Server: imap.gmail.com
Requires SSL: Yes
Port: 993
Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Server: smtp.gmail.com
Use Authentication: Yes
Port for SSL: 465
Port for TLS/STARTTLS: 587
Display Name: Your Full Name, Business Name or Department
User Name: Your Full Email Address (youremail@yourdomain.com)
Email Address: Your Full Email Address (youremail@yourdomain.com)
Password: Your Google Apps Password
Google Apps Email Settings for POP Accounts
If you prefer to use POP, here are the necessary settings. This configuration is helpful if you’re moving an existing POP email address over to Google Apps.
Before you change the settings in your email client, be sure to enable POP in your Google Apps Gmail account.
| Incoming Mail (POP) Server: | pop.gmail.com Requires SSL: Yes Port: 995 |
|---|---|
| Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Server: | smtp.gmail.com Requires SSL: Yes Requires TLS: No (Yes, if your network requires it, or if you're an advanced user who wants to configure this) Requires Authentication: Yes Port for SSL: 465 Port for TLS/STARTTLS: 587 |
| Server Timeouts: | 5 Minutes |
| Display Name: | Your Full Name, Business Name or Department |
| User Name: | Your Full Email Address (youremail@yourdomain.com) |
| Email Address: | Your Full Email Address (youremail@yourdomain.com) |
| Password: | Your Google Apps Password |
Changing the Incoming and Outgoing Mail Server Settings on an Apple Mail POP Account
If you’re using Apple Mail with an existing POP account and you don’t feel like switching over to the Gmail client just yet (you will, eventually…trust me), then you will need to configure your Apple Mail account with your new mail server settings.
Open up Apple Mail, click on Mail -> Preferences
Select the account you want to configure.
Click on the “Advanced” tab and uncheck “Automatically detect and maintain account settings”.
Click on the “General” icon, then click “Save”.
Go back to: Accounts -> Account Information and change the incoming mail server to: pop.gmail.com. This field is no longer grayed out and is editable now.
Click on the “Outgoing Mail Server” drop-down and choose “Edit SMTP server list…”.
Click the “+” symbol and add a new SMTP server.
Click on the “Advanced” tab and fill in the appropriate info for the Google Apps SMTP server. Click OK to save.
Go back to Accounts -> Account Information, select the new Google SMTP server you just added, save changes again…and…you’re done! Go fetch your mail!
Provided all settings are accurate, your existing POP email account should now pick up right where it left off, only now you’ll be using Google’s ultra-badass email servers.
I hope you found this guide helpful!